Asia Pacific Research

As the United States presses its “reciprocal tariffs” campaign against ASEAN members, Washington’s hard-nosed trade tactics are sending ripples far beyond the negotiating rooms of Singapore, Jakarta and Hanoi.

US negotiators may frame this as an effort to win better market access for American goods and chip away at Chinese expansion in Southeast Asia, but Beijing is watching closely and repositioning itself to turn US-ASEAN tensions to its long-term advantage.

The Trump administration’s strategy has been characteristically direct: levy hefty tariffs first and then issue a laundry list of concessions in return for partial relief.

This year, on April 2, the US implemented “reciprocal tariffs” ranging up to 49% on imports from certain ASEAN nations, including Vietnam and Cambodia, while others, such as Singapore, were subject to 10% duties.

Those came down after negotiations but are still in the range of 19-24% for top trading partners like Thailand (19%), the Philippines (19%), Vietnam (20%) and Malaysia (24%).

For most ASEAN economies, where the US is a key export market, forfeiting preferential access jeopardizes GDP growth, jobs and even political stability. The US calls for restricting Chinese exports and future compliance with possible future sanctions against Beijing puts ASEAN directly in the middle of a raging competition.

This is where China sees both a challenge and an opening. For 15 consecutive years, China has been ASEAN’s largest trading partner. In the first quarter of 2025, two-way trade hit $234 billion, with full-year figures projected to surpass $1 trillion, far ahead of US-ASEAN trade volumes.

The US push to force ASEAN to cut Chinese goods directly targets the integrated supply chains that underpin this relationship. But rather than counter with public threats, Beijing is moving toward a more subtle, calculated response: embedding itself more deeply in ASEAN’s economic fabric in ways that US tariff policy will struggle to unwind.

Another important prong is accelerating local production within ASEAN. Chinese enterprises are establishing or setting up factories inside Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, not to lower labor expenses, but to meet “rules of origin” for more products to contribute in the global supply chain.

The policy is not new. It is a rerun of the “China plus one” diversification strategy popular during the US-China trade war, but its pace is picking up speed. Regional trackers show that Chinese greenfield spending on ASEAN production reached a record US$26.4 billion level during 2023, surpassing US spending, which was around $7 billion.

Its logic is straightforward as by having the US specifically target products having as little as 10-20% Chinese content, direct production inside ASEAN makes Washington’s market-access blocking increasingly difficult. The move also binds ASEAN economies to Chinese industrial complexes all the more securely via supply deals, shared infrastructure and local employment integration.

Another dimension of Beijing’s counterplay is to diversify China’s outbound investment from its Belt and Road infrastructure construction to ASEAN’s production clusters, tech parks and logistic hubs.

As such, China ensures that while goods are technically “ASEAN-made,” financial, technological and logistical pillars thereof remain all strictly aligned with Chinese technology and funds. Such infrastructural presence makes it considerably harder for US trade policy to disrupt China’s presence in the region’s value chain.

At the same time, China is preparing to fill the inevitable gaps left by US-ASEAN trade adjustments. Many ASEAN negotiators have already signaled a willingness to buy more American agricultural products, aircraft and energy, often at higher cost than other suppliers,  to placate Washington.

But there are sectors where US goods are simply too expensive or fail to meet local requirements. In steel, electronics, textiles, and increasingly in renewable energy equipment, China remains the more competitive supplier.

If ASEAN reduces imports of these goods from China to comply with US demands, Beijing can redirect supply to domestic markets or other fast-growing partners, while simultaneously offering ASEAN cooperation in emerging sectors such as electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing and agricultural technology.

Such versatility is coming up trumps. During the first half of 2025, China’s shipments to Southeast Asia increased 16.6%, while those to the US fell 21.7%. These statistics indicate that although Washington can upset certain flows, it cannot readily compensate for the size and agility China brings to ASEAN’s broad economy.

Apart from goods, China fills a gap in services and finance. With US tariff policy casting a cloud over ASEAN export planning, Beijing is making financial markets in China accessible, developing renminbi settlement mechanisms and reinforcing measures facilitating trade and decreasing reliance on the US dollar. These measures cushion ASEAN economies against US policy fluctuations and integrate them further into China’s financial system.

Tone is no less significant than strategy. The warlike tack coming out of Washington, including reports of President Donald Trump boasting about countries “kissing my ass” to get tariff relief, has backfired on the US across the globe. Such language can generate domestic backlash against leaders who are perceived to be buckling under US pressure.

By contrast, Beijing has been careful to refer to its engagement as “mutually beneficial cooperation” and “win-win development.” Such gentler, inclusive language works better not only with ASEAN leaders but also resonates well with public opinion and is therefore politically easier for governments to uphold or deepen economic relationships with China.

China’s signal to ASEAN is already loud and clear: make the best possible deal with the US. Chinese Premier Li Qiang said,

“Facing rising protectionism and unilateralism in some places of the world, we must be committed to expanding opening up and removing barriers.”  

The implicit message is also loud and clear: China will be waiting to invest, supply and promote. The message makes Beijing the pragmatic counterpart at a time when the US is coming across as unpredictable and crudely transactional.

Nevertheless, Beijing needs to be cautious. Push too hard, and it confirms Washington’s storyline of ASEAN overdependence on China. Move too gradually, and ASEAN nations might rearrange supply chains in a fashion that actually diminishes Chinese clout.

The sweet spot is measured by integration through more joint enterprises, increased domestic employment, vigorous technology diffusion and jointly designed R&D centers. These programs make Chinese engagement not only economically essential but also politically acceptable to a range of different ASEAN governments.

Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” policy is designed to push ASEAN away from China. However, Beijing’s counter-steps, from localized production and diverted investment to plugging supply gaps and deepening financial links, underscore China’s long-game strategy in the region.

For ASEAN, the most sustainable course is still balancing diversified trade with both powers. For China, the key is to make its economic presence in Southeast Asia too deep and too valuable to be uprooted.

If Beijing can achieve this balancing act, the very policies designed to weaken its influence in the region could end up bolstering them, not through public posturing, but through low-key, measured integration driving the very heart of ASEAN’s economic future.

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Bilal Habib Qazi is an independent researcher based in Pakistan with a PhD in international relations from Jilin University in China. His research interests span geopolitics and strategic competition, foreign policy analysis, international security and regional order, as well as global governance and international organizations. He may be reached at [email protected]

Featured image is from Xinhua

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I left Delhi recently amidst very worrying reports of the village of Dharali being wiped out in the state of Uttarakhand. As I reached the hill area of the neighboring state of Himachal Pradesh, I found a trail of destruction in this neighboring state as well, forcing me into heavy traffic jams and obstructions caused by landslides. Looking out into the dark amidst lashing rains, I could form an idea that this heavy landslide was close to a village where I had come a few years back for reporting on a village ruined by heavy cutting of trees and lack of adequate caution in highway widening.

I managed to reach my home late in the night, but news continued to pour in next day from continuing problems on this highway (Kalka-Shimla). From elsewhere, in Chamba, there was a report that six persons (including four from a single family) had died when a boulder fell on a car. Newspapers reported that nearly 357 roads in Himachal Pradesh had been harmed or obstructed. Up to August 7 or so, the rainy season starting on June 20 had seen 58 flash floods, 30 cloudbursts and 51 landslides in this small state. 108 people had died, and 37 were missing, while the economic loss was estimated at INR 19520 million.

In recent years very extensive harm from disasters has been reported from the Himalayan region, particularly Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. This is increasingly linked to very large-scale cutting of trees caused in the process of taking up various projects that are questionable ‘development projects’. Recently for a stretch of a highway I asked local people how many trees had been cut, and I was told “at least ten thousand”. I was very distressed. When I was reporting on the famous chipko or ‘hug the trees’ movement during the late 1970s in Uttarakhand, there used to be prolonged mobilizations of people against the commercial felling of even a few hundred trees (or even lesser) but here ten thousand trees had been cut without any trace of a mobilization to prevent this.

One reason for this is that a mistaken discourse on development has been created which justifies large-scale ecological ruin as being essential for development. Based on this, the authorities and big businesspersons have gone ahead with a development model based on too many excesses—excessive widening of highways, excess of dam and hydro power projects, excess of mining, excess of heavy building construction and even excess of the kind of tourism that does not go very well with the protection of environment.

Firstly, there is too much of all this beyond the carrying capacity of fragile hill environment and secondly, on top of this, several powerful companies and businesses try to cut on costs by neglecting important environmental safeguards and precautions.

All this ignores the well-established geological reality that Himalayas being one of the youngest mountain chains still in the process of formation must be handled very carefully in terms of not disrupting it by the use of explosives (for heavy construction or mining work), heavy construction work or indiscriminate mining, deforestation, tunneling and impounding of huge quantities of water in highly risky ways. All these have destabilized the massive but fragile and vulnerable hills and what is worse, this has happened in times of climate change when there is a greater tendency for rain to be highly concentrated in big downpours. 

This is not at all to say that dam and highway construction should stop, or that tourism should not be encouraged. However what can definitely be stated is that the kind of reckless development seen in recent times must be checked seriously, as the Supreme Court of India has also emphasized in a recent verdict. Instead there should be very cautious pursuit of development activities based on sustainability and safety.

While the recent pattern has enriched a few, the number of people either displaced or ruined by the resulting disasters and instability is very high. What is more, the Himalayas being a high seismicity belt, the disruption of slopes has led to the possibilities of any future earthquakes becoming much more destructive due to the various ecologically destructive activities.

Hence several concerned people as well as experts have been raising their voice for opposing the ecologically destructive development model for the Himalayan region and replacing this with an ecologically protective model. This is a call that should not be neglected any longer.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Guardians of the Himalaya—Vimla and Sunderlal Bahuguna, Planet in Peril, Protecting Earth for Children and A Day in 2071. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

Featured image: A 100-metre stretch of Char Dham road was washed away. (HT)

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[We repost this important article by Greg Mitchell first posted on GR in 2020.]

Last month, I completed work on my first film, writing and directing a documentary titled Atomic Cover-up. Below you can watch via a link four brief clips. The story for me began, however, thirty-eight years ago this month. That day also helped set me on the path to spending four weeks in Hiroshima and Nagasaki soon after, and subsequently writing three books on the subject (including one to be published in July), hundreds of articles, and a lifelong engagement with political and ethical issues surrounding nuclear warfare.

In June 1982, the grassroots antinuclear movement in the U.S. (and much of the world) was cresting. The June 12th march and rally in New York City would draw well over half a million protesters, with some observers calling it the largest such gathering in the country’s history. Many new films with nuclear themes suddenly appeared, including the popular Atomic Cafe.

The Atomic Cafe (1982) – Re-Release Trailer

As someone who came of age in the 1950s and 1960s, I had experienced the terror of the most dangerous years of the nuclear arms race, but I had never attended an “anti-bomb” protest. My knowledge of the debate surrounding the dropping of two atomic bombs over Japan in 1945 was only skin-deep.

But one day in June 1982, I took notice when the Japan Society in New York announced it would screen the first movie drawing on footage shot in vivid color in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by an elite American military team, then suppressed for decades by the U.S. government. One of the U.S. Army officers who was part of that team would discuss the film and its suppression for the first time. I was a member of the Japan Society–they had even arranged my recent interview with film director Akira Kurosawa–and always loved a good “cover-up.” So I attended the event a few days later.

The film, produced in Japan, was called Prophecy. Someone connected with it introduced former Army lieutenant Herbert Sussan, who went on to a long career as a producer/director in the emerging television industry. He described being recruited near the end of 1945 from the Army’s famous wartime film studio in Hollywood (where he had met Ronald Reagan, among others) to join a major U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey project to shoot the first and only color footage documenting the destruction of Japanese cities from the air during the war. It seemed to offer a free, triumphant, trip for the young man until the crew arrived by train at their first stop: Nagasaki. He would be haunted by what he saw there, and then in Hiroshima, for the rest of his life.

The Prophecy (Part 1 of 6)

I suppose, no doubt to a lesser degree, I could say that I would be haunted by his words, and the film we would see, for the rest of my life.

Sussan described filming, in blazing color–still rarely used by documentarians at the time–the badly injured, burned or radiation-plagued patients in hospitals. The cameraman was often Akira “Harry” Mimura, from the major Toho studio who had shot Kurosawa’s first film, Sanshiro Sugata, and also worked in Hollywood.

Americans back home, to this point, he pointed out, had only been allowed to see grainy, black and white images of rubble in the atomic cities, never the victims, who were mainly women, elderly men and children. The U.S. had also seized, or banned publication in Japan of photographs of bombing victims taken by Japanese, a ban that remained throughout the Occupation years to 1952.

When he returned to New York after filming in numerous other bomb-ravaged Japanese cities, Sussan was determined to show the world what he had experienced, hoping that this might halt the building of new and bigger weapons and prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race with the Russians.

Instead, he found that all of the footage had been classified top secret and buried by the U.S. military. Some of it would eventually be used in training films, but none of it was shown to the public. The color images were just too revealing not only of unfathomable destruction of buildings, but above all the long-lasting damage to human bodies.

Seized at the same time by the U.S. and hidden for the next quarter of a century was all of the searing black and white footage shot earlier by the leading Japanese newsreel company, Nippon Eiga Sha.

Sussan tried for twenty years to find and make use of his footage–Americans still had not been exposed to color images of any kind from Hiroshima and Nagasaki–but he got nowhere, even after personally approaching everyone from famed newsman Edward R. Murrow to former President Harry S. Truman.

Finally, he would, almost by accident, play a central role in the footage becoming known to the world. Around 1979 he attended an exhibit of photos from the atomic cities at the United Nations near his apartment. To his dismay, he spotted several color enlargements of frames from the footage his team had shot in 1946.. He said to a Japanese man, Iwakura Tsotumu, who had helped arrange the exhibit, something to the effect, “I shot the footage this photo is taken from.”

Imagine Iwakura’s surprise. Iwakura did some digging at the National Archives in Washington and discovered that the color footage had been declassified, very quietly, a few years earlier. If no one knew about this, it was just the same as still being classified.

Iwakura went back to Japan and launched what became known as the “10 Feet Movement,” a grassroots project that encouraged people (including school kids) to raise and contribute funds to buy back copies of all of the color footage in increments of ten feet. When they reached their goal in 1980, he made the footage available to Japanese filmmakers, who soon completed two documentaries, with more in the works.

The creators of the film that I saw, Prophecy, directed by Hani Susumi, were able to track down some of the survivors shown in the 1946 footage and then contrast the badly-scarred images of them in 1946 with images from interviews with them from the early 1980s. Soon Americans started making use of the color footage–although only in brief passages–in their own films.

Sussan was gravely ill (one of his doctors would tell him it was at least possible that his lymphoma stemmed from radiation exposure in 1946). But my interest had been sparked by listening to him and watching Prophecy. Later in 1982, when I became the editor of the leading American magazine for the anti-nuclear movement, Nuclear Times, the first feature I assigned was on Herbert Sussan. I joined in the interview and became a friend.

I also tracked down in California the man who led the U.S. filming project, Lt. Col. Daniel A. McGovern. On why the footage was suppressed, McGovern informed me that officials and the military “were fearful because of the horror it contained. …because it showed effects on men, women and children…They didn’t want that material out because they were working on new nuclear weapons.” He also sent to me dozens of pages of formerly secret documents from his files, including the original military orders to shoot the footage, his attempts to use the Japanese and/or American footage in films for the public, and the official orders denying that, plus logs of all the classified footage.

I would also talk with Erik Barnouw, the legendary writer on documentary films who in 1970 had created the first film to make use of the long-suppressed black and white Nippon Eiga Sha footage, Hiroshima-Nagasaki 1945. It aired over public television in the U.S. at its full sixteen-minute length, and drew wide attention, although at least one local station refused to air it.

Hiroshima-Nagasaki 1945: The Original Footage

Aiming to gain firsthand experience, I secured a journalism grant via Akiba Tadatoshi (much later the mayor of Hiroshima) to spend a month in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, meeting among others some of those filmed by Sussan and McGovern. Then I wrote articles on various aspects of that trip for The New York Times and Washington Post, among others, and dozens of articles about the atomic bombings for numerous other outlets. I would even interview Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay, which deposited the bomb over Hiroshima, and meet his counterpart on the Nagasaki mission, Charles Sweeney.

A decade later, I penned a small section on the color footage in my book with Robert Jay Lifton, Hiroshima in America. A few years later, I wrote a book about the saga of the footage, Atomic Cover-up, which was excerpted here at The Asia-Pacific Journal.

It even plays a role in my new book to be published next month, The Beginning or the End: How Hollywood–and America–Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, on the MGM docudrama of that name, also shot in 1946. The MGM movie was directly inspired by warnings from the atomic scientists against building bigger bombs and an arms race with the Russians, but was soon transformed into falsified, pro-bomb propaganda under pressure from the White House and the military. Any mention of Nagasaki, for example, was left on the cutting room floor.

Finally, last year, I set out to fulfill the vision I had, decades ago, of paying tribute to those who shot both the Japanese newsreel and U.S. military footage in 1945-1946. I arranged for the first super-high definition transfers of the Japanese footage and several reels of the color footage from the National Archives. I also obtained relevant portions of books by or about several of the cameramen and producers of the Japanese footage, and the memoir of Harry Mimura, and had key sections translated from the Japanese. (Abe Markus Nornes, the leading American authority on the Japanese footage, served as an advisor.)

Starting in March, working remotely with an editor in New York, I directed a subtle, perhaps artful, 47-minute documentary, with an original musical score, also titled Atomic Cover-up. It’s told completely through the once-buried Nippon Eiga Sha and American footage, and via the first-person accounts of those who shot or produced it in voice-overs.

I am happy to provide four brief excerpts:

The first features Lt. McGovern describing his arrival in Nagasaki and Hiroshima for the first time, accompanied by the striking color images.

The second reveals the seizure of the Nippon Eiga Sha footage by the U.S. occupation authorities and how the filmmakers responded–by hiding a print in the ceiling.

The third finds Lt. Sussan paying tribute to the doctors and nurses at the partly destroyed Red Cross Hospital in Hiroshima, which has particular resonance today as health workers there and throughout the world cope with the still-horrendous Covid-19 crisis.

And the final one documents the beginning of Sussan’s attempts to locate the footage by approaching everyone from Truman to Robert F. Kennedy.

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Greg Mitchell is the author of a dozen books, including most recently The Tunnels: Escapes Under the Berlin Wall (Crown) and The Beginning or the End: How Hollywood–and America–Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

All images in this article are from APJJF

The Salween River, at around 3,300 kilometers, or 2,000 miles, is Asia’s longest free-flowing river, running from Tibet through Myanmar to the Andaman Sea. But Indigenous groups and communities living along its banks in China, Myanmar and Thailand say they fear hydropower development might cause the river to suffer the same fate as the Mekong River, Mongabay’s Gerald Flynn reported in June.

“If we compare our rivers, the Mekong is dead already because of so many dams that have strangled the river,” renowned Thai environmentalist and Goldman Prize winner Niwat Roykaew was quoted saying in March to residents of Sob Moei village in northeastern Thailand. “I feel good that there are no dams on the Salween River yet, but I came here today to share the grief and sadness of the Mekong River — so don’t let them build dams on this river.”

Sob Moei is among the communities that would be affected by the planned hydropower projects. The Hatgyi Dam, proposed to be built 47 km (29 mi) south of the village, prompted villagers and other concerned groups to protest in the past, although the military coup in neighboring Myanmar seems to have delayed construction of the dam, Flynn reported.

The Salween is home to more than 200 fish species, a quarter of them endemic to the river. As it irrigates farmland, the Salween is crucial for food security, livelihoods and drinking water for many Indigenous communities across the three countries.

“We get our food from the river, so if the Salween River is dammed or developed, it will definitely impact our families,” Naw K’nyaw Paw, secretary-general of the Karen Women’s Organization, said during a protest in March.

At least 20 dams have been proposed along the Salween: 13 in China and seven in Myanmar. Many were first suggested decades ago and have since stalled. None of those planned in China were ever built, or even mentioned since 2016.

As for the dams in Myanmar, eyed by Chinese and Thai investors, their fate is tied to the outcome of the ongoing conflict between the military junta, rebel factions and armed ethnic groups, Flynn reported.

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This map shows the status of the planned dams along the Salween River. Image by Emilie Languedoc/Mongabay.

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In Myanmar’s Shan state, the 1,400-megawatt Kunlong, 1,200-MW Nao Pha and 7,000-MW Mongton dams are in areas controlled by United Wa State Army (UWSA), a powerful armed faction in the country that has ties to China.

Four of the remaining planned dams in Myanmar are in states home to the Karen and Karenni ethnic groups, which have joined the anti-junta resistance.

Read the Gerald Flynn’s full report here.

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Featured image: Salween River, which serves as a vital lifeline for Karen communities on both sides of the Thai-Myanmar border. Image by Gerald Flynn/Mongabay.

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Chinese weapons are starting to show up in the world’s biggest conflict zones, underscoring its technological advancement and investment in this area.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Chinese weapons systems and military equipment were seen as being little more than imitations of old Russian or even Soviet systems. China was largely reliant on exports from Moscow and lacked the capacity to create its own systems.

However, with China’s recent economic development and technological growth, state-run Chinese firms are now increasingly significant military players. Reports suggest that China now has significantly more advanced weapons systems. An example of this is a J-20 fighter flying seemingly undetected through Tsushima Strait in June 2025, in range of US, Japanese and South Korean radar systems.

As conflicts, including the war in Ukraine, are increasingly dominated by drone warfare, China’s drone technology has become more sophisticated. It has also made advances in developing hypersonic missiles and stealth technology.

China’s recent moves in the Pacific show off its military power, most recently its unannounced naval exercises off the coast of Australia. The exercise caused significant disruption to flights in the Tasman Sea. And China’s fleet sailed close to sensitive military sites in Australia including the Amberley airbase, which hosts the US’s B-2 stealth bomber fleet. This also shows how bold China has become, as well as illustrating how sensitive assets are in striking range of China’s forces.

Latest Chinese Weaponry

Chinese weapons systems were in action in the Indo-Pakistani conflict in June. Pakistan used several Chinese-made J-10C fighters to shoot down several Indian jets, most notably the French-made Rafale fighter.

The Asian conflict sparked interest in the Chinese jet, with Egypt and Nigeria now showing interest in buying the J-10. A year earlier at the Zhuhai airshow in China, several Middle Eastern nations, including the UAE, made significant purchases of Chinese systems, following up earlier purchases of Chinese drones and fighter jets.

Chinese military companies now may have also found another potential client – Iran. Several Iranian military officials were recently photographed in the cockpit of a J-10 at the Zhuhai airshow.

The history of why China has invested significantly in military hardware is significant. Chinese military weaknesses were highlighted during the Gulf war and the third Taiwan Strait crisis in 1996. This saw China conduct missile tests in the Taiwan Strait as a signal to Taipei, which was seen as moving towards independence.

Washington deployed two carrier groups in response, consisting of two aircraft carriers and a large number of escorts. These significantly outclassed China’s ships, with more firepower and more advanced technology. At that time, Beijing was dependent on Soviet-made equipment. Its limitations were highlighted by the Chinese navy’s inability to detect US submarines in the Taiwan Strait.

The need to upgrade its military led to a continuous 10% increase in the Chinese defence budget, as well as widespread military reforms. These occurred under Jiang Zemin, chairman of the Central Military Commission (the supreme military body for the Chinese Communist Party) from 1989 to 2004, and president of China from 1993 to 2003. These changes laid the foundations for China’s modernised military systems today.

Technological Power

China’s military modernisation has also been representative of its wider investment in technology. With some Chinese technology, such as AI chatbot DeepSeek, now challenging western domination.

Scholars have long argued that economic power leads to greater military power and a greater global role.

With the conflicts in Ukraine, south Asia, and the Middle East showing the limitations of more established European and Russian hardware, there are growing opportunities for Chinese weapons technology. It’s also likely that Chinese military systems will find customers among countries that are not on Donald Trump’s list of favoured nations, such as Iran. Should Iran be able to equip itself with Chinese systems, it will be better placed to go head-to-head with Israel.

All of these military advancements have given Beijing greater confidence as well as making the strategic position of the US and its allies in Asia more precarious. While the J-20 demonstrated the vulnerability of the first island chain, (a string of strategically important islands in east Asia) the latest innovation, the J-36, could reshape aerial warfare in the region. Integrated with AI and linked with drone swarms, the system has the potential to serve as a flying server, creating an integrated system not unlike the one recently used by Pakistan, but with even more advanced technologies.

All of these military manoeuvres show how China is becoming a significant player in global conflicts, and how this may give it more strength to challenge the current world order.

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Tom Harper, Lecturer in International Relations, University of East London

Featured image: J-20 flight at the 2022 Changchun Air Show (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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In the middle of the controversy over the higher tariffs announced by Trump, on August 2, the Prime Minister of India gave a call for promoting the spirit of the swadeshi movement seen during the struggle for independence from colonial rule.

The basic idea of swadeshi is that to the extent that the production of certain goods is viable at the local level, we should encourage and buy locally produced goods, instead of importing these goods or obtaining these from distant areas. Further, the production by smaller-scale, less capital intensive and less mechanized units generating more local employment per unit of production should be favored by consumers and buyers.  Mahatma Gandhi was quick to clarify that he is not discouraging trade nor is he denying the advantages of trade. However in matters of meeting daily needs, he said, consumers must show a clear preference for meeting their needs from goods produced closer at home, as far as possible. While this helps to improve and increase the self-reliance of any country in meeting its essential needs, this also helps to increase the self-reliance of rural communities, another matter close to Mahatma Gandhi’s concept of gram swaraj or village self-reliance.

Mahatma Gandhi was saying all this in the context of resisting the ravages of colonial rule which had destroyed India’s famous crafts and artisan works (for example weaving and spinning in the context of textiles) and had also disrupted the community based rural systems. As Gandhi also combined his calls with practical action, he revived the spinning wheel (charkha) and made this and khadi/khaddar (meaning hand spun and hand woven cloth) the symbol of swadeshi movement. Both khadi and swadeshi movements spread far and wide in the country during the freedom movement, with women making a particularly important contribution.

In the present context, considerations of environment protection and the miles travelled by any consumer product have enhanced the importance of the concept of swadeshi in new ways. The related concept of gram swaraj based on self-reliance of rural communities is being considered increasingly important in the context of increasing resilience of rural communities and adaptation to climate change. In addition this concept is sometimes being taken forward in ways which can contribute also in significant ways to climate change mitigation.

While there are several reasons to welcome the decision of the government to revive the swadeshi concept, there are also very serious questions regarding the ways in which the Indian government has violated the swadeshi spirit in the past.

Perhaps the most glaring example of this is that instead of conserving India’s rich heritage of indigenous cotton varieties, the government has allowed the very wide spread of genetically modified cotton crop.

More recently, the government has been exploring the idea of introducing gene-edited varieties for rice even though rice is the most important food crop of India. These are just a few indicators of very harmful compromises that have been made in recent years in violation of the swadeshi spirit.

Of course, it is well understood that swadeshi today cannot be the same today as during the freedom movement as the world has changed. Nevertheless, government policies must be respectful of the basic idea of swadeshi and the spirit of swadeshi. The concepts of both swadeshi and gram swaraj can be carried forward in significant ways by giving much higher importance to the promotion of natural farming based on conservation of indigenous seeds. (Natural farming cannot co-exist with GM crops). The khadi work can be carried forward by according much higher importance to a wide range of village industries and crafts, including those relating to processing the various crops produced under natural farming conditions. 

The GM crops promoted by multinational companies and their collaborators and fronts-persons are completely opposed to the very idea of the concept of swadeshi and the government’s commitment to swadeshi will be tested in the context of the decisions the government takes in the context of GM crops and gene edited crops.

India is a very good place for taking forward concepts of swadeshi, gram swaraj and khadi in very beautiful and creative ways as, compared to many other countries, India has many more skilled farmers, artisans and crafts-persons who can contribute to this in very important ways. In addition talented villagers have shown that they can also contribute in new and innovative ways. Mangal Singh, a farmer scientist, made a very important contribution in the form of inventing Mangal Turbine which can lift water without diesel and electricity. This is very much in tune with the idea of gram swaraj, and at the same time can contribute a lot to climate change adaptation as well as mitigation. Yet years after a committee of the Union Rural Development Ministry (apart from other independent senior experts) had strongly recommended its widespread adoption and the topmost official (rural development secretary) had strongly supported this, the invention and its inventor are languishing in neglect.

So the government will have to do a lot to improve its record before its swadeshi commitment can be seen to be marching ahead in the right spirit with sincerity.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Saving Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Man over Machine and India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

Featured image: Popular 1930s poster depicting Gandhi using a charkha to spin cotton and weave cloth, captioned “Concentrate on Charkha and Swadeshi” (Public Domain)

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The cultural and political landscape of the Philippines is shaped by historical legacies that run far deeper than the surface ideals of democracy, independence, or even human rights that are often used to define modern nation-states. While the Philippine Republic proudly upholds the rhetoric of freedom and sovereignty, the lived realities of its people and institutions reveal a more complex and, at times, troubling foundation. Contrary to what one might expect in a contemporary democratic republic, it is not the universal principles of human dignity, equality, or liberty that form the bedrock of the Filipino nation, but rather the persistent shadow of colonial mentality and the deeply entrenched feudal structures that have not only endured but adapted across historical transitions.

The centuries-long Spanish colonization did not simply impose foreign rule; it implanted a hierarchical worldview based on patronage, religious orthodoxy, and racialized class structures. These were later reinforced, rather than dismantled, by the American colonial project, which cloaked its own imperial interests under the guise of “benevolent assimilation” and introduced liberal democratic institutions without uprooting the preexisting socio-political hierarchies. Landed elites, many of whom traced their power to Spanish-era privileges, seamlessly transitioned into the new political order, consolidating their control over both land and legislation.

This fusion of colonial legacy with feudal social arrangements persists to this day. Political dynasties dominate electoral politics, often converting familial name recognition into enduring political capital. Economic power remains concentrated in the hands of a few oligarchic families, while vast swaths of the population remain marginalized, both economically and politically. In rural areas, systems of patron-client relationships continue to define local governance, mirroring old hacienda-style power dynamics.

Even the Filipino sense of identity, national pride, and collective aspiration remains inextricably intertwined with the long shadow of colonial influence. Western ideals and foreign validation often hold disproportionate sway in the national imagination, while indigenous knowledge systems and cultural practices struggle for recognition and revival.

Thus, to understand the Philippines today requires more than a cursory look at its constitution or democratic institutions. One must examine the enduring structures of both formal and informal power that shape not only governance but also the consciousness of its citizens. These structures, born out of colonization and feudalism, continue to exert influence, often undermining the very ideals of freedom, equity, and justice that the republic claims to uphold.

Colonial Mentality as a Cultural Inheritance

Colonial mentality in the Philippines is not merely a psychological condition afflicting individuals with feelings of inferiority toward their own culture but a deeply embedded sociopolitical reality that continues to shape how Filipinos think, behave, and organize their society. Far from being a relic of the past, this inherited mindset remains active in shaping national consciousness, social behavior, and political structures. It is rooted in over three centuries of Spanish colonial rule, followed by nearly half a century of American occupation that not only imposed foreign governance but also systematically reshaped Filipino worldviews, often to the detriment of indigenous identity and self-worth.

This mentality valorizes foreign standards, particularly Western ones, as inherently superior, while local traditions, ideas, and innovations are frequently dismissed as backward or inferior. This psychological internalization of subservience is not accidental; it was carefully cultivated through institutions like religion, education, and law. The Spanish friars taught that salvation was tied to obedience and submission, while the American educational system, introduced through English-language public schooling, prioritized Western history, literature, and values over Filipino narratives. As a result, generations of Filipinos were conditioned to aspire to foreign ideals rather than develop their own.

The consequences of this colonial conditioning extend far beyond individual self-perception. Filipino institutions, particularly in governance, education, and media, often reflect this deferential orientation toward the West. Instead of fostering homegrown models of empowerment and equality, the prevailing tendency has been to imitate the political, legal, and cultural frameworks of former colonizers. This has led to the adoption of institutions such as liberal democracy, constitutional law, and human rights discourse. These are structures that are outwardly modern and progressive, yet often hollow in practice. The spirit of these institutions commited to citizen empowerment, accountability, and justice has not fully taken root. Instead, these systems are frequently co-opted by traditional power elites, preserving the status quo under a veneer of legitimacy.

Furthermore, this mimicry has contributed to a disconnect between the Filipino people and their governing institutions. Laws are written in English, making them inaccessible to large segments of the population; electoral politics often prioritizes personalities over platforms, a reflection of the feudal loyalties that predate republican governance. In schools and universities, Western theorists are studied extensively, while local thinkers and indigenous knowledge systems remain marginalized. Even in matters of beauty, fashion, and lifestyle, lighter skin, Western features, and foreign brands are still held up as ideals.

Thus, colonial mentality must be understood not as a mere vestige of a bygone era but as a living inheritance which is subtle, pervasive, and structurally reinforced. It continues to undermine national self-determination, not only by distorting the Filipino’s sense of self-worth but by perpetuating systems that alienate citizens from their own culture and from one another. Overcoming this inheritance requires more than a cultural revival. It demands a systemic decolonization of institutions, education, and governance, a reimagining of Filipino identity based not on borrowed ideals but on indigenous agency, historical truth, and collective self-respect.

Feudalism: The Backbone of Corruption

Intertwined with the enduring colonial mentality is the feudal structure that undergirds much of the Filipino social and political order. This is not merely a historical artifact, but a living, breathing architecture of power that continues to shape the country’s political economy and civic life. Despite the formal trappings of republican democracy, the Philippines remains, in many ways, a feudal society where loyalty, power, and survival are often brokered not through institutions, but through personal relationships, patronage networks, and dynastic control.

At the core of this feudal framework is the concentration of land, wealth, and influence in the hands of a narrow elite class families whose roots often trace back to the Spanish encomenderos and principalia, and who later evolved into powerful political dynasties under American tutelage and post-independence state formation. These families dominate both the economic and political spheres, often controlling not just tracts of land but also access to public resources, votes, employment, and even justice in their respective regions. Local governance is thus not an arena of public service or civic duty, but a mechanism of maintaining and reproducing elite power.

This deeply entrenched system has institutionalized corruption, not as an anomaly or deviation from good governance, but as a foundational mode of operation.

Public office is frequently treated as private entitlement; government positions become extensions of familial wealth-building strategies. Political loyalty is rarely ideological or policy-based. Instead, it revolves around personalities and patron-client relationships, where the promise of favor, protection, or material benefit secures allegiance. Voters, especially the economically disenfranchised, are often compelled to participate in this transactional arrangement not out of blind support, but out of necessity, as access to basic services like healthcare, education, or employment often hinges on political patronage.

The judicial system, likewise, is not immune. In many areas, the rule of law bends under the pressure of political influence. Legal outcomes can be swayed by connections or bribes, and impunity is a privilege of those with enough power to sidestep accountability. Thus, corruption is not simply a matter of unethical behavior by individual officials but systemic, normalized, and often expected. It functions as the grease that keeps the feudal machine running, with political favors exchanged like currency and public resources redirected toward private gain.

What makes this feudal-corrupt nexus particularly resilient is its adaptability. Political dynasties have learned to operate within democratic institutions, mastering electoral processes, media manipulation, and legislative maneuvering. They champion the language of democracy while subverting its principles, cloaking self-interest in populist rhetoric and charity work. Term limits are circumvented through family succession, and anti-corruption measures are often selectively applied or completely undermined.

Breaking this cycle requires more than legal reform or moral appeal. It demands a structural dismantling of feudal power through genuine agrarian reform, the democratization of political participation, strict enforcement of anti-dynasty laws, and a radical shift in public consciousness that refuses to normalize transactional politics. Only by confronting this deeply rooted architecture of inequality can the Philippines hope to establish a political order based on justice, merit, and true democratic accountability.

Corruption’s Warping of Human Rights

In a governance system deeply infected by corruption and undergirded by feudal power dynamics, even the most fundamental concepts such as human rights are not spared from distortion. What should be universal, inalienable, and protected regardless of one’s status or affiliations becomes conditional, unevenly applied, and politically instrumentalized. In such a system, rights are no longer understood as inherent to every individual simply by virtue of their humanity, but rather as favors to be dispensed or withheld at the discretion of those in power.

This warping of human rights is not just theoretical; it is experienced daily by Filipinos across socioeconomic classes. In urban poor communities, for example, the right to housing, education, or due process often depends on the patronage of local politicians or the absence of political threat. For critics of the government, particularly activists, journalists, or members of marginalized sectors, the very invocation of rights becomes a liability. Those who assert their freedoms may find themselves red-tagged, surveilled, or silenced, while those aligned with power structures are shielded from scrutiny even when they commit blatant abuses.

Law enforcement and the justice system, meant to be neutral arbiters and protectors of rights, frequently serve as tools of selective enforcement. Police crackdowns disproportionately target the powerless, while well-connected elites are treated with deference or impunity. The weaponization of the legal system through harassment lawsuits, arbitrary detentions, and trumped-up charges further exposes how hollow the promise of equal protection under the law has become. In this context, the justice system does not protect rights; it negotiates them.

Even the language of human rights itself is often co-opted by those in power to legitimize their actions or deflect criticism. Politicians invoke rights discourse to appear progressive or reformist, while simultaneously undermining those very rights in practice. International human rights frameworks are selectively acknowledged as they are celebrated when convenient and dismissed as foreign interference when uncomfortable truths are exposed. Civil society groups advocating for human rights are often stigmatized as subversive or unpatriotic, further eroding the credibility and public understanding of rights as a shared civic foundation.

This co-optation creates a dangerous illusion: that human rights are not a shared moral and legal commitment, but a political stance, something one can support or reject based on ideological alignment. In such a climate, rights lose their universality and instead become entangled in partisanship and power plays.

The result is a population increasingly disillusioned with the very concept of human rights, perceiving it as either empty rhetoric or a tool of political agenda. This disillusionment is not the failure of the concept itself, but of the structures that have hijacked and corrupted it. Without dismantling these entrenched power relations, i.e., without addressing the feudal patronage networks, institutional impunity, and cultural subservience that allow corruption to thrive, any invocation of human rights will continue to ring hollow. True human rights cannot coexist with a system that conditions dignity and justice on privilege, loyalty, or silence.

To restore the integrity and power of human rights in the Philippines, it is not enough to pass laws or ratify treaties. What is needed is a fundamental reorientation of governance: one that affirms rights as non-negotiable, prioritizes accountability over loyalty, and re-centers the dignity of every Filipino as the foundation of the nation’s political and moral life.

A Call for a New National Trajectory

If the Philippines is to genuinely transform into a nation grounded in a correct and lived understanding of human rights, it must undertake a profound reckoning with the historical forces that continue to shape its present. The colonial mentality that valorizes the foreign and erodes indigenous identity, and the feudal structures that concentrate power in the hands of dynastic elites are not abstract legacies of the past. They are active systems of domination that continue to define how authority is exercised, how justice is distributed, and how ordinary Filipinos experience their citizenship. To move forward, the country must confront and dismantle these deeply embedded paradigms not as a symbolic gesture, but as a prerequisite for national rebirth.

This project of transformation is not merely legal or institutional. It cannot be achieved through policy reforms alone, nor by surface-level changes in governance. It demands nothing less than a cultural and ideological shift that reimagines what it means to be a nation, and who is truly entitled to shape its future. The government must stop treating human rights as rhetorical ornaments invoked for international approval or political theater and start recognizing them as the non-negotiable foundation of just governance and inclusive nation-building.

This requires a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths. That much of what passes for cultural tradition is in fact the residue of oppression, sustained by mythologies that romanticize hierarchy and submission. That much of what is celebrated as leadership is often inherited privilege, cloaked in the language of merit and service. That institutions, however modern in appearance, continue to function according to pre-modern logics of loyalty, kinship, and control. And that millions of Filipinos remain structurally excluded from the full promise of citizenship, not by accident, but by design.

A new national trajectory must begin with a radical shift in political imagination that centers authentic empowerment, participatory governance, and social justice. It must elevate critical consciousness among the people, enabling citizens to question power, to reclaim agency, and to see themselves not as passive recipients of rights but as co-authors of the nation’s future. This is the essence of human rights: not as foreign impositions, but as deeply Filipino aspirations rooted in the archipelago’s long history of resistance, solidarity, and the fight for dignity.

Such a transformation will not be easy. It will require disrupting entrenched interests, redistributing power, and decolonizing not only state institutions but the national psyche. It calls for a leadership that is brave enough to reject the politics of patronage and the comfort of tradition when they stand in the way of justice.

And it demands a citizenry that refuses to normalize inequality, silence, and fear.

Only by walking this corrected path that is historically honest, politically just, and culturally self-aware can the Philippines realign its national project with the true spirit of democracy and human rights. Not as borrowed frameworks, but as the living expression of a people who finally know their worth, and who will no longer settle for less.

Conclusion

The Philippines cannot move forward by romanticizing its past or by clinging to the symbolic and structural remnants of its colonial inheritance. To glorify a history marked by subjugation, feudal privilege, and imported systems of domination is to remain complicit in the very forces that continue to hinder genuine national development. The tendency to sanitize the past, i.e., to frame centuries of colonization as a source of culture or identity, rather than as a prolonged era of exploitation and psychological conditioning, only serves to entrench the very mentalities and hierarchies that need to be dismantled. Nostalgia, when uncritical, becomes a barrier to liberation.

Likewise, the persistence of colonial vestiges in language, education, governance, and even aesthetics reinforces a sense of dependency and cultural inadequacy. It allows foreign models to dictate what is modern, civilized, or legitimate, even when such models are ill-suited to the Philippine context. In this way, progress is measured not by how much the nation empowers its people, but by how closely it mirrors its former colonizers. This is not advancement but mimicry, sustained by a deep-rooted insecurity that has been passed down through generations.

To break free from this cycle, the Philippines must commit to forging a future where it is the ordinary Filipinos from all walks of life who define the values, priorities, and structures of their society. This means moving beyond a politics of dependency and toward one of active citizenship, where individuals are no longer mere beneficiaries of elite generosity or bureaucratic charity, but rights-holders with the power to shape their own destinies. It means creating institutions that are not only inclusive in form but democratic in spirit designed to serve the many, not the few.

Such a future requires rejecting both colonial mimicry and feudal submission. It demands a cultural reawakening grounded in critical memory, where history is neither forgotten nor glorified, but understood in its full complexity. It calls for educational systems that center Filipino perspectives, governance models that are responsive to local realities, and leadership that emerges not from dynastic privilege but from collective will and merit.

Only when the nation is built upon the foundations of people’s agency and dignity can it truly claim to be founded on human rights not as mere slogans or legal abstractions, but as the living principles that guide everyday life. Human rights, in this vision, are not foreign concepts to be tolerated or performed; they are the very fabric of national identity, the moral compass of governance, and the promise of a future no longer dictated by the ghosts of empire.

In this reimagined Philippines, the past is not erased but neither is it idolized. It becomes a reference point for transformation, not a blueprint for repetition. And only then, when the nation ceases to live in the shadow of its conquerors and caretakers, can it truly stand on its own with a voice that is distinctly Filipino, and a future that is genuinely free.

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Prof. Ruel F. Pepa is a Filipino philosopher based in Madrid, Spain. A retired academic (Associate Professor IV), he taught Philosophy and Social Sciences for more than fifteen years at Trinity University of Asia, an Anglican university in the Philippines. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

Sources

Abinales, P. N., & Amoroso, D. J. (2017). State and Society in the Philippines (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.

Claudio, L. E. (2017). Liberalism and the Postcolony: Thinking the State in 20th-Century Philippines. NUS Press.

Constantino, R. (1975). The Philippines: A Past Revisited. Tala Publishing Services.

David, R. C. (2004). Nation, Self, and Citizenship: An Invitation to Philippine Sociology. University of the Philippines Press.

Ileto, R. C. (1979). Pasyon and Revolution: Popular Movements in the Philippines, 1840–1910. Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Mendoza, S. L. (2002). Between the Homeland and the Diaspora: The Politics of Theorizing Filipino and Filipino American Identities. Routledge.

Morada, N. M. & Tadem, T. S. E.(Eds.). (2006). Philippine Politics and Governance: An Introduction. University of the Philippines Open University.

Featured image: Voting lines in Mabalacat during the 2013 elections (CC0)

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Australia, in keeping with its penal history, has a long record of paranoid officialdom and paternalistic wowsers. Be it perceived threats to morality, the tendency of the populace to be corrupted, and a general, gnawing fear about what knowledge might do, Australia’s governing authorities have prized censorship.

This recent trend is most conspicuous in an ongoing regulatory war being waged against the Internet and the corporate citizens that inhabit it. Terrified that Australia’s tender children will suffer ruination at the hand of online platforms, the entire population of the country will be subjected to age verification checks. Preparations are already underway in the country to impose a social media ban for users under the age of 16, ostensibly to protect the mental health and wellbeing of children. The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 was passed in November last year to amend the Online Safety Act 2021, requiring “age-restricted social media platforms” to observe a “minimum age obligation” to prevent Australians under the age of 16 to have accounts. It also vests that ghastly office of the eSafety Commissioner and the Information Commissioner with powers to seek information regarding relevant compliance by the platforms, along with the power to issue and publish notices of non-compliance.

While the press were falling over to note the significance of such changes, little debate has accompanied the last month’s registration of a new industry code by the eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant. In fact, Inman Grant is proving most busy, having already registered three such codes, with a further six to be registered by the end of this year. All serve to target the behaviour of internet service companies in Australia. All have not been subject to parliamentary debate, let alone broader public consultation.

Inman Grant has been less than forthcoming about the implications of these codes, most notably on the issue of mandatory age-assurance limits.  That said, some crumbs have been left for those paying attention to her innate obsession with hiving off the Internet from Australian users. In her address to the National Press Club in Canberra on June 24, she did give some clue about where the country is heading:

“Today, I am […] announcing that through the Online Safety Act’s codes and standards framework, we will be moving to register three industry-prepared codes designed to limit children’s access to high impact, harmful material like pornography, violent content, themes of suicide, self-harm and disordered eating.” 

(Is there no limit to this commissar’s fears?) Under such codes, companies would “agree to apply safety measures up and down the technology stack – including age assurance protections.”

With messianic fervour, Inman Grant explained that the codes would “serve as a bulwark and operate in concern with the new social media age limits, distributing more responsibility and accountability across eight sectors of the tech industry.” These would also not be limited in scope, applicable to enterprise hosting services, internet carriage services, and various “access providers and search engines. I have concluded that each of these codes provides appropriate community safeguards.”

From December 27, such technology giants as Google and Microsoft will have to use age-assurance technology for account holders when they sign in and “apply tools and/or settings, like ‘safe search’ functionality, at the highest safety setting by default for an account holders its age verification systems indicate is likely to be an Australian child, designed to protect and prevent Australian children from accessing or being exposed to online pornography and high impact violence material in search results.” This is pursuant to Schedule 3 – Internet Search Engine Services Online Safety Code (Class 1C and Class 2 Material).

How this will be undertaken has not, as yet, been clarified by Google or Microsoft. The companies have, however, been in the business of trialling a number of technologies. These include Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) cryptography, which permits people to prove that an aspect of themselves is true without surrendering any other data; using large language models (LLMs) to discern an account holder’s age based on browsing history; or the use of selfie verification and government ID tools.

Specialists in the field of information technology have been left baffled and worried. “I have not seen anything like this anywhere else in the world,” remarks IT researcher Lisa Given. This had “kind of popped out, seemingly out of the blue.” Digital Rights Watch chair, Lizzie O’Shea, is of the view that “the public deserves more of a say in how to balance these important human rights issues” while Justin Warren, founder of the tech analysis company PivotNine, sees it as “a massive overreaction after years of police inaction to curtail the power of a handful of large foreign technology companies.”

Then comes the issue of efficacy. Using the safety of children in censoring content and restricting technology is a government favourite. Whether the regulations actually protect children is quite another matter. John Pane, chair of Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA), was less than impressed by the results from a recent age-assurance technology trial conducted to examine the effect of the teen social media ban. And all of this cannot ignore the innovative guile of young users, ever ready to circumvent any imposed restrictions.

Inman Grant, in her attempts to limit the use of the Internet and infantilise the population, sees these age restricting measures as “building a culture of online safety, using multiple interventions – just as we have done so successfully on our beaches.” This nonsensical analogy excludes the central theme of her policies, common to all censors in history: The people are not to be trusted, and paternalistic governors and regulators know better.

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Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge.  He currently lectures at RMIT University.  He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). Email: [email protected]

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A packed-out public meeting on Gadigal Country/Sydney on July 26 — organised by Marrickville Peace Group and supported by Sydney Anti-AUKUS Coalition (SAAC) and the Movement against AUKUS and War in Marrickville — called for AUKUS to be cancelled because it makes war on China a greater risk, while making Australia more complicit in United States-led war crimes and genocide.

The meeting was held metres away from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s electorate office.

Gem Romuld, from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, warned that AUKUS poses serious threats to First Nations rights, to the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty and Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which Australia has signed.

Wanning Sun, professor of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), spoke about how the media had primed the public to be fearful of China. She said this was why there had been little pushback against AUKUS until now.

Polling by the Australia-China Relations Institute at UTS had found that “four out of 10 Australians surveyed believed that Chinese Australians can be mobilised by the Chinese Communist Party”.

The Chinese community was terrified at the prospect of mass internment, should such a war eventuate, Sun added.

Greens NSW Senator David Shoebridge said that polls showed that the public was turning against the military deal, which further embeds Australia into the US war machine.

Marcus Strom, from Labor Against War, said that “more than 100 [Labor] party units had passed resolutions opposing AUKUS”. Strom added that even the defence department has admitted that there is no threat of a Chinese invasion of Australia.

“We should fight against the manufactured idea that there is an invasion coming from China and that we will be in any way safer because of AUKUS,” said Shoebridge. “All that AUKUS does is make war more likely. The idea that you ‘arm for peace’ and build $375 billion worth of weapons is an obscenity and we should push against it.

“The idea that there is some inevitable war with China is an obscenity and we should … reject it when we see it from our politicians and our major media.

“Indeed, if there is a risk to us from a conflict with China, it only comes about because of AUKUS. And because we are building a nuclear submarine attack base, aimed at China, off Fremantle. It comes about because we have Pine Gap and we have the North West Cape and we have [US] Marines pre-positioned in Darwin and we have nuclear-capable B52 bombers — designed to be used in a war on China — on our soil.”

Peter Murphy, from SAAC, proposed activists discuss a mass protest cavalcade to the US bases in Pine Gap and Tindal in the Northern Territory.

Other speakers at the public meeting were: Nick Deane (Marrickville Peace Group) and Alison Broinowski (Australians for War Powers Reform). The meeting was moderated by Pip Hinman from SAAC.

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Featured image: Professor Wanning Sun addressing the public meeting on why AUKUS must be scrapped, July 26. Photo: Peter Boyle

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Japan’s embassy in Laos and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a rare and unusually direct advisory, warning Japanese men against “buying sex from children” in Laos.

The move was sparked by Ayako Iwatake, a restaurant owner in Vientiane, who allegedly saw social media posts of Japanese men bragging about child prostitution. In response, she launched a petition calling for government action.

The Japanese-language bulletin makes clear such conduct is prosecutable under both Laotian law and Japan’s child prostitution and pornography law, which applies extraterritorially.

This diplomatic statement was not only a legal warning. It was a rare public acknowledgement of Japanese men’s alleged entanglement in transnational child sex tourism, particularly in Southeast Asia.

It’s also a moment that demands we look beyond individual criminal acts or any one nation and consider the historical, racial and structural inequalities that make such mobility and exploitation possible.

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Read on X

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A Changing Map of Exploitation

Selling and buying sex in Asia is nothing new. The contours have shifted over time but the underlying sentiment has remained constant: some lives are cheap and commodified, and some wallets are deep and entitled.

Japan’s involvement in overseas prostitution stretches back to the Meiji period (1868-1912). Young women from impoverished rural regions (known as karayuki-san) migrated abroad, often to Southeast Asia, to work in the sex industry, from port towns in Malaya to brothels in China and the Pacific Islands.

If poverty once pushed Japanese women abroad to sell their bodies, by the second half of the 20th century – fuelled by Japan’s postwar economic boom – it was wealthy Japanese men who began travelling overseas to buy sex.

Around the 2000s, the dynamic flipped again. In South Korea, now a developed economy, men travelled to Southeast Asia – and later to countries such as Russia and Uzbekistan – following routes once taken by Japanese men.

Later in the same period, the flow took an even darker turn.

Japanese and South Korean men began to emerge as major buyers of child sex abroad, particularly across Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands and even Mongolia.

According to the United States Department of State, Japanese men continued to be “a significant source of demand for sex tourism”, while South Korean men remained “a source of demand for child sex tourism”.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime and other organisations have also flagged both countries as key contributors to child sexual exploitation in the region.

From Exporter to Destination: Japan’s New Role in the Sex Trade

A more recent and troubling shift appears to be unfolding within Japan.

Amid ongoing economic stagnation and the depreciation of the yen, Tokyo has reportedly become a destination for inbound sex tourism. Youth protection organisations have observed a notable rise in foreign male clients, particularly Chinese, frequenting areas where teenage girls and young women engage in survival sex.

What ties these movements together is not just culturally specific beliefs, such as the fetishisation of virginity or the superstition that sex with young girls brings good luck in business, but power.

The Battle to Protect Children

The global campaign to end child sex tourism began in earnest with the founding of ECPAT (a global network of organisations that seeks to end the sexual exploitation of children) in 1990 to confront the rising exploitation of children in Southeast Asia.

See this.

Despite legal frameworks and international scrutiny, the abuse of children remains disturbingly common.

Several factors converge here: endemic poverty, weak law enforcement and a constant influx of wealthier foreign men. Add to that the digital age of information and communication technologies, where child sex can be advertised, arranged and commodified through encrypted platforms and invitation-only forums, and the crisis deepens.

While local governments often pledge reform, implementation is inconsistent.

Buyers, especially foreign buyers, often manage to evade consequences. However, in early 2025, Japan’s National Police Agency arrested 111 people – including high school teachers and tutors – in a nationwide crackdown on online child sexual exploitation, conducted in coordination with international partners.

Why This Moment Matters

The shock surrounding the Laos revelations and the unusually direct response from Japanese authorities offers a rare opportunity to confront the deeper systems at work.

Sex tourism doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s enabled by uneven development, transnational mobility, weak regulation and social silence. But this moment also shows grassroots activism can force institutional action.

Japan’s official warning wasn’t triggered by a government audit or diplomatic scandal. It came because Ayako Iwatake saw social media posts of Japanese men boasting about buying sex from children and refused to look away.

When she delivered the petition to the embassy, it responded quickly. Less than ten days later, the Foreign Ministry issued a public warning, clearly outlining the legal consequences of child sex crimes committed abroad.

Iwatake’s action is a reminder: it doesn’t take a government to expose a system. It takes someone willing to speak out – even when it’s uncomfortable. As she told Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun:

It was just too blatant. I couldn’t look the other way.

It’s commendable that Japan acted swiftly. But a warning alone isn’t enough. Japan should strengthen and expand its international cooperation to combat these heinous crimes.

A more decisive model can be seen in a recent case in Vietnam, where US authorities infiltrated a livestream child sex abuse network for the first time in that country. Working undercover for months, they coordinated with Vietnamese officials to arrest a mother who had been sexually abusing her daughter on demand for paying viewers abroad.

The rescue of the nine-year-old victim showed what serious cross-border intervention looks like.

But for every headline-grabbing scandal, there are hundreds of untold stories.

The Laos case should be the beginning of a broader reckoning with how sex, money and power move across borders – and who pays the price.

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Ming Gao, Research Fellow of East Asia Studies, Lund University

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Bundelkhand region is spread over 14 districts of central India, evenly divided between the two states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. 

This region has often been in news due to distress of farmers and migrant workers. In this context early notice should be taken of the significant harm suffered by many farmers recently due to excessive prolonged rain in June and July making it difficult to sow kharif season crops of oilseeds (such as groundnuts and sesame) and pulses like urad and moong (black gram and green gram). Keeping in view the distress and extreme stress suffered by farmers here in the past, it’ll be proper for the administration to respond to the emerging distress conditions with a many-sided program which includes significant help to the affected farmers as well as community actions to provide counselling and immediate relief to farmers who show signs of stress.

One of the most senior social activists of this region, Gopal Bhai of Chitrakut, said,

“Mostly the harm is to pulse and oilseed crops, but in a few cases the paddy crop has also suffered harm. Vegetable crops planted close to rivers and streams have suffered extensive harm. If farmers can get timely compensation and with government help can prepare well for the next season rabi crop then still the deteriorating conditions can be salvaged.”

Arunodaya Sansthaan, a voluntary organization active in Mahoba district and neighboring areas to spread natural farming, has conducted a preliminary quick survey on the harm suffered by farmers. This survey’s findings show that the greenery spread in many villages can be very deceptive and once you talk to villagers they tell about very distressing conditions. Kapuri Devi heads a single woman household which has 8 members. She had high hopes from her groundnut crop as the initial high rainfall had given high hopes, but then with continuing rain the crop she had sown was ruined. Not one to give up hope easily, she planted the crop a second time but when this too was ruined by further excessive rain, she was shattered. Whatever money she had has been spent in the course of planting this crop twice. Due to absence of other means of earnings, she faces a very uncertain future. Another small farmer, Suresh Patel has lost the black gram and green gram crops he had planted with high hopes. It is farmers such as these who are in urgent need of help.

This survey reveals that as the rains started this time earlier than expected in June, the hopes of farmers were high and they took to planting their crops with a lot of enthusiasm. In terms of understanding their distress and stress, it is important to know that just a few weeks earlier they had been in high hopes and enthusiasm.

Estimates of rainfall in June and July for the entire Bundelkhand region reveal higher than normal rainfall almost everywhere but in some parts this is very excessively so. It is in these parts that reports of several houses being damaged and villages close to rivers being flooded have also been received. Vegetables grown close to rivers have also been harmed badly. Some communities are known for depending mainly on this kind of cultivation close to rivers. They have suffered big damage.

A large number of migrant workers are known to resort to distress migration from Bundelkhand region. The number of migrant workers can increase both due to the loss of crops suffered by farmers as well as availability of less farm work to landless rural workers. Hence the government should also take steps to reduce the possibilities of migrant workers getting trapped in exploitative working conditions including debt bondage. The labor department and officials should also be more vigilant.

Conditions in villages can improve by providing extra work under rural employment scheme MG-NREGA along with ensuring that wages under this scheme are paid promptly. When wages are delayed for a long time or when there are other problems in implementing NREGA, then its capacity to provide immediate relief is badly affected. Keeping in view the distress conditions, wage payments should be very prompt.

Debt relief to farmers should be provided and there should be exemption from loan recoveries at a time of increasing distress. This together with improving arrangements for better crop in the next rabi season will help to reduce distress and stress of farmers.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Saving Earth for Children, Man over Machine, A Day in 2071 and India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

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From diplomatic embarrassment to the brink of war, Thailand has demonstrated a troubling contempt for international norms and regional stability. Its reaction to the May 28 border clash is less about national security than political survival. With a fractured government losing its grip and a military emboldened by surging nationalism, war offers a convenient distraction—and, for some in power, a strategic opportunity.

Why would Thailand risk open conflict now, amid such domestic volatility? The answer lies in a pattern of deliberate actions that suggest escalation by design—not accident.

On June 15, Cambodia turned to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after bilateral talks through the Joint Boundary Commission repeatedly collapsed. Thailand immediately rejected the ICJ’s jurisdiction, insisting on direct negotiations—an approach that sidesteps third-party oversight and echoes past failures to assert its territorial claims on legal grounds.

Then came the ceasefire farce. On July 24, Thailand initially agreed to a truce proposed by the ASEAN Chair and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Just one hour later, Bangkok abruptly backed out, claiming it needed “more time.” The timing was suspect—and so was the explanation.

Shortly afterward, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra posted a statement on social media that raised eyebrows and tempers:

“Many countries are concerned about the fighting situation between Thailand and Cambodia and have offered to help mediate. So I thanked everyone, but I asked for some time—because I have to let the Thai military teach him a lesson for his cunningness.”

The reference to “him” was widely interpreted as a personal jab at Cambodia’s leadership. Coming from Thaksin—whose influence still shapes Thailand’s political landscape—and given the close ties between Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and the Shinawatra family, the suggestion was unmistakable: this may not be a war of states, but of vendettas. Critics within Thailand are already asking whether this is a conflict between rival dynasties, not sovereign nations. If so, it is ordinary citizens and soldiers who will pay the price.

Thailand’s behavior has revealed the stark gap between its stated desire for peace and its actions on the ground. On July 23, Bangkok expelled Cambodian diplomats, downgraded relations, and urged Thai nationals to flee Cambodia—a dramatic move typically reserved for imminent conflict. The next day, Thai forces launched a coordinated strike, including F-16 fighter jets. Calling this a defensive act stretches plausibility. These were not panicked maneuvers; they were precision operations—prepared in advance and executed with chilling efficiency.

The insistence on bilateralism, far from being a sign of diplomatic good faith, has become a shield against accountability. Inside Thailand, the government is under siege—politically and literally. Martial law was declared in the border provinces on July 25, handing sweeping powers to the military. By July 26, even as U.S. President Donald Trump called for peace talks and offered to mediate, Thailand escalated its offensive. Cambodia welcomed negotiations; Thailand continued bombing.

This disconnect speaks volumes. Civilian leaders say one thing. The military does another.

In truth, this war serves two purposes: for the Shinawatra-aligned government, it’s payback for past diplomatic defeats; for the military, it’s a chance to consolidate power behind a nationalist banner. What unites them is not strategy—but self-interest. And what suffers, once again, is peace.

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This article was originally published on Cambodianess.

Pach Pagnavorn is a social advocate and honors graduate at the Institute for International Studies and Public Policy.

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In an unprecedented move that has rocked the Philippine political and legal establishment, the Supreme Court has struck down the impeachment case filed by the House of Representatives against Vice President Sara Duterte. The case, which was constitutionally mandated to proceed to the Senate for trial, has been dismissed on the grounds of “procedural infringements” committed by the lower chamber.

Legal scholars and democracy advocates have swiftly denounced the Court’s action as a grave violation of the 1987 Constitution raising alarms over the judiciary’s role in dismantling one of the last remaining tools of accountability in Philippine governance.

A Constitutional Breach Disguised as Oversight

The Philippine Constitution clearly lays out the impeachment process: the House of Representatives initiates proceedings, and the Senate sits as the impeachment court. Nowhere does the Constitution authorize the judiciary to intervene in the legislative branch’s internal deliberations on impeachment.

Yet, the Supreme Court acting with surprising speed nullified the complaint and cast doubt on the integrity of the House’s approval process. The justices declared that lawmakers committed unspecified “infringements,” but offered few details, leaving constitutional experts questioning the legal foundation of the ruling.

Obviously, this judicial overreach is at its most dangerous. It signals a willingness by the Court to encroach on powers reserved for Congress and a direct assault on the separation of powers.

The Shadow of Duterte Power

Though former President Rodrigo Duterte is now in detention at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, his family’s political influence remains deeply entrenched in Philippine institutions. Vice President Sara Duterte, his daughter, continues to wield immense political clout and benefits from the protective structures built during her father’s administration.

The Supreme Court’s decision to quash her impeachment is widely viewed as more than just a legal judgment but a political maneuver. By effectively shielding her from facing trial, the judiciary is seen as enabling the continuity of Duterte-style politics, even in the absence of the patriarch.

This ruling proves that not even the highest tribunal in the land is immune from Duterte’s legacy of impunity,” commented a constitutional law expert and democracy advocate. “It’s a betrayal of democratic principles and a capitulation to dynastic power.”

A Judiciary in Crisis

The ruling does more than spare one political figure; it weakens an entire branch of government. The legislative body’s constitutional role has been neutered. Public trust in the Supreme Court which has already been strained by previous controversial decisions may now be irreparably damaged.

By nullifying the impeachment process at such an early stage, the judiciary has created a dangerous precedent: that it can unilaterally determine the validity of political processes that lie outside its constitutional scope. The consequences are profound.

“This isn’t just about Sara Duterte,” said a prominent political analyst. “It’s about the erosion of our democratic checks and balances. If the Court can override impeachment, what’s next?”

Calls for Accountability, Yet Little Hope

Civil society groups and lawmakers are calling for accountability. Some are even demanding an investigation into the justices who voted to strike down the case, though how such oversight would be conducted remains unclear, given the lack of mechanisms to check the Supreme Court itself.

Others are urging constitutional reforms to redefine the limits of judicial power and strengthen the independence of all branches of government. But in a political environment where dynastic interests remain dominant, these calls may fall on deaf ears.

For many Filipinos, this moment confirms a long-standing fear: that their democracy is being systematically dismantled from within.

The Bigger Picture: A Nation in Decline

This ruling is not just a legal controversy but a political and moral indictment of the system as a whole. Even with Rodrigo Duterte behind bars in The Hague, his legacy of fear, impunity, and authoritarianism lingers.

A system that allows the judiciary to protect power instead of the Constitution is one where democracy is but a façade. The Supreme Court’s complicity in this episode represents not just a failure of jurisprudence but a collapse of integrity at the highest levels.

Until systemic reforms are enacted and until institutions truly serve the people rather than protect the powerful, the Philippines will remain trapped in a cycle of elite impunity and democratic backsliding.

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Prof. Ruel F. Pepa is a Filipino philosopher based in Madrid, Spain. A retired academic (Associate Professor IV), he taught Philosophy and Social Sciences for more than fifteen years at Trinity University of Asia, an Anglican university in the Philippines. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

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Several rural health initiatives may work at a relatively small scale, but due to being in continuing contact with people particularly those from weaker sections, they develop a better understanding of the health needs of people as well as a deep commitment to meeting these needs in satisfactory ways. Hence it is important for policy makers to maintain close contact with these grassroot initiatives and their activists.

Dr. Samit Sharma as the collector, or chief government functionary, of Chittorgarh district (Rajasthan), recognized this very well. He was convinced that patients can benefit a lot if instead of procuring expensive branded medicines the government can procure much cheaper generic medicines. While going ahead with this effort, he decided to obtain the assistance of Prayas voluntary organization which had been providing health services in this district and nearby areas for several years.

Dr. Narendra Gupta, the founder of Prayas, had also been involved in state and national-level health campaigns. He had special expertise in issues relating to making available quality medicines at lower costs. In addition, he was in regular contact with those working at the national level on these issues, apart from having a firm grasp of the medicine needs of local people.

This understanding and knowledge base of Prayas proved to be very useful in the success of this effort in procuring and making available generic medicines in government hospitals of this district.

This effort was recognized at higher levels in the form of an excellence in civil service award for the collector. While the effort could not be sustained after he left for another position, Dr. Gupta continued his efforts for reducing out of pocket health expenses of people and he prepared several fact sheets that could be helpful for policy reform in this direction.

This preparation proved very helpful at a time when pre-budget consultations were being made by the Rajasthan state government and Dr. Gupta could come up with the suggestion of free supply of medicines in all government hospitals in the state. While the government led by Chief minister Ashok Gehlot was very enthused about the idea, there was concern whether the government had adequate budget for this. It was at this stage that the detailed work Dr. Gupta had done earlier on this subject came in handy and he could not only assert strongly but also convince others including those at higher levels in the state government that if suitable cautionary steps are taken (such as those relating to avoiding unnecessarily high budget in procuring branded medicines when equally effective generic alternatives are available), then it is possible to provide free medicines at government hospitals without adding in any big way to the overall budget available for medicines. In other words, Dr. Gupta along with his team-members like Chhaya Pachauli (the present director of Prayas) could make a strong case that the idea of free medicines in government hospitals was not only highly desirable but also affordable for the government authorities.

This initiative also got a lot of appreciation at the national level, and Prayas members like Narendra Gupta and Chhaya Pachauli continued to work for its success. Millions of patients and their family members have already benefited from this in terms of significantly reduced costs of treatment and care. 

Subsequently it was decided to take this initiative one step further for much more comprehensive free health care by passing a right to health legislation in Rajasthan in 2022. Powerful interests tried to stop this, but finally the then Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot went ahead with this. The Prayas team extended valuable effort, along with some state-level and national health campaigns including Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA). 

However, when later the implementation of this law was delayed, Dr. Narendra Gupta continued to persist with legal efforts at securing early implementation. In addition, he also sought to use the right to information law to create conditions for early implementation.

The same persistence and determination has also been visible in the pursuit of justice for women who had been victims of unnecessary hysterectomies. Following reports of such unrequired hysterectomies in Dausa area in Rajasthan, Dr. Gupta and team members investigated these and called for national level consultation on this issue which has harmed the health of a very large number of women in the country. When this was confirmed in the wider consultations particularly in the context of three states (but also elsewhere) Dr. Gupta took this matter to the Supreme Court of India where the case languished for some years. However, recognizing its importance Justice Chandrachud held several hearings, and finally in a judgement in 2023 the Supreme Court issued wide-ranging directions to reduce and if possible eliminate the highly tragic and unethical practice of carrying out unnecessary hysterectomies.

The Bar Association of the Delhi High Court recognized this contribution of Dr. Narendra Gupta to this issue with the Fight4Justice Award for 2023.

At the time of my recent visit to the work-area of Prayas, I found Dr. Gupta still very engrossed in contacting state governments to prevent unnecessary hysterectomies.

Earlier Prayas had shown similar high commitment in meeting the health needs of about 60 villages under a mobile health program. This included check-ups, providing treatment for several ailments and referring more serious patients to government hospitals. Dialogues on health issues or jan sanvads were organized to assert right to health-related concerns.

In more recent times, Prayas has been more engaged in ensuring that people in these villages are better able to utilize the various government schemes and services. As Vijay Pal, a member of the Prayas team based in Devgarh village says,

“Sometimes to a very important extent health access can increase if people are well-informed and prepared regarding the procedures and papers needed, regarding their rights and the availability of various schemes and services.”

Prayas also helps the overall health effort by screening rural population of its work area regarding the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension. As Goverdhan, who has been closely involved with the health efforts of Prayas says,

“In the course of these efforts it was revealed that quite a few persons have been affected by paralysis attack and taking care of them has become an important issue for several households.”

Linking its local and wider concerns, Prayas has been involved in organizing several important consultations on health issues and bringing out several important publications  relating to these.

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While promotion and improvement of education in remote rural areas has been taken up by several NGOs, a special aspect of the efforts of Prayas voluntary organization has been that over more than four decades of its efforts in South Rajasthan (more particularly in Chittorgarh and Pratapgarh districts), a special effort was made to integrate the promotion of education with concerns of social justice.

A significant example of this is a center for the education of adolescent girls called Aadharshila (AS) located in Bhadesar area of Chittorgarh district. This provides residential facilities for about 60 girls from weaker sections (particularly tribal, dalit and OBC communities) who lack the means for supporting education and/or where girls have lagged behind in education due to adverse conditions at home. AS, supported by Prayas, provides conducive conditions in which about 60 girls can learn together to catch up with their studies and also prepare for higher education, while also attending regular school. Thus, even girls who have come here with almost no educational skills are often able to make up adequately for lost time to complete school education and also start college.

Thus, two students here named Puja and Tanu have started college education. They stated clearly and strongly that there was no chance at all of them entering college if they had not come to AS.

Suman, coordinator of AS, has also been involved in wider mobilization efforts of dalit and tribal communities, and once suffered injuries when she and other activists were beaten up by powerful persons. She says, “Aadharshila was started by Khemraj Ji (a famous social activist and also a former director of Prayas) as he had a wider vision that without the education of girls and women stable and sustainable progress of weaker section communities is not possible. Here while girls go to regular school, daylong efforts to improve their educational skills and also to involve them in extracurricular activities are made. Their confidence levels have significantly increased and they have won praise even in big cities like Bhopal and Delhi for their plays and songs. They have also won sports prizes.”

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Child marriage or marriage at an early age has been a persistent social problem of this region. Dr. Narendra Gupta, founder of Prayas says, “Promoting education of girls is the best way of reducing child marriage. If all girls are able to complete school, child marriage will certainly come down in a big way.”

Keeping in view these wider objectives age requirements at AS can be relaxed to accommodate students who have more pressing needs. One of these whom we can call S was a rape victim. After rape she was thrown by the rapists on a railway track where she lost her legs. Despite this extreme shock and disability, she found the strength to continue her education with the help of AS. A visiting journalist from Germany helped to construct a room for her. She is so courageous that she even offers help to others. Suman says, “In her specially designed scooter she sometimes offered to take me to her village.” AS can be an important place where such courageous girls can always find help in times of distress.

Although AS is mainly meant to help children from weaker social sections, when a cancer patient from a better placed section of society approached AS for helping in the education of his two daughters, AS agreed to help him promptly and now these girls are well placed on the path of higher education.

At the time of my recent visit to the AS campus, the students here were enacting a play which gives a strong message regarding the justice and equality aspects of the constitution of India. The songs they sang were also full of commitment to justice.

In fact, this integration with justice aspects has always been an important aspect of the educational efforts of Prayas. While starting its work in the late seventies and early eighties with the poorest sections in villages with very high rates of illiteracy, Prayas initiated adult literacy classes in several of these villages. Keeping in view the wider concerns of Prayas, immediate justice-based concerns and urgent needs and priorities of villagers also became an important subject of discussion in these classes.

To the credit of several senior government officials, they were supportive towards this justice orientation. One of these officials Anil Bordia, who later became the most senior educational officer in the country, was willing to go out of his way to be very helpful.

In several remote villages there were no schools at that time. It was Prayas which started the first schools here. These later became the base where the government later established its regular schools.

Ganga Ram is one of those children who attended a Prayas school and who has grown up to become an activist youth. He says, “There was no regular school but Prayas people like Narendra Gupta and Preeti Oja were coming to our villages to provide hope. Without the school they started in our village, I would not have been educated.”

Narendra Gupta adds, “It is nice to find that many of those villagers from the poorest sections who got their first educational exposure in various centers of Prayas could later get such employment opportunities which brought them into or close to the middle class.” 

This is the more obvious gain, but there are also wider social gains from the linkages the educational efforts here established with justice concerns. This can be seen in the wider mobilization efforts for justice which have continued, sporadically or with continuity, in several of these villages.

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Dheera Ram Kapaya was raised in such a poor family that even when he could not join school himself, he used to carry another boy’s heavy school bag for five km just to get a scoop of daliya (porridge). Belatedly when he could start his school, he had to leave after class five and join other adolescent workers. However as soon as he got some opportunities, he joined community efforts for forest protection, adult literacy and other constructive work. In the course his hidden talents for writing also emerged and he became known for the songs and street play scripts he wrote for forest protection, for preventing child marriages and for taking forward other social reforms.

Bhurki Bai could never go to school and after an early marriage being imposed on her, she was the mother to four children at the age of 19. Then an accident disabled her husband for life. It was in the middle of such seemingly unsurmountable difficulties that Bhurki somehow clutched at the few opportunities that had suddenly appeared in her remote village in the form of a self-help group. At times carrying her youngest child to meetings, she emerged in a leadership role in the village, first mobilizing women for repairing an irrigation source and then for protecting a pasture and planting trees.

When Devi Lal lost his father at the age of 12 years, this was also the time he had to leave school as he accompanied his mother and sister to work in a city to toil at a wage of Rupees 10 per day. However making use of some opportunities back in village, Devi Lal could emerge in leadership roles to protect pastures and lead struggles for forest produce rights.

Uday Lal Suthar had to go to toil in cities as a teenager on a more permanent basis, moving finally to Mumbai where in later years he could set up a carpentry business. On a visit to his village he attended a meeting where he appeared to find his true calling in protecting forests and pastures. Devoting himself to this work, he courageously fought battles against influential outsiders who were encroaching on community forest and pasture land.

What is common to all these four inspiring stories concerning persons with potential leadership talent for taking forward social concerns is that many difficulties were keeping them tied down, but as soon as they got some opportunities they made full use of these to realize their so-far hidden potential. How did these opportunities arise? The other common link in these stories is that such opportunities arose in these villages of Udaipur district (Rajasthan) because of the various constructive activities taken up by a voluntary organization Seva Mandir. Whether this was in the form of a center for adult literacy or the organization of a self-help group of women or the starting of a campaign to protect village commons including community forests and pastures, these various activities, apart from achieving other desirable results, provided an entry or contact point for those with a lot of pent-up desire as well as talent for various kinds of community welfare and protection work, with special emphasis on protecting and regenerating degraded forests and pastures.

What further helped the emergence of these community leaders was the understanding and solidarity shown by various members of the Seva Mandir family in helping and encouraging these emerging grassroots leaders, so that adequate opportunities could be opened up and at the same time a helping hand was always available in difficult times, such as at the time of struggles against powerful encroachers and forest produce smugglers.

Ten such inspirational stories of community leaders who overcame very heavy odds to become saviors of forests and pastures at the grassroots have been related in such a compelling way in a recent book titled ‘Being Earth—Portraits of Militant Nonviolence’ by the author Amrita Nandy, a senior academic, that this book is full of important learning experiences while at the same time reading like very interesting personal stories. Each one of the ten community leaders covered in this book lives on in our memory for a long time as we keep thinking about their eventful life, the challenges they faced and how they overcame them with grit, determination, patience and wisdom.

A note on the work of Seva Mandir by Narendra Jain and Ronak Shah provides a wider framework in which these inspiring stories can be better understood. A thought-provoking foreword written by Suraj Jacob provides valuable insights and also places these experiences in the broader framework of several development debates and concepts. One of his interesting observations relates to seeing these experiences as a combination of struggles (sangharsh) and various kinds of constructive work (nirman). Jacob also recalls the emphasis on combining ‘sangharsh’ aur (and) ‘nirman’ in the course of the inspirational work of the great leader of workers Shankar Guha Niyogi and, in fact, the combination goes back to the days of Mahatma Gandhi’s efforts, which too are recalled by Jacob as an inspiration source for the efforts and initiatives described in this book.

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There are many talented children with great enthusiasm for studying who cannot continue their education due to economic compulsions of their families. There are many others who somehow manage to continue education but their achievements are affected very adversely due to the severe economic constraints faced by them and their families.

A thoughtful and caring effort called the Udayan Shalini Fellowship Program (USFP) has been trying for several years to help thousands of talented girl students facing difficulties to continue their education and improve their performance in 38 locations in various parts of India. This program has been taken forward by Udayan Care, a Delhi-based voluntary organization. A recent review of Udaipur chapter of this program based on conversations with closely involved volunteers and coordinator brought out several heartwarming achievements of this initiative, achieved within a relatively short time and made possible by the close involvement of several dedicated volunteers and mentors.

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Udayan Care makes available a monthly scholarship to carefully selected girl students of class eleven of several government schools who are selected on the basis of two basic criteria. Firstly, they must be hard-working and sincere students as also revealed in their performance so far. Secondly, they must be from a social or family background in which difficult conditions become a serious problem either for continuing education or for achieving good results in higher education.

The local coordinator of the program Chandani Mali visits several government schools to spread awareness regarding the program and to encourage girl students to apply. Then several volunteers, some of them closely involved with educational work in various capacities, help to make a selection on the basis of a written test, interview and home visits. Visiting homes helps the volunteers to establish a rapport with parents so that they too can be convinced of the desirability of continuing education of the student, while at the same time those most in need of this help and support can be identified in more convincing ways.

Most of the students selected on this basis belong to ST/SC/OBC/Minority communities, but some are also from those general category households who are facing exceptionally difficult circumstances, including sometimes early death of the main breadwinner of the family.

While the selected students get a scholarship of Rupees one thousand per month in class eleven and twelve, this amount is increased somewhat during the post-school years, and there is some provision also for meeting extra expenses in case of any special need as in the case of professional courses. The economic support continues generally for five years, and emphasis is placed on ensuring that the student is ready and well-equipped for reasonably good employment prospects by the time this support period ends.

Towards this end several volunteers are associated with this program as mentors and they guide the selected students in various ways such as guidance regarding employment and career choices and the kind of educational courses that would be most helpful in this. Sometimes the mentoring part of this program proves even more beneficial for the students compared to the economic support. Veenu Gupta, a former additional chief secretary of Rajasthan who looks after the Rajasthan chapters of USFP, says, “ There are many scholarship schemes, but what makes this special is the strong mentoring effort which has proved useful for the girls.”

A core committee of volunteers from Udaipur has been created. They as well as mentors are active in providing these students several opportunities for improving language and public speaking skills. In particular some students need help for improving their English.

While this pattern is common to most places where the USFP is implemented, the Udaipur unit, despite being a relatively younger unit, has added its own special contributions such as a special summer vacation educational and skill improvement program as well as arranging for the support of additional students using local fund-raising.

Conversations with volunteers, core-team members and the local coordinator revealed that they have reasons to be satisfied with the heartwarming progress of several of these girl students who are continuing their education in very difficult economic conditions. Zuleikha Khatun has excelled in extra-curricular activities, public speaking and has shown several glimpses of emerging leadership qualities.  Deepti Rajput has been able to secure 96% marks in class 12 board exams. Gauri Luhar is preparing for NEET exam after taking a break. Nazneem Banu, who comes from a poor artisan household, has done well in English language and in overall academic performance, scoring 92% marks in arts and humanities branch in board exam.

Veenu Gupta adds, “ Some of the girl students who received this support at another Rajasthan center in Jaipur are now studying for medical, engineering and CA.” While the results of this initiative have been very encouraging, some of the closely involved supporters feel that with the inflation of recent years, the scholarship amount should be increased. Secondly, while selecting students for this, the criteria relating to the academic performance or marks achieved should be relaxed if teachers recommend that some students who could not get the desired marks are otherwise very promising and sincere n their education.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include A Day in 2071, Saving Earth for Children, Man over Machine and Planet in Peril. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

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The Philippines is a country where education is highly valued, at least in theory. Across the archipelago, educational attainment is considered a source of pride, a pathway to success, and a mark of prestige. On paper, the nation appears to be teeming with learned professionals. Among them, tens of thousands hold the title of Doctor of Education (EdD), supposedly signaling a high level of academic achievement and authority in the field of teaching and educational leadership.

Yet, paradoxically, the country’s educational standards remain dismally low. Year after year, the Philippines performs poorly in global assessments such as PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), and other international benchmarks. This contrast between credentialed abundance and educational underperformance raises a pressing question: What, if anything, do these titles and degrees actually signify?

A Flood of EdDs, a Drought of Educational Progress

In the Philippines, the pursuit of doctoral degrees, especially in the field of education, has surged over the past decade. Earning an EdD (Doctor of Education) is no longer the exclusive domain of elite scholars or seasoned educators. Instead, it has become a relatively accessible credential, offered by dozens of universities across the country. Many of these institutions, often regarded as second- or even third-tier, aggressively market their programs as gateways to professional advancement, prestige, and higher salaries. The pitch is simple and compelling: earn the title “Doctor,” and unlock promotions, leadership roles, and societal respect.

With demand steadily growing, the supply chain of degrees has adapted efficiently. Weekend classes, modular learning, and online components make it easier than ever for working professionals to enroll. Program structures are designed for convenience, not necessarily for academic rigor. The result is a fast-track pipeline churning out EdD holders at an unprecedented rate.

However, this rapid proliferation of education doctorates has not translated into meaningful improvements in the country’s educational outcomes. Rather than acting as catalysts for innovation, reform, or research-driven practice, many EdD graduates find themselves ensconced in bureaucratic or administrative roles that have little influence on classroom instruction, curriculum design, or teacher training. Their presence does little to challenge outdated pedagogies or policy stagnation. In many cases, the degree serves primarily as a decorative badge, i.e., an academic ornament more than a transformative qualification.

This disconnect stems not only from how the degree is used, but from how it is conferred. A closer examination of many EdD programs reveals systemic flaws. Curricula are often overloaded with abstract theoretical frameworks, with scant attention given to current issues in pedagogy, data analysis, or educational leadership. Admission standards have been lowered to accommodate the influx of enrollees, mentorship is frequently superficial or absent, and there is little to no institutional pressure to produce research that could inform national or local education policy. Where dissertations exist, they are often formulaic, under-researched, and rarely disseminated or published in credible journals.

In effect, the Philippine education system is witnessing the emergence of a credentialed elite that lacks both the training and the incentive to drive educational change. This is not just a missed opportunity but a troubling trend. The purpose of an EdD should be to develop thought leaders, reformers, and innovators in education. Instead, the degree is too often reduced to a career stepping stone devoid of intellectual or social utility.

If the country hopes to raise the quality of its education system, it must critically examine how it prepares its supposed educational leaders. Elevating standards for EdD programs, strengthening research culture, and aligning doctoral training with real-world educational challenges are essential first steps. Without these reforms, the growing number of “doctors” in education will remain little more than a symbol of systemic dysfunction characterized by a flood of titles amid a drought of true progress.

English Proficiency: A National Myth

In the Philippines, fluency in English is often worn as a badge of national pride. From government officials to corporate leaders, there is a prevailing belief that the country’s English-speaking population holds a competitive edge in the global economy. This narrative is embedded in the education system, where English is the medium of instruction in many universities, and reinforced in sectors such as business, law, medicine, and international outsourcing. It is a convenient and comforting notion that Filipinos, by virtue of historical circumstance and cultural adaptation, are naturally adept in the English language.

Yet beneath this self-assured narrative lies a disconcerting reality: the level of actual English proficiency across the population is far less robust than advertised. While many Filipinos possess functional conversational skills, true academic and professional fluency is far more elusive. When placed under scrutiny, the nation’s supposed command of English reveals itself to be patchy, performative, and often inadequate for the demands of serious intellectual or professional engagement.

At the university level especially within graduate and postgraduate programs, this gap becomes especially apparent. Students frequently struggle with the fundamentals of academic writing. Research papers and theses are marred by grammatical errors, vague formulations, poorly developed arguments, and inappropriate use of technical vocabulary. Citations are misapplied, abstracts are confusing, and logical coherence is frequently sacrificed for surface-level formality. In oral defenses and classroom presentations, students often rely on memorized scripts, reading verbatim from slides or cue cards, resulting in stilted, unnatural delivery that lacks spontaneity and depth.

This widespread struggle with English proficiency has far-reaching implications. Academically, it undermines the credibility of scholarship and limits participation in international research communities. Filipino scholars are often sidelined in global conferences or publishing networks, not because of a lack of insight or knowledge, but because of inadequate linguistic tools to express complex ideas persuasively and precisely. Professionally, the issue is just as concerning. Poor command of English in writing and speaking diminishes the effectiveness of communication in multinational workplaces, and by extension, tarnishes the global reputation of Filipino professionals.

Moreover, the problem is not confined to students or young professionals. Many educators themselves who are tasked with teaching in English exhibit limited fluency. Lectures can be riddled with awkward phrasing, mispronunciations, or outright grammatical mistakes. This creates a feedback loop in which both the instruction and assessment of English competence are compromised. Despite the institutional use of English, the depth of engagement with the language often remains superficial.

The crux of the issue lies in the disconnect between exposure and mastery. English is omnipresent in the Philippines on television, in signage, in classrooms but the quality of that exposure is uneven and rarely leads to deep linguistic competence. English is often learned passively, through imitation and code-switching, rather than through rigorous training in grammar, critical thinking, and expression. This creates a veneer of fluency that masks real deficiencies.

If the Philippines is to maintain and genuinely develop its standing as an English-proficient nation, it must first acknowledge the uncomfortable gap between perception and reality. Language proficiency is not a birthright, nor a colonial inheritance to be taken for granted but a skill that demands sustained, structured effort to develop. Reforms must begin with teacher training, curriculum design, and realistic assessments of students’ communicative competence. Without these, the myth of English fluency which is comforting, convenient, but ultimately hollow will continue to persist.

Theses and Dissertations: Academic Dead Ends

One of the most telling indicators of the crisis afflicting Philippine higher education is the dismal state of graduate and postgraduate research. In principle, a thesis or dissertation should stand as the capstone of a scholar’s academic journey, i.e., a rigorous, original contribution to the field that pushes the boundaries of knowledge or provides practical insights into real-world problems. Ideally, it is a work that not only showcases the intellectual maturity of the student but also feeds into the broader academic and professional discourse.

In practice, however, this ideal is rarely realized. Across countless universities in the Philippines particularly outside the country’s top-tier institutions, graduate research has become a mechanical exercise rather than a meaningful intellectual endeavor. Students often choose topics that are either excessively broad, conceptually vague, or strikingly redundant. Many research titles are recycled year after year, altered only slightly to satisfy formal requirements. There is little emphasis on originality, feasibility, or relevance. Instead of pursuing questions that address current social, educational, or scientific issues, students often default to safe, formulaic topics that offer minimal risk and minimal value.

This lack of rigor extends throughout the research process. Literature reviews tend to be superficial, relying on outdated or tangentially related sources. Methodologies are frequently poorly designed, with insufficient attention paid to sampling, instrumentation, or data analysis. Ethical considerations are often treated as an afterthought, and theoretical frameworks are rarely integrated meaningfully into the interpretation of findings. The resulting theses and dissertations are, more often than not, bloated documents filled with jargon, generalizations, and unsubstantiated claims.

Crucially, the output of this system rarely leaves the confines of the university. Very few graduate papers are submitted to academic journals or presented at conferences. Fewer still undergo peer review, achieve publication, or are cited by other researchers. The vast majority of these works are deposited in institutional libraries, where they gather dust unread, unexamined, and unutilized. They are neither challenged by scholarly critique nor translated into usable knowledge for classrooms, communities, or policymakers.

This academic stagnation reflects a deeper cultural and structural problem. In many institutions, research is treated less as an intellectual pursuit and more as a bureaucratic requirement which is a hoop to jump through en route to graduation or promotion.

Faculty members tasked with supervising research often carry heavy teaching loads, leaving little time for mentorship. Review panels may prioritize formatting and completeness over conceptual clarity and analytical depth. In some cases, institutional pressure to increase graduation rates results in the lowering of research standards altogether.

The consequence is a generation of degree holders whose capstone projects fail to live up to the very premise of higher education: the creation and dissemination of knowledge.

Rather than serving as foundations for further study or innovation, these academic works become dead ends that are forgotten as soon as they are filed, contributing nothing to their respective fields or to society at large.

Reversing this trend requires more than cosmetic reforms. It demands a radical reorientation of how research is taught, supervised, and evaluated. Students must be trained not just to follow templates, but to ask meaningful questions, engage with existing scholarship critically, and design studies that are methodologically sound and socially relevant. Faculty must be given the time, training, and incentives to mentor rigorously.

And institutions must foster a culture where research is seen not as a final requirement, but as an ongoing conversation that has the power to challenge assumptions, improve practice, and influence policy.

Until then, Philippine graduate research will remain largely ornamental, being ambitious in form, but hollow in substance; abundant in quantity, but impoverished in impact.

Pretensions Without Substance: The Academic Delusion

One of the more insidious challenges facing Philippine higher education today is the widening gulf between academic self-perception and scholarly reality. In many universities, particularly those outside the country’s most prestigious institutions, there is a growing culture of academic posturing: a performance of intellectualism unmoored from the demands of actual scholarship. Titles are claimed, accolades are worn, and institutional affiliations are proudly brandished, yet these symbols of academic stature often conceal a disturbing lack of meaningful academic output.

This delusion is not merely harmless vanity but symptomatic of deeper structural and cultural failings. In many academic settings, faculty members are celebrated as scholars not for the originality or impact of their work, but for their tenure, attendance at conferences, or accumulation of postgraduate degrees. The bar for what constitutes “scholarship” has been quietly lowered, replaced by performative gestures that require little intellectual rigor or critical engagement. Publications are often confined to low-impact or predatory journals, filled with recycled ideas and devoid of methodological soundness.

This culture of self-congratulation is allowed to thrive largely because of a conspicuous absence of scrutiny. Unlike in research-intensive environments where peer review, citation indices, and academic discourse serve as checks on scholarly legitimacy, many Philippine universities lack the institutional mechanisms to distinguish serious academic work from hollow credentialism. There is little emphasis on publication in reputable journals, minimal engagement with global research communities, and often no incentive to pursue difficult, original lines of inquiry. Faculty evaluations are rarely tied to the quality or influence of one’s research, teaching effectiveness, or mentorship. Instead, career advancement is often determined by bureaucratic metrics: years served, seminars attended, administrative participation, or loyalty to the institution.

As a result, an illusion of scholarship takes root where such is reinforced by titles, ceremonies, and institutional rituals, but unsupported by intellectual merit. This illusion breeds complacency. In a space where peer critique is unwelcome and where dissent is seen as disrespect, critical thought becomes stifled. Innovation is not only discouraged but often viewed with suspicion, as it threatens to expose the inertia and mediocrity that have become entrenched. Over time, this intellectual stagnation becomes normalized. The university ceases to be a site of inquiry and becomes instead a silo of professional convenience.

Worse still, this façade has consequences far beyond the university gates. The graduates produced by such institutions absorb the same values. They inherit an understanding of academic success that prioritizes appearances over substance, obedience over originality, and formality over depth. When these graduates go on to teach, to lead, or to legislate, they carry with them a diluted sense of what intellectual work entails, thus perpetuating a cycle of low expectations and shallow engagement.

To disrupt this cycle, Philippine higher education must undertake a candid reckoning with its internal culture. This begins with reestablishing rigorous standards of academic excellence, not as abstract ideals but as enforceable expectations. Promotion and recognition should be tied to demonstrable scholarly contributions, not simply to longevity or formal qualifications. Institutions must invest in a culture of research, critical debate, and international engagement.

Faculty members should be supported, but also held accountable to their students, to their disciplines, and to the larger society they claim to serve.

Above all, the country must resist the comfort of academic pretension and embrace the discomfort of intellectual honesty. Without this, no amount of titles, conferences, or diplomas can conceal the truth: that substance, not show, is the true measure of scholarship and that progress will remain elusive so long as we confuse the performance of knowledge with its pursuit.

Breaking the Cycle: Toward Meaningful Reform

To lift Philippine education out of its stagnation, a cultural and institutional overhaul is imperative. Here are some urgent priorities:

1. Raise the Bar for Doctoral Programs

Doctoral degrees must return to their original purpose: the creation and dissemination of new, meaningful knowledge. This means stricter admission criteria, stronger research training, better faculty mentorship, and rigorous evaluation of dissertation quality.

2. Reassess English Language Instruction

English proficiency must be taught with depth, not just form. Critical thinking, clarity, and coherence should be emphasized in both spoken and written English. Universities must invest in stronger language support and writing centers.

3. Reform Research Standards

Universities should incentivize high-quality, impactful research that addresses real-world problems. Peer review, publication, and interdisciplinary collaboration must be central to graduate work, not afterthoughts.

4. Hold Academics Accountable

Faculty performance should be tied to demonstrable outputs: peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, policy contributions, or community engagement. Titles and tenure should be earned, not assumed.

5. Promote Intellectual Humility

Perhaps most importantly, there must be a cultural shift toward intellectual humility. The willingness to admit gaps, seek critique, and continuously learn is the hallmark of true scholarship.

Conclusion: Rethinking What It Means to be Educated

The crisis in Philippine education runs deeper than low test scores, outdated textbooks, or underfunded schools. At its core, it is a crisis of what it truly means to be “educated.” For too long, the country has operated under a dangerously narrow definition of education, one that equates credentials with competence, and titles with intellect. This confusion has bred a culture more invested in appearances than in actual achievement, more concerned with ceremony than substance.

In this system, academic success is too often measured by the accumulation of degrees rather than the demonstration of critical thinking, creativity, or civic responsibility. Classrooms reward memorization over understanding, conformity over curiosity. Universities, rather than being crucibles of inquiry and dissent, often become factories of credentials, churning out graduates armed with diplomas but lacking in both the skills and the disposition to question, to innovate, or to lead.

The result is an educational structure that appears productive on paper where millions enrolled and thousands graduating but which produces limited intellectual, cultural, or social impact.

This illusion of education is not just misleading; it is harmful. It legitimizes mediocrity and institutionalizes complacency. It allows unqualified individuals to rise through academic and professional ranks, not because of what they know or contribute, but because of the symbols they carry: certificates, titles, affiliations. It fosters a society where status is mistaken for substance, and where meaningful intellectual work is often undervalued, even ridiculed.

If the Philippines is to confront this crisis honestly, it must begin by reimagining education not as a path to prestige, but as a lifelong commitment to personal and public betterment. This redefinition requires cultural transformation more than curricular reform. Academic institutions must be places where questions are encouraged, where failure is part of learning, and where education is not something one finishes, but something one continually pursues.

Degrees must cease to function as mere badges of social mobility or bureaucratic advancement. Instead, they must symbolize the ability to think critically and act ethically; a record of meaningful work that improves one’s field or community; and a commitment which reflects a dedication to the principles of truth, justice, and public service. Until the country holds its education system to these higher standards, it will continue to produce graduates who are literate but not learned, credentialed but not competent.

Ultimately, the goal of education must be more than employability. It must be the cultivation of minds and spirits capable of building a just, creative, and resilient society. That vision remains far from reality. And until it is realized, the Philippines will remain a nation rich in diplomas but poor in education, celebrated for its formal attainments, yet starved of the very wisdom and integrity those attainments are meant to signify.

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Prof. Ruel F. Pepa is a Filipino philosopher based in Madrid, Spain. A retired academic (Associate Professor IV), he taught Philosophy and Social Sciences for more than fifteen years at Trinity University of Asia, an Anglican university in the Philippines. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

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The International Diabetes Federation (IDF)’s Diabetes Atlas reports that 589 million adults (aged 20–79) are currently living with diabetes—equivalent to 1 in 9 adults worldwide. This number is projected to rise to 853 million by 2050. The report also states that diabetes was responsible for 3.4 million deaths in 2024, equating to one death every nine seconds. Additionally, diabetes accounted for at least USD 1 trillion in health expenditures, representing a 338% increase over the past 17 years. The report further predicts that diabetes-related health spending will continue to rise, exceeding USD 1.054 trillion by 2045.

Diabetes is a silent epidemic, causing death and suffering on an unimaginable scale. However, for pharmaceutical corporations, insurance companies, and private healthcare providers, it represents a highly profitable business opportunity. The commercialization of illness lies at the heart of capitalism, particularly in the healthcare models practiced by many large corporations based in the United States and Europe. The pharmaceutical industry manages diabetes through ongoing treatment but rarely invests in a cure—treating the disease as though it were incurable.

However, this long-standing dream of capitalist corporations and their multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical “business of sickness” is facing disruption. Chinese scientists have discovered a method to reverse both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes using stem cell therapy based on induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology. This technique involves reprogramming adult cells to behave like embryonic stem cells. In this breakthrough, Chinese researchers use a patient’s own fat cells to generate insulin-producing islet cells, which are then injected under the anterior rectus sheath of the abdomen. Once implanted, these cells begin to regulate blood sugar levels naturally by producing insulin—just as a healthy pancreas would. Initial trials conducted at Tianjin First Central Hospital have shown remarkable results: patients with Type-1 diabetes were able to stop insulin use entirely within seventy-five days, while those with Type-2 diabetes achieved the same outcome in just eleven weeks. The European Medical Journal described the development as a milestone, stating, “Stem-Cell Therapy success in China marks a milestone in Type-1 Diabetes treatment”.

The Chinese National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) is fast-tracking the next phase of clinical trials, aiming to address this global epidemic within the next three years. With this breakthrough, China is poised to transform the global healthcare industry. It marks a significant step toward ending the silent epidemic of diabetes and alleviating the suffering of millions around the world. This development also poses a major challenge to profit-driven pharmaceutical corporations and healthcare industries that have long relied on the continuous demand for insulin, diabetes medications, and related medical equipment.

The rise of medical technology, innovations in medical science, and advancements in health research in China are not accidental. They are the result of deliberate policy decisions and strategic investments by the People’s Republic of China, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. The Chinese government has been actively deepening health research and reforming its healthcare system, which led to the development of the “Shanghai Integration Model” (SIM). This model fosters efficiency and synergy between public health initiatives and research-driven medical services. Fundamentally, it stands in opposition to the privatization of healthcare and the commercialisation of illness. These forward-thinking health policies have also contributed to major medical breakthroughs, including treatments for AIDS and obesity developed by Chinese scientists.

All major Chinese universities offer medical science and health-related programs, supported by dedicated research institutes and centers. These programs, offered by public universities, are grounded in the principle of public health over profit. At their core is the goal of freeing people from curable, preventable, and life-threatening diseases. The focus is on using knowledge to empower humanity and promote health and well-being. This mission aligns with the broader vision of the Chinese Communist Party–led government, which prioritizes human welfare, health, and happiness through science-driven public policy.

While imperialism—led by the United States—continues to manufacture conflict and invest heavily in high-tech weaponry to sustain the highest stage of capitalism through violence, destruction, and control, China is taking a different path. It is investing in life-saving medicines and medical technologies aimed at improving human health and well-being. In the midst of ongoing anti-China propaganda campaigns, the contrast is stark. The alternatives are clear: a world driven by war and profit, or one focused on health, innovation, and the collective good. 

It is impossible to overlook the scale of people-centered development in China, where the state and government prioritise the well-being of the working masses. In contrast, governments in the United States and Western Europe often serve corporate interests, particularly in the healthcare sector, where profit is placed above public health. As a result, health corporations in these countries thrive financially—often at the expense of human lives and well-being. 

Therefore, it is imperative to expose the hypocrisy embedded in Western systems—where profit is prioritised over people—while defending China and its working-class-driven innovations that advance human health and happiness. In a world shaped by competing models of development, China’s approach stands as a powerful alternative rooted in collective welfare, scientific progress, and the dignity of life.

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A judge in a federal court in Sydney, Australia has ruled against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for wrongly dismissing a radio presenter after she shared an instagram post from Human Rights Watch that accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon in Gaza. 

Judge Darryl Rangiah awarded journalist Antoinette Lattouf AU$70,000 and possibly more in damages on Wednesday in a case that undermines an organized campaign in Australia, like in many countries today, that is attacking legitimate critics of Israel’s conduct in Gaza as being anti-semitic.  

Senior ABC executives had testified at trial that they had been flooded with complaints — even though none of the contested content had been discussed on air — and that pressure had mounted to get rid of the presenter, which they did.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers later revealed that the flood of complaints was the result of a coordinated campaign by pro-Israel lobby groups via WhatsApp. The campaign targeted the ABC’s chair and managing director to have Lattouf sacked. The Australian journalists union MEAA stood behind Lattouf, questioning the national broadcaster’s independence from outside influence.

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Antoinette Lattouf arriving in federal court in Sydney on Wednesday morning. (Mary Kostakidis)

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The judge’s decision on Lattouf’s wrongful dismissal suit was based on the question of whether she was terminated because of her political opinions. ABC argued that Lattouf, who had been hired for one week as a fill-in presenter, was not terminated, but rather had her work hours reduced to zero for the remaining two days of her five-day contract.

That decision to effectively fire her was taken after ABC executives determined that Lattouf held anti-semitic views, the judge told the court.  The judge found that ABC violated the Fair Work Act by ending Lattouf’s employment because “she held political opinions opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.” 

He said: “I reject [ABC executive Christopher] Oliver-Taylor’s evidence that his decision to terminate Lattouf had nothing to do with her political opinions.” Judge Rangiah rejected Latouff’s allegations of discrimination based on her ethnicity. She is of Lebanese origin.

The judge said pro-Israel lobbyists created an “orchestrated campaign” against Lattouff by writing to the ABC complaining that she had “expressed anti-Semitic views, lacked impartiality and was unsuitable to present any program for the ABC.”

“The complaints caused great consternation amongst the senior management of the ABC,” he said. But he found Latouff was given no direct order not to post controversial matter on social media but “was merely provided with advice that it would be best not to post anything controversial about the war.”

During her one-week stint at the ABC, Latouff simply shared the Human Rights Watch instagram post on Dec. 19, 2023, with the words “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war.”

Outside the court after the ruling Latouff told reporters that the court found that “punishing someone for sharing facts” about “war crimes” is not legal. “I was punished for my political opinion,” she said.

Her attorney, Josh Bornstein, told reporters:

“The court has decisively upheld her claim the ABC illegally dismissed her from her employment. The court has made important findings that in doing so it capitulated to a campaign of lobbying. Organisations like the ABC that fold in the face of bad faith complaints about the Israel-Gaza conflict ultimately end up facing perverse consequences or in perverse situations.”

Bornstein said the ABC had refused to settle for AU$85,000 and instead spent AU$1.1 million of taxpayer money defending the case.

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Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former U.N. correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and other newspapers, including The Montreal Gazette, the London Daily Mail and The Star of Johannesburg. He was an investigative reporter for the Sunday Times of London, a financial reporter for Bloomberg News and began his professional work as a 19-year old stringer for The New York Times. He is the author of two books, A Political Odyssey, with Sen. Mike Gravel, foreword by Daniel Ellsberg; and How I Lost By Hillary Clinton, foreword by Julian Assange. 

Featured image: Lattouf speaking to reporters outside court after her victory. (Cathy Vogan for CN)

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In a democracy, the ballot is both a symbol of freedom and a tool of power. The act of voting allows citizens to shape their nation’s future, choose leaders, and define the country’s moral and political direction. But what happens when elections consistently produce leaders who are corrupt, incompetent, or authoritarian? When the democratic process yields undemocratic results, who is ultimately responsible?

The natural inclination is to blame the leaders themselves and rightly so. They hold the reins of power, make the decisions, and bear the responsibility for the outcomes. Yet in a democracy, those leaders do not appoint themselves; they are elected by the people. This reality forces us to confront a more uncomfortable but necessary question: To what extent does the electorate bear responsibility for the leaders it chooses?

This dilemma is not unique to any one country, but it resonates with painful clarity in the Philippines. Here, the cycle of political disillusionment, populist resurgence, and historical amnesia has become all too familiar. The core of the problem is not just flawed individuals, but a flawed system of civic preparation. At the heart of this system lies a neglected foundation: education.

The Mirror of Philippine Democracy

Democracy, it has often been said, is a mirror. It reflects not only the will of the people but also the values, aspirations, and, at times, the collective flaws of the society that sustains it. In the Philippines, this mirror has long reflected troubling images that point not simply to the failures of individual leaders, but to deeper structural and cultural issues within the democratic process itself.

Image: Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

One of the most glaring examples of this phenomenon is the political resurgence of the Marcos family. Decades after the ousting of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. through the 1986 People Power Revolution, a movement that symbolized the triumph of democracy over authoritarianism, his son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., won the presidency by a wide margin in the 2022 elections. This return to power not only shocked observers but raised difficult questions: How could a society that once rose up against dictatorship now welcome back its most prominent symbol?

The answer lies partly in the way Philippine democracy has evolved, or failed. Over the years, elections have become less about platforms and policies, and more about personalities and performance. Figures like Joseph “Erap” Estrada, a former movie star, and Rodrigo Duterte, a strongman mayor with a flair for controversial rhetoric, captured the public imagination not through detailed governance plans but through their populist appeal. In both cases, voters seemed drawn not to ideas but to the perception of authenticity, strength, or familiarity. These elections were won not in debates or policy forums, but in soundbites, staged spectacles, and social media memes.

In the 2022 campaign, this trend reached new heights. Bongbong Marcos’ team executed a highly coordinated and well-funded social media strategy, one that weaponized disinformation and historical revisionism. Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok were flooded with content portraying the Marcos era not as a time of martial law and economic collapse, but as a golden age of order and prosperity. Many young voters, lacking first-hand experience of that era and facing a broken education system, were particularly vulnerable to these narratives. The line between myth and memory became increasingly blurred.

This brings us to a sobering realization: the erosion of truth in public discourse is not merely the result of manipulative campaigns but also a reflection of a citizenry ill-equipped to resist them. Years of underinvestment in education, the marginalization of critical media, and the normalization of political patronage have left many Filipinos with limited access to reliable information. Moreover, the structural inequalities that pervade society such as poverty, lack of opportunity, and dependence on local power brokers make it difficult for voters to prioritize long-term reforms over immediate, tangible benefits like cash handouts, jobs, or favors.

Image: Rodrigo Duterte

Thus, the core issue is not just who is elected, but why they are chosen. When democratic choices are made in an environment of misinformation, economic desperation, and emotional manipulation, can they still be called free and informed? The mirror of Philippine democracy does not lie but shows us a society where institutions remain weak, accountability is elusive, and historical amnesia is politically profitable.

Yet all is not lost. To strengthen democracy, Filipinos must confront these uncomfortable truths. Civic education, independent journalism, and grassroots political organizing remain essential pillars in rebuilding a more informed and empowered electorate. Until then, the mirror will continue to reflect what it sees: not the democracy we aspire to, but the one we have allowed to take root.

The Crisis in Civic Education

At the heart of the Philippines’ democratic malaise lies a long-standing and deeply rooted problem: a failure in civic education. While elections are held regularly and institutions nominally function, many citizens lack the foundational knowledge and critical thinking skills needed to engage meaningfully with democratic processes.

This is not simply a matter of disinterest or apathy; it is the result of an education system that has systematically failed to prepare its people for the responsibilities of citizenship.

For decades, Philippine schools have emphasized rote memorization at the expense of analytical thinking. Students are taught to recall names, dates, and events from history, but rarely are they encouraged to interrogate these facts, understand their significance, or connect them to the present. As a result, history becomes a static subject, an exercise in repetition rather than reflection. The lives of national heroes are reduced to sanitized anecdotes, while the deeper structural forces that shaped Philippine society such as colonialism, authoritarianism, inequality are glossed over or ignored.

Civic education, when it exists in the curriculum, is often shallow and procedural. Students may learn how to register to vote or what the three branches of government are, but they are seldom taught why participation matters, how to think critically about campaign promises, or what democratic values actually mean in practice. There is little space in the classroom for debate, dissent, or exploration of contemporary political issues. This creates a citizenry that may know the mechanics of democracy, but not its meaning.

Compounding this issue is the alarming lack of media and digital literacy. In a country where social media is the dominant and often sole source of information for a majority of citizens, the inability to evaluate sources, detect bias, or identify fake news has devastating consequences. The algorithms that shape online content feeds do not prioritize truth or context; they amplify emotion, outrage, and virality. In such an environment, misinformation spreads quickly and sticks easily, especially when it reinforces pre-existing beliefs or appeals to nostalgia, fear, or anger.

Filipinos, particularly the youth, are thus caught in an echo chamber of manipulated narratives, historical distortion, and political propaganda. Falsehoods become familiar, and familiarity breeds acceptance. Without the tools to question what they see or read, many come to accept distorted versions of history and reality in which authoritarianism is recast as order, corruption as pragmatism, and democratic decay as necessary discipline.

But it is crucial to recognize that this civic illiteracy is not a reflection of individual failure. It is the consequence of systemic neglect. For years, the education sector has been underfunded and undervalued. Teachers are overworked and underpaid, classrooms are overcrowded, and basic learning materials are often outdated or unavailable. The implementation of reforms, such as the K-12 program, has been marred by logistical challenges and insufficient training. In many schools, especially in rural or marginalized communities, even the most basic infrastructure is lacking, let alone resources for robust civic instruction.

This neglect has led to a generation that is technologically savvy but politically disengaged, socially connected but civically disconnected. In the absence of sustained investment in democratic education, citizens are left unprepared for the complexities of political life in the digital age.

Addressing this crisis requires more than curriculum tweaks. It demands a national commitment to rethinking the role of education in a democracy. Civic learning must be made relevant, dynamic, and integrated across subjects and not simply confined to a single textbook or semester. Teachers must be empowered and trained not just as instructors, but as facilitators of democratic discourse. Students must be challenged not just to memorize, but to question, debate, and reflect.

Democracy cannot survive without democrats and democrats are not born, they are made. If the Philippines is to reclaim its democratic promise, it must begin by cultivating a citizenry capable of critical thought, historical awareness, and moral courage. That work begins in the classroom.

Inequality and the Cycle of Misgovernance

The crisis in civic education does not exist in a vacuum. It is deeply intertwined with the persistent structural inequalities that plague the Philippines, creating a feedback loop that undermines democratic progress. Public education, especially in rural areas and marginalized urban communities, remains chronically under-resourced. Schools in these regions often lack the most basic necessities: qualified and motivated teachers, adequate learning materials such as textbooks, stable electricity, and internet connectivity. Without these fundamental supports, many students struggle not only to absorb knowledge but even to attend school regularly. Dropout rates are disproportionately high in poorer communities, perpetuating a cycle where the most vulnerable are deprived of the critical skills necessary for active and informed citizenship.

This educational deprivation has far-reaching political consequences. When citizens grow up without the tools to analyze information critically or to understand their rights and responsibilities as voters, they become especially susceptible to transactional politics. In many localities, political power is maintained through the exchange of votes for immediate, tangible rewards like cash handouts, food packs, infrastructure projects, or patronage favors. These transactions are short-term and often fail to address the deeper needs of communities, but they are effective in winning electoral support. Politicians, recognizing this dynamic, are incentivized to focus on spectacle and emotional appeal rather than on substantive policy proposals or institutional reform.

This pattern fosters a vicious cycle. Uninformed or disempowered voters, constrained by poverty and lack of access to information, elect populist leaders who thrive on charisma and patronage networks. Once in office, these leaders frequently weaken democratic institutions by undermining checks and balances, controlling media narratives, and co-opting bureaucracies to consolidate their power. This further restricts public access to truthful, unbiased information, making it even harder for the electorate to make informed decisions in future elections. The cycle feeds on itself: educational and economic inequalities breed political vulnerabilities, which in turn perpetuate misgovernance and deepen inequality.

Ultimately, the problem of bad governance in the Philippines is not solely a political failing but also a profound educational and social failure. Without addressing the root causes by investing in equitable, quality education and bridging the digital divide, the country will continue to struggle with leaders who prioritize personal gain over public service and voters who choose short-term benefits over long-term democratic health.

Breaking this cycle requires a holistic approach. It means improving educational infrastructure nationwide, especially in underserved areas, and ensuring that civic and digital literacy become integral parts of the learning experience. It also means empowering communities with access to transparent information and creating avenues for genuine political participation beyond mere vote-buying. Only through such comprehensive efforts can the Philippines hope to dismantle the entrenched structures of inequality and misgovernance, and foster a democracy that truly reflects the aspirations and dignity of all its people.

Breaking the Cycle: Reform Starts in the Classroom

To repair Philippine democracy, we must start where the problem begins: in the classroom. Reforming civic education is neither a quick fix nor a silver bullet, but it is the most sustainable path forward. This means:

• Reimagining civic education as a lifelong pursuit, integrated not only in basic education but in community programs, adult learning, and public discourse. This includes fostering an understanding of democratic institutions, the rule of law, human rights, and the responsibilities of citizenship beyond just casting a ballot.
• Investing in media and digital literacy to help citizens navigate the flood of online misinformation and resist manipulative narratives. This should equip individuals with the skills to critically evaluate sources, recognize logical fallacies, and understand the algorithms that shape their online experience.
• Promoting critical thinking across all subjects, so students are trained to ask questions, analyze claims, and form reasoned judgments. These are skills essential to both democracy and life. This goes beyond memorization and encourages intellectual curiosity and independent thought.
• Empowering educators with the resources, training, and freedom to teach complex, often politically sensitive topics with nuance and integrity. Teachers are on the front lines of civic formation and need the support to foster open dialogue and critical inquiry in their classrooms.
• Ensuring equitable access to quality education across all socioeconomic groups, so no community is left behind in the democratic project. This includes addressing disparities in funding, teacher quality, and access to technology and learning materials.
• Engaging civil society organizations and community leaders to bridge the gap between formal education and real-world civic engagement. These groups can offer practical experiences, mentorship, and opportunities for citizens to participate in local governance and advocacy.

Education, ultimately, is about more than economic mobility. It is about forming citizens who are capable of sustaining a democratic society. It’s about equipping individuals with the discernment to see beyond superficial charm and the courage to demand accountability.

A Shared Responsibility

The failure of democracy is rarely the fault of any one person or institution. It is the consequence of a collective breakdown of systems that were not maintained, of institutions that were hollowed out, and of priorities that shifted away from the public good. In the Philippines, this failure is especially insidious because it often hides behind the façade of democratic rituals. Elections are held, ballots are cast, and leaders take office. Yet behind this appearance of legitimacy lies a pattern of democratic erosion: one where power is centralized, institutions are weakened, and public trust is gradually corroded.

In this context, the need for a widespread civic awakening is not just urgent but existential. The health of Philippine democracy depends not only on holding elections, but on the strength of the culture that surrounds them: a culture of truth, accountability, historical awareness, and civic engagement.

Assigning blame is easy and often cathartic. It allows people to vent their frustrations, to point fingers at corrupt politicians, uninformed voters, or complacent institutions. But blame alone does not solve problems. What is more difficult but far more productive is to embrace responsibility. If democracy is a shared project, then so too must be its restoration.

The Department of Education bears a profound responsibility. It must move beyond preparing students merely for employment and economic productivity. It must prepare them for citizenship. This means embedding civic and historical education across disciplines, training teachers to foster critical thinking, and updating curricula to reflect the realities of digital life and democratic participation. Education must not be neutral in the face of injustice or authoritarianism; it must equip students with the tools to recognize and resist them.

Media platforms, both traditional and digital, must also act with responsibility. In a society where vast amounts of information are consumed online, media organizations and tech companies play a central role in shaping public opinion.

Algorithms should not favor engagement at the expense of truth. There must be stronger efforts to moderate content, promote verified information, and support initiatives in media literacy. Journalism, too, must hold firm to its mission of truth-telling, even in the face of political pressure or public fatigue.

Political leaders, meanwhile, must be held to a higher standard. Their words and actions set the tone for public discourse. When they distort facts, enable corruption, or weaponize disinformation, they do more than undermine opponents but damage the very foundations of democratic society. True leadership requires more than popularity; it demands integrity, humility, and a commitment to the public good, even when it is inconvenient or unpopular.

Finally, citizens themselves must take responsibility not only by voting, but by participating actively in civic life. This means staying informed, holding leaders accountable, resisting cynicism, and refusing to normalize wrongdoing. It also means looking inward: interrogating our own biases, breaking free from apathy, and recognizing the power we have not just as voters, but as members of a shared political community.

A healthy democracy is not just something we inherit but a legacy we must continually build, defend, and improve. That work does not begin and end at the ballot box. It begins in the classroom, in the newsroom, in our homes, and in everyday conversations. It continues in protest marches, community meetings, online forums, and public service. It is a lifelong task, one that demands patience, vigilance, and courage.

If the Philippines is to break free from the cycle of misgovernance and misinformation, it must reimagine civic education as the foundation of national renewal. The challenge is immense but so is the opportunity. A generation that is educated, engaged, and empowered can reclaim democracy not just in theory, but in practice.

What, then, are the most critical steps forward? Reforming civic education in the Philippines requires:

1. Curriculum overhaul – Modernize civic and historical education to emphasize analysis, ethics, and real-world relevance, not just memorization.
2. Teacher training – Equip educators with the tools, training, and freedom to teach civic concepts critically and creatively.
3. Media literacy integration – Make digital and media literacy a core component of the education system from early grades onward.
4. Community engagement – Encourage schools to collaborate with civil society and local communities to make civic learning experiential and participatory.
5. Policy and funding support – Increase public investment in education, especially in underserved areas, to ensure equal access to high-quality civic instruction.

Democracy is everyone’s responsibility and the work of renewal starts now.

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Prof. Ruel F. Pepa is a Filipino philosopher based in Madrid, Spain. A retired academic (Associate Professor IV), he taught Philosophy and Social Sciences for more than fifteen years at Trinity University of Asia, an Anglican university in the Philippines. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

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As millions of his admirers in India and elsewhere observe the birth centenary of the great Hindi filmmaker Guru Dutt on 9 July, their celebration of his great cinematic achievements will be mingled with deep regret at the many personal tragedies of his life which resulted in his early death, following earlier suicide attempts, at the age of only 39 (in 1964).

The deep sadness over his tragic life will be further aggravated by deeply troubling memories that in some ways this ran parallel to the extremely sad life of his highly talented singer wife Geeta Dutt.

Those who have seen Guru’s films say that there was no other filmmaker quite like him. Those who have heard Geeta’s songs say that there was never a singer quite like her. If you have been listening to Geeta Ji’s songs, you can immediately identify her voice in the middle of a hundred other songs. Both of them brought something that was new, almost unique and extremely valuable to their chosen artistic fields. Their artistic collaboration was bound to result in very beautiful work, and it did. But personal tragedies struck in very cruel ways to cut short this period of great creativity. Many of Guru Dutt’s admirers have been left wondering how much more could have been achieved in terms of truly great cinematic work if Guru had not died at the age of only 39, meaning a cinema career of less than two decades.

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What Guru Dutt achieved in this short time was truly a huge achievement, giving us many memorable films like Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Chaudhavin Ka Chaand, Mr. and Mrs. 55 and Aar Paar, not to mention the many films, like Sanjh Aur Savera, in which he contributed only as an actor. However his cinematic greatness rests most prominently on his two never-to-be-forgotten films ‘Pyasa’ and ‘Kagaz ke Phool’, particularly the former, which over the years has brought him increasing admirers in many parts of the world including the west.

Literally Pyasa means thirsty and this Hindi word is used in this film to convey the deeper thirst of a highly sensitive poet to find understanding and meaning in a highly materialist world which is at odds with his yearnings and feelings. One commonly felt desire of a struggling artist, writer or poet is to find some recognition for his (her) work in a difficult and hostile world, but even when recognition comes and with it the prospects of fame and wealth, the poet or the artist may still remain ‘thirsty’—pyasa—because deep within his soul needs not just recognition but also a deeper understanding—the kind of understanding which does not need explanation of why the poet feels impelled to reject fame and wealth when these are finally his for the asking.

The story to some extent parallels that of Guru Dutt for he too attained stardom at a young age but his thirst was not satiated. However the comparison ends here. For while the protagonist in the film finds solace as there is someone to whom he can go after rejecting the option of receiving fame and wealth from an uncaring and opportunist world, in real life Guru cannot somehow find this deeper solace and is driven towards self-destruction, his ‘thirst’ or ‘pyaas’ unquenched in the middle of all the fame and glory.

In a world that is increasingly rejecting ideals and idealism and treats any quest for a life based on these with crass insensitivity, Pyasa still finds deep resonance with sensitive and caring audiences all over the world who identify with the rebel poet and get deeply absorbed in his many struggles, sorrows and predicaments.

Guru Dutt wrote the basic story of this film at a time of his own struggles early in life. Before he died suddenly, he was working on a film on the struggles of an idealist journalist, as well as exploring the idea of a film adaptation of Oliver Twist.

Apart from being a great film-producer, director and actor himself, Guru Dutt contributed a lot to Hindi cinema by bringing together a very talented team and providing important breaks to several highly talented artists, including Waheeda Rehman. He could establish a successful film company at a very young age, despite all the difficulties involved in such an attempt for someone who was an outsider in the film industry. His film company remained committed to making socially relevant good quality films.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Hindi Cinema and Society, Navjeevan (Hindi short stories), A Day in 2071 (English short stories and novellas) and Ummeed Mat Chhorna) (Hindi poems and songs). He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

Featured image: Dutt on a 2004 Indian stamp. (GODL-India)

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Thailand in Southeast Asia – is at the center of BRICS – a key ally of China, a central hub for the Belt & Road Initiative, and its stability a factor in either enabling the rise of Asia or disrupting it.

As protests take place in the streets of the capital of Bangkok, it is important to follow the money, identify the parties involved, and understand what has led up to this point.

Do not jump to conclusions until you have sufficiently identified the groups funded by the US government (via NED/USAID) and those who have fought against them.

Yesterday’s protests were carried out by those opposing US interference – and the current government they oppose is a nominee/daughter of a long-time US proxy.

For more details see below…

Image: Paetongtarn Shinawatra (CC BY 4.0)

The current PM is the daughter of US proxy and billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra whose critics often end up in jail or dead – I am based in Thailand, hence why I have been quiet regarding developments since elections in 2023.

The Thai military has twice ousted Thaksin and his nominees from power (2006 & 2014).

It was a government installed into power by the Thai military following 2014 which signed high speed rail deals with China (which US-backed opposition tried to delay/stop), began replacing US weapons with Chinese and Russian systems (which US-backed groups also tried to stop), and have gradually pivoted Thailand away from status as a US proxy to a close ally of China over the past several years.

Elections in 2023 returned US-backed proxies into power – including the daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra – and an uneasy stalemate has existed since.

Recently, mismanagement regarding the Thai-Cambodia border and violence in the deep south -both connected to US interference – have created growing tensions.

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Source: TheAltWorld

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Current protests in Thailand against the government are NOT NED-backed, but the groups used to carry out successful counter-color revolutions in previous years.

For a detailed look into the background of all of this, please check this guide to US interference in Thailand:

NOTE: This was published in 2020 when US-backed student protests were taking place – the 2023 election saw the parties behind these protests take office: see this.

Before seeing protests and rumors of coups and just assuming it is the US behind it – you need to follow the actual money and connections. Luckily I provide all of it to you in the above link.

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Brian Joseph Thomas Berletic, is an ex- US Marine Corps independent geopolitical researcher and writer based in Bangkok, writing under the pen name “ Tony Cartalucci ” along with several others.

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A number of factors have combined together to emphasize the need for a careful re-look at not just the policies relating to tribal communities and regions but indeed even at the objectives that are sought to be achieved.

Some of these factors have in fact earlier also been emphasized by several senior government officials with valuable first-hand experience of these issues. They noticed that the existing policies did not work out well in several tribal regions and even after the implementation of what were seen as ambitious development projects sometimes the difficulties faced and discontent voiced or experienced by people had increased. This led to a clearly felt need for changes by not just the people but also by several senior officials and academics.

Thus while partly the need for change arises from a desire or motivation to correct past mistakes and distortions in policy, in addition the urge for change also comes from the increasing realization that tribal communities have inherent strengths to take forward new tasks of environment protection and regeneration, including climate change mitigation and adaptation. This can be done in ways which strengthen and improve the prospects of sustainable livelihoods.

This aspect of integration of local livelihoods and environment protection is very important, as at some places climate agenda has been taken forward in a highly distorted way which displaces a large number of people. Recently the Oakland Institute, USA, has published several reports from African countries in which a distorted climate agenda supported by huge funds led to disruption and displacement.

So we must carefully find ways and means of carrying forward the tasks of climate mitigation and adaptation in ways which strengthen local sustainable livelihoods without causing displacements and disruptions. Tribal communities generally have strong traditional strengths for taking forward protection of forests and planting and nurturing indigenous species of trees much along the lines of a natural forest, as well as for soil and water conservation and for natural mixed farming systems which avoid fossil fuel based inputs. 

All this can be very well achieved in systems of gram swaraj, a concept respected in India and associated with the thinking of Mahatma Gandhi, which means growing self-reliance of village communities in meeting their needs, and all-round strengthening of community life based on this. These ideas, although relevant for most villages, sit particularly well with the thinking of many tribal communities which emphasize self-reliance that can also help to avoid undue outside influences of a kind that are hurtful for valued traditions and sensitivities of tribal communities.

So what government policy should emphasize is that sustainable livelihoods integrated with various aspects of environment protection (including well-thought out aspects of climate mitigation and adaption) will be promoted in highly creative and participative ways. This should be achieved within conditions of increasing gram swaraj and self-reliance.

When it comes to conservation and wild-life protection projects, these are often taken up at present in ways which cause disruptions and difficulties for people. Hence future policy should be to integrate wild-life protection and conservation work with the sustainable livelihoods of local tribal people who with their rich knowledge of local conditions are the most suitable persons for taking forward this work in ways that are well integrated with the welfare of tribal communities. In fact many leading conservationists have also been advocating this approach as it is realized that without the participation of local people, it becomes difficult to protect wild life from poachers to achieve several other conservation objectives. Similarly as we need new water conservation works in forests which can help to quench the thirst of wild animals, at a time when several water sources in forests are drying up, this is best taken forward with the better understanding of villagers of local conditions.    

However a more troubling question can be asked regarding the utilization of the mineral wealth or other resources often found in tribal regions whose large-scale exploitation in the past has led to huge displacement and disruption in some areas, leading to increasing discontent.

Here we must point out firmly that other ways of utilizing minerals, forest or other resources can be found which are not disruptive for local people. The problem often is not with utilization per se, but rather with highly exploitative approach aimed at plundering resources as early as possible or maximizing earnings within a short time. There can be different approaches evolved in consultation with local people which can result in slow, gradual utilization of resources on a smaller scale over a longer period of time, using methods which are not destructive towards environment and can also provide local livelihoods. In the Dalli Rajhara iron-ore mines in Chattisgarh once there was discontent over excessive mechanization and then with the support and suggestion of workers the management of Bhilai Steel Plant could reach an agreement for an intermediate technology which introduced some mechanization but also protected many livelihoods. With this kind of concerns and participative decision making, the worst exploitative practices can easily be avoided.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Saving Earth for Children, Planet in Peril and A Day in 2071. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

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While protection of natural forests has always been a very important part of the efforts to protect environment and biodiversity, its importance has increased further in times of climate change, from the perspective of mitigation as well as adaptation. Further the experience worldwide has been that the protection of existing natural forests in good condition can be best achieved on sustainable basis with the close involvement of rural communities of neighboring areas. Tribal communities are found closer to forests in India and elsewhere and traditionally, their life has been more closely inter-linked with natural forests of their area compared to other people. They also have much better and deeper knowledge and understanding of forests, their ecology and biodiversity, and of the wild-life living in and belonging to forests.

Traditionally there has been a close protective relation between tribal communities in particular (as well as other rural communities) and the forests existing close by. Unfortunately during colonial times the integrity of the protective relationship between people and forests came under enormous strain as arbitrary decisions relating to violations of needs and rights of communities were taken. Even after independence the injustice done to tribal communities was not undone adequately, despite efforts being made in this direction, while some new threats also appeared. Regrettably, even conservation projects were often planned in such a way that instead of tribal communities being involved in protection of forests they were either displaced or their forest rights were severely restricted.

Some eminent conservationists have warned that this is a highly distorted approach which is harmful for tribal communities as well as for conservation work. Salim Ali, the great ornithologist, had warned against such a short-sighted, one-sided approach and appealed to fellow-conservationists to be much more considerate of the needs and viewpoints of villagers living close to forests. In Bharatpur Park area in Rajasthan some years back, an arbitrary decision to ban grazing led to protests and subsequent police firing on protesters which led to the death of seven villagers. However a study by the Bombay Natural History Society later revealed that buffalo grazing was “an integral part of the ecosystem, helping to counter the tendency of the wetland to turn into grassland.” In some other cases also , including the famous Valley of flowers in Himalayan region, bans on traditional grazing practices had a negative impact on diversity and required a re-introduction of grazing or grass-cutting.

It is much better to involve the nearby rural and tribal communities, including nomadic and semi-nomadic ones, in deciding sustainable patterns of use while at the same time securing their help in protecting forests. Work such as extinguishing forest fires (which have been increasing in times of climate change) and rainwater harvesting and water conservation in and near forests is best taken up with the help of rural and tribal communities of areas close by. Again these communities can play the most useful role in protecting wild life from poachers or protecting trees from illegal loggers and smugglers.

The regeneration of degraded forest land is a very important task which again is most likely to succeed when taken up with the involvement of local people. This is very different from monoculture plantations. Instead the effort should be try to mimic nature and natural forests, in terms of local conditions and biodiversity, as much as possible. One way forward is to give the responsibility to a group of poorest villagers for a certain area. They can fence this area, using wages under various government schemes, providing a temporary rest to the land to allow it to regenerate. This is very different from arbitrarily imposed longer-term or forever grazing bans. Soil and water conservation work is also taken up, utilizing schemes like rural employment guarantee scheme. Once forest has regenerated adequately, grazing can be gradually re-introduced. While the group of villagers who helped in this regeneration gets wages initially, over a longer-term they get rights over non-timber forest produce of the regenerated forest, to be harvested or used on sustainable basis.

Such ideas, or their variants, can be used to take forward regeneration of forests at many places, while also increasing green employment steadily and paving the way for more permanent forest based livelihoods to increase as well. The various jobs that are available for protection of forests, biodiversity and wild life can also be gradually given more to more such local people, particularly those from tribal communities (others too). Thus to protect forests and increase forest area as well as to protect wild-life, local people are not displaced; instead their life and livelihood is better integrated with increase of forest cover, which in turn contributes to climate mitigation as well as adaptation, and in addition contributes also to reduction of disasters like floods and landslides.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Saving Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

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Heat waves have been intensifying over vast areas of India in recent days and there are also many reports of water scarcity making the conditions worse for people. However the situation can differ significantly in various villages depending on whether or not significant water conservation efforts have been made. In recent years I have visited several villages of good water conservation efforts where I noticed that even at the time of adverse weather conditions, people of these villages as well as farm and other animals feel important relief in terms of access to adequate water. Due to water and moisture conservation, conditions of farms and pastures is also much better. What is more, with the participation and involvement of people, even quite low budgets have been utilized well to achieve very useful and durable results.     

One village I particularly remember is because of the great enthusiasm and happiness I saw among the people, particularly women, due to the recently taken up water conservation efforts which had improved their life in a very significant ways. This is Markhera village of Tikamgarh district (Madhya Pradesh) in Central India. People of this village had been facing increasing difficulties due to water shortages. Water table was declining and water level in wells was going down too. Hand pumps were often reduced to just a trickle. As women here bear most water related responsibilities, their drudgery in fetching water from more distant places increased. Many of them had back ache from drawing water which was too low down in wells.

It is in this condition that a social activist named Mangal Singh contacted villagers. He told them that the organization he belonged to (SRIJAN) had a program of digging saucer shaped structures in water courses or seasonal water flows so that some of the rain water would remain in them for a much longer time for the dry season. As this is exactly what the villagers needed, they agreed readily.

When this work was taken up, villagers could also take the silt that was taken out and they carried it away for bund construction in their fields. The main benefit from the conservation of water in the newly constructed structures, called dohas, started being visible all too soon. Soon the demand for more dohas upstream and downstream came up. These benefited more and more farmers including those in neighboring villages.

While this work was being taken up the activists developed a closer relationship with the community and together they reached an understanding that to get fuller benefits, several broken structures, like check dam gates, of water conservation work taken up by the government in the past also needed to be repaired. Here again the initial results were so encouraging, with substantial benefits of increased water availability resulting from an expenditure of just INR 20,000 (about 250 US dollars) at one repair site, that there were demands for repairing other structures upstream and downstream of this. When this work was also completed, the water scene of the village changed from one of acute scarcity to abundance.

As I learnt from several villagers, many more farmers are now able to irrigate their farms properly and crop yield has increased for several of them by about 50% or so. Some of them are able to take an additional crop as well. The water level in wells and hand-pumps has risen so that drinking water too can be obtained more easily. Women do not have to spend much time in getting essential supplies of water, nor do they have to take up very tiring work. It has even been possible to obtain the water needed for creating a beautiful forest, not far from the water course and the main repair work site, which in turn would also contribute to water conservation. As a young farmer Monu Yadav said, the benefits have been many-sided and far reaching. One of the less obvious but nevertheless important gains in fact relates to increased cooperation for tasks of common benefit. As the benefits of dohas would be lost after a few years if these are not cleaned and not maintained properly, groups of farmers have been formed with farmers closest to a doha being made collectively responsible for maintenance work.

Such small-scale water conservation work can be very cost effective. The entire work of repairs and pits at this place has cost just around INR 400,000 (about 5000 US dollars) or so while many-sided and durable benefits have spread to several villages. In fact in its entire planning for water conservation work SRIJAN has emphasized low-cost works such as doha pits as well as repair and renovation of already existing structures. In neighboring Niwari district, the experience of dohas dug in Gulenda village water-channel has been particularly encouraging. 

Another benefit of such small scale water conservation works is that in such cases the prospects of involving the community in planning and implementation and benefitting from their tremendous knowledge of local conditions are immense and therefore such small water conservation schemes are invariably more creative and successful compared to big, costly, centralized ones.

Till just about five years ago, in Nadna village of Shivpuri district (Madhya Pradesh) the situation for most households was quite distressing. As several women of this village related recently in a group discussion, most of the rainwater rapidly flowed away from the village quite rapidly on sloped land, leaving hardly anything for the longer dry season ahead and contributing very little to water recharge. What is more, on the sloped land the rapid water torrents carried away a lot of the fertile topsoil as well.

With all the rainwater being lost quickly and even carrying away fertile soil, the farm productivity in the village was very low, and in fact very little could be grown in the season devoid of monsoon rains. Some of the land even remained uncultivated. In this village located in Pichore block, water scarcity remained a constraint not just for farming but also for animal husbandry. Not just villagers and their animals, but wild life also suffered due to water scarcity.

Due to low development prospects in farm and animal husbandry based livelihoods, people of this village, particularly those from poorer households, were becoming heavily dependent on migrant labor. The work which most of the migrants from here could get was frequently exploitative and also uncertain, but due to lack of alternatives, villagers had to resort to this as a survival mechanism despite all the distress and difficulties they suffered. 

However about four years back a number of water conservation steps were initiated in this village. These included the creation of bunds and digging of small ponds in fields and construction of a gavian structure to keep a good part of rainwater in the village. In the two nullahs which drain the rainwater, about 80 spots were selected in consultation with the local villagers for digging dohas.

All this helped to conserve rainwater at many places but in addition also increased the overall water level in the village and its wells so that it has become possible to get more water more easily from wells and hand-pumps. Now farm animals as well as wild animals can find more water to drink even in dry months. Moisture conservation has resulted in the sprouting of more grass and related greenery, resulting in better grazing for animals.

At the same time, farm productivity has gone up. Now there is more cultivation of non-monsoon crops like wheat and in addition some of the land left more or less uncultivated earlier has also been brought under cultivation now. With soil erosion being checked too, soil quality is getting better. As a result of all this the dependence of villagers on exploitative migrant labor has reduced considerably.

The situation in Umrikhurd village in this district has also changed in a somewhat similar way, thanks to the digging of farm ponds and dohas as well as the creation of bunds in farms. An additional livelihood of pond fisheries has also emerged. As women related happily in a recent group discussion, now you can find water at several places where earlier it used to be dry by now. 

These initiatives in the two villages of Shivpuri district were taken up by SRIJAN voluntary organization with support from Axis Bank Foundation and IndusInd Bank.

The trust and involvement of these communities is also evident from their willingness to contribute their share of voluntary work as well as some economic resources. 

In many villages of Bundekhand region of Central India, SRIJAN implemented a special program called BIWAL (Bundelkhand Initiative for Water, Agriculture and Livelihoods), also involving other leading voluntary organizations of the region in its implementation. In this initiative water conservation has been well integrated to improvement of soil and increase of farm yield by mobilizing the village community for a simple program. 

In Bundelkhand region, comprising 14 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh states, a very important contribution to water conservation has been made historically by well-constructed water tanks some of which go back to about 1000 years or even more. The ABV Institute of Good Governance has identified nearly 1100 such tanks. However several of them have become heavily filled with silt due to cleaning and de-silting work having been neglected for years. In this situation SRIJAN offered to arrange the de-silting work while farmers volunteered to carry away the mounds of highly fertile silt taken out from the tanks to their fields. As silt was taken out, the capacity of tanks to retain more rainwater increased. As more fertile silt was deposited in farms, the chances of making a success of natural farming, without using chemical fertilizers, increased.  Hence both the tasks of water conservation and farm improvement were well integrated. While SRIJAN and Arunodaya organizations initiated this work in Baura village of Mahoba district (Uttar Pradesh), a community organization was formed to take this forward and later the community came forward to take to take up the de-silting work on its own.

This approach was particularly useful in Karauli district (Rajasthan) where in the rocky land of Makanpurswami village, deposition of a lot of fertile silt led to many acres of unproductive land becoming cultivable, again providing a great example of linking water conservation and improvements in farming. Here the villagers had initiated water conservation work on their own but the arrival of SRIJAN helped and motivated them to take it up on a much bigger scale.

In Teen Pokhar village land and soil conditions are difficult and wild animals also disrupt farming, but several farmers are hopeful even in these difficult conditions as SRIJAN and other voluntary organizations have created several new pokhars or ponds in the village apart from repairing earlier ones. Several of these are linked to each other so that excess of one can flow to another. In Rawatpura village of this district, the once difficult situation is now looking even more hopeful as the creation of several new ponds has made it possible to take farming to more and more land that could not be cultivated earlier.

These are examples of villages where proper utilization of relatively quite low budgets led to very significant improvements in water conservation, bringing many-sided benefits to villagers and in some cases changing the situation of villagers from despair to hope. These achievements of water conservation are also very useful in terms of contributing to climate change adaptation.         

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Man over Machine, Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril and A Day in 2071. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

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There has been a lot of thoughtful discussion on policies relating to promoting welfare and sustainable progress of tribal communities in India which is also of much wider relevance at world level. In addition there are also concerns relating to the extent to which actual implementation diverges from policy formulation based on accepted welfare objectives.

Coming to policy formulation first, there are a number of desirable objectives which need integration and convergence at several levels.

The more frequent discourse in official circles understandably emphasizes the more readily accepted goals of policy including reduction of poverty and improvement of various human development indicators such as those relating to education, health and nutrition, gender based equality etc.

While there is common acceptance regarding this, other important aspects also need to be brought in. 

Can this be achieved only in terms of better and wider implementation of some government development programs or schemes? While improved implementation and curbing corruption are certainly needed, at the same time there is need for reducing inequalities and for placing curbs on exploitative elements which have a dominating presence in some areas. The extractive approach which places more importance on minerals or other such resources should be given up and the welfare of people should be sincerely placed at the top of priorities.   

Secondly, for sustainable progress and for gaining important insights on much-needed alternative development paradigms, it is also important to take forward the strengthening of community life based on increasing self-reliance of communities. While this can be said more generally regarding several other rural communities as well, this may be of greater significance regarding tribal communities which may place more emphasis on some of their traditions which again may be more conducive in terms of self-reliance and stronger community life. 

From the point of view of promoting overall better social development also the protection and strengthening of some of these traditions may be of great value as a world searching for new and better living and thinking patterns and better value systems may be able to learn something of great value from tribal communities. 

At the same time this does not mean that there should be a tendency to overly romanticize something or that there should be denial of the need for reforming some harmful aspects of traditions. In fact social movements which received great support within tribal communities, such as the movements initiated by Govind Guru within Bhil tribal communities of Rajasthan and neighboring areas during colonial times, were based not just on resisting exploitation but also on internal reform, as they realized that some reforms can strengthen the tribal communities and hence prepare them better for resisting injustice. Hence internal reform for desirable change can be a widely accepted part of increasing self-reliance and strengthening of tribal communities.

Thirdly, there are wider and very important concerns relating to emerging serious environmental problems at world level. There are about a dozen serious environmental problems at world level, perhaps led by climate change but certainly not confined to climate change. There are many serious concerns relating to land-use changes, deforestation, soil and water crisis etc. What can be of great value is to integrate the sustainable development and self-reliance path of tribal communities in ways which are protective towards environment as well as livelihoods and welfare of tribal communities. A practical beneficial aspect of this can be that better and more funding can be available for taking forward the welfare of tribal communities in these ways, at the same time taking care to avoid those projects and programs which are falsely being used by narrow selfish interests in the name of climate mitigation and other desirable objectives.

If these three objectives can be integrated in sincere, honest, thoughtful and creative ways, then something very beneficial can be achieved in a win-win kind of situation.

There are some voluntary organizations and groups working with such an understanding among tribal communities that combine several desirable objectives. One such organization is Vaagdhara in Central India. Its efforts, successes, difficulties, learnings can be useful. Similarly there are several other such efforts which can contribute such learnings and can also learn from each other. Earlier this year, in January 2025, there was a bigger such effort of dialogue called Swaraj Samvad involving Vaagdhara and many other organizations and groups involved in such efforts to share such ideas and experiences.

Several government schemes when properly implemented can be very helpful in taking forward this work. The rural employment guarantee scheme can be used in very important ways to really take forward water conservation and regeneration of degraded forest land in a very big way, at the same time providing substantial short-term wages in tasks relating to improving local conditions and also paving the path for more sustainable livelihoods, contributing at the same time to climate mitigation and adaptation and reducing the water crisis and providing better protection from various disasters. Then there are various other government schemes also which can be thought out and implemented in better ways. The government has also been keen to plan the convergence of several such schemes and programs, implemented by different departments, to achieve better results. Voluntary organizations can also be helpful in this. At the same time convergence between government schemes and some programs of voluntary organizations can also be planned. Of course all this will take us forward only if there is honesty and sincerity on all sides.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Saving Earth for Children, A Day in 2071, Man over Machine and India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

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The political maturity of an electorate may be broadly conceptualized along a continuum comprising three distinct levels: personality politics, party politics, and platform politics. These stages reflect a progressive evolution in civic consciousness and engagement, ranging from the rudimentary to the highly sophisticated.

At its most elementary, personality politics is characterized by voter allegiance driven primarily by personal appeal, charisma, or notoriety of individual leaders, often irrespective of ideology or policy substance.

Advancing to party politics, the focus shifts to loyalty toward political organizations, where support is grounded in historical affiliations, identity, or partisan alignment, yet may still lack critical evaluation of policy propositions.

The most mature form, platform politics, entails a discerning electorate that prioritizes substantive policy agendas, ideological coherence, and long-term national interests over personality or party loyalty. This trajectory not only illustrates the deepening of democratic engagement but also significantly shapes the quality of governance and the robustness of a political system.

Personality Politics: The Lowest Level of Political Maturity

Personality politics is typified by an electorate’s preoccupation with the charisma, personal appeal, and media visibility of individual political figures, often at the expense of substantive policy discourse or coherent ideological alignment. In this paradigm, the political arena becomes a stage upon which image, style, and narrative eclipse competence, governance acumen, and principled vision. Leaders are evaluated not for the depth of their policy frameworks or their capacity to address systemic challenges, but for their ability to captivate public attention and craft compelling personal stories. This mode of political engagement frequently reflects a nascent or underdeveloped stage of democratic maturity, wherein voters are more susceptible to emotional resonance, celebrity culture, and superficial traits than to rigorous scrutiny of political agendas or institutional accountability. As a result, electoral outcomes tend to be driven by popularity metrics and spectacle rather than by informed deliberation or long-term strategic thinking.

The Philippine Context: A Nation Trapped in Personality Politics

In the Philippines, the prevailing political culture remains largely entrenched in the paradigm of personality politics. The electorate has consistently demonstrated a proclivity for supporting candidates whose public appeal, celebrity status, or charismatic presence overshadows substantive policy credentials or ideological coherence. This phenomenon is not merely a contemporary trend but one deeply rooted in the nation’s historical trajectory. Prior to the declaration of Martial Law by President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. in 1972, there existed a relatively more programmatic political climate in which party affiliation, ideological alignment, and platform-based campaigning played a more significant role in shaping electoral outcomes.

However, the authoritarian rupture imposed by Martial Law marked a critical inflection point. The dismantling of institutional checks and the suppression of political pluralism under Marcos engendered a breakdown of party structures and eroded the electorate’s engagement with policy-driven politics. In the aftermath of this period marked by political instability, disillusionment, and democratic retrenchment, the political landscape regressed into a more personality-centric model. Political legitimacy increasingly became contingent on name recall, emotional resonance, and mass appeal rather than on qualifications, governance track records, or coherent policy visions.

This regressive shift has endured across successive generations, creating a self-perpetuating cycle wherein electoral contests are dominated by showbiz personalities, sports icons, and other high-profile figures who, while often lacking administrative competence or relevant political experience, are propelled into office by virtue of their visibility and populist allure. The long-term consequence of this dynamic is a weakened democratic fabric where public discourse is diluted, accountability mechanisms are compromised, and the electorate remains disengaged from the structural and policy challenges that underpin national development.

The Consequences: Infantile Political Conditions and Governance Challenges

The enduring dominance of personality-driven politics has left the Philippine political system mired in a state of developmental stagnation that may aptly be described as political infantilism. Rather than fostering a mature democratic culture grounded in merit, competence, and policy acumen, the electoral process often privileges superficial attributes such as charm, celebrity, and name recognition.

Consequently, individuals who ascend to public office from grassroots positions such as barangay captains to the highest echelons of national leadership are frequently perceived as lacking the requisite qualifications, experience, or strategic vision to govern effectively. The result is a governance apparatus that is persistently hampered by inefficiency, administrative weakness, and a deficit in technocratic competence.

Moreover, such leaders, having secured office through personal appeal rather than substantive accountability, often exhibit a predisposition toward self-serving behavior. Public office becomes a vehicle not for public service, but for personal enrichment, political patronage, and the consolidation of influence. Rather than articulating and implementing policies that respond to the collective aspirations and material needs of the citizenry, these officials tend to champion parochial interests, advance transactional loyalties, and cultivate patron-client relationships that entrench their power bases.

This pattern of governance not only corrodes institutional integrity but also deepens the electorate’s disengagement from issue-based politics. In such an environment, politics is reduced to performance and pageantry where spectacle supplants substance and the metrics of popularity eclipse those of public service. The cyclical nature of this dynamic reinforces a collective political immaturity, inhibiting the development of a more discerning and policy-literate electorate, and ultimately stunting the nation’s democratic and developmental potential.

Implications: A Hopeless Political Cycle and Enduring Suffering

In light of this entrenched context, the prospects for advancing the political maturity of the Filipino electorate remain discouraging. Without a fundamental shift toward party or platform-based politics where political engagement is anchored in coherent ideologies, policy agendas, and principles of accountable governance, the prevailing paradigm of personality politics is poised to persist with little disruption. The electorate, conditioned to prioritize charisma over competence and image over substance, remains ensnared in a cycle that rewards performative leadership rather than visionary statesmanship.

This stagnation reinforces a broader pattern of systemic dysfunction, wherein governance is routinely marked by ineffectiveness, institutional fragility, and endemic corruption. In turn, this perpetuates widespread public disillusionment and civic disengagement, as the promise of democratic participation yields little in the way of tangible progress or socio-economic upliftment. The consequences are acutely felt by the Filipino populace, whose enduring struggles with poverty, inequality, and underdevelopment are symptomatic of a political order that has failed to evolve beyond its adolescent stage.

Ultimately, the refusal or incapacity of the political system to transition toward a more mature, issue-based democratic culture continues to obstruct the nation’s path toward inclusive and sustainable development. Until such a transformation occurs, the Philippine polity risks remaining trapped in a vicious cycle where democratic forms are preserved, but democratic substance is continually undermined.

Conclusion

The Philippine political landscape serves as a paradigmatic example of a democracy entrenched in the most rudimentary stage of political maturity namely, personality politics. In this prevailing framework, electoral outcomes are shaped less by ideological conviction or policy substance than by the charisma, popularity, and media-driven personas of individual candidates. This enduring emphasis on personal appeal over principled leadership has become a defining feature of the nation’s political culture, impeding the development of a more deliberative, policy-oriented democratic process.

Breaking free from this deeply ingrained cycle necessitates a comprehensive and multifaceted transformation. At its core, such a shift requires a significant elevation of public political consciousness through sustained voter education, civic engagement, and the cultivation of critical thinking among the electorate.

Simultaneously, institutional reforms must be undertaken to strengthen political party systems, promote transparency, and incentivize platform-based governance over populist spectacle. Only by embedding these structural and cultural changes can the political arena evolve into one where policy discourse, ideological clarity, and programmatic vision take precedence.

Without such a transformation, the dominance of personality-driven politics is likely to remain unabated. In turn, this will continue to undermine the efficacy of democratic institutions, hinder socio-economic progress, and perpetuate a cycle of disillusionment and disenfranchisement among the Filipino people. Meaningful and lasting progress will remain an elusive ideal, and the broader aspirations for systemic reform will be continually deferred, leaving the nation locked in a state of political inertia.

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Prof. Ruel F. Pepa is a Filipino philosopher based in Madrid, Spain. A retired academic (Associate Professor IV), he taught Philosophy and Social Sciences for more than fifteen years at Trinity University of Asia, an Anglican university in the Philippines. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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On 10 June 2025, the Philippine Senate convened in solemn ceremony to begin its role as an impeachment court, donning Oxford robes to signify their constitutional mandate as Senator-Judges. The occasion marked the formal receipt of the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, transmitted by the House of Representatives. However, what unfolded in the hours that followed was a stunning abdication of constitutional duty and a revealing moment in the country’s political history.

Despite the clear directive of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which mandates that impeachment cases transmitted by the House must be tried by the Senate “forthwith,” or immediately, the Senate majority instead voted to remand the case back to the House, essentially halting the process before it could even begin. With 18 senators voting in favor and only five dissenting, the decision was carried through a simple raising of hands which is an act symbolic not of democracy at work, but of its quiet retreat.

This motion and its approval defied both legal precedent and constitutional intent. Rather than engage with the charges, examine the evidence, and allow due process to take its course, the Senate’s move sent a chilling message: that political convenience and allegiance trump accountability and the rule of law.

Far from acting as impartial arbiters, the majority of the Senate instead exposed themselves as political vassals of the Duterte family, lacking both the will and the intellectual rigor to fulfill their duties. In doing so, they may have permanently damaged the institutional credibility of the Senate as a check on executive power.

While the impeachment was ostensibly halted, the action speaks volumes about the composition and character of the upper chamber. Senators such as Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, Bong Go, Robin Padilla, and Imee Marcos are figures closely allied with the Dutertes. They epitomize the erosion of reasoned, independent thinking within the Senate. Though many senators hold legal credentials, it has become clear that the practice of law without logic, and argument without integrity, now characterizes much of the chamber’s proceedings.

Some may interpret this move as a strategic effort to delay. Others see it, more bleakly, as a blatant attempt to quash the impeachment case altogether, ensuring that no public scrutiny—much less conviction—would touch the Vice President. In reality, it is a dual betrayal: of the Constitution and of the people’s trust in democratic institutions.

Still, there is a silver lining to this debacle. The Senate’s action has removed all pretense and revealed the stark reality: that true justice for any alleged crimes committed by Vice President Duterte cannot and should not be entrusted to a Senate dominated by partisan actors. In this light, the impeachment trial’s collapse is not the end, but a necessary unveiling.

It is now incumbent upon the Supreme Court, and perhaps even international legal bodies, to ensure that constitutional norms are upheld and that public officials, no matter how powerful, are held accountable.

In the final analysis, what happened on June 10 was not merely a legislative maneuver but an act of constitutional sabotage, one that will be remembered as a moment when the Philippine Senate chose subservience over service, and convenience over courage.

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Prof. Ruel F. Pepa is a Filipino philosopher based in Madrid, Spain. A retired academic (Associate Professor IV), he taught Philosophy and Social Sciences for more than fifteen years at Trinity University of Asia, an Anglican university in the Philippines. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Senate President Francis Escudero takes his oath as presiding officer of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on June 9, 2025. The oathtaking, administered by Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. (Public Domain)

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A great relief for villagers in India, particularly the economically weaker sections, exists in the form of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). Under this law villagers who need employment can obtain 100 days employment in a year at a fixed wage rate on various development works (such as water conservation works). 

When well-implemented this is very useful for earning enough to meet basic needs particularly in months when other employment is difficult to obtain. Rural women in particular have been very keen to make use of the provisions of this law in many places.

However a big problem that has come up in actual practice in many villages is that even when villagers follow proper procedures such as filling up forms, depositing them and collecting receipts they encounter problems. Hence in many villages the potential of NREGA to provide much-needed and timely relief to people is not realized. Such situations of disappointment have been seen in several villages.

A recent example is that of several women mobilized by an organization called Mahila Sangathen (MS) in Barmer district of Rajasthan. As they needed employment desperately recently but did not get any employment from April 2025 onwards, they have been repeatedly going to local officials with their forms for demanding work, but although all procedures have been followed by them (and they have past experience of demanding and obtaining work) they were not given proper receipts. When they went to somewhat higher officials they promised to take remedial actions as receipts must be given as per law. However today on June 10 when these women went again to local concerned officials they were not given receipts. If there is not even an acknowledgment of their demand for work in the form of a receipt, they do not have any hope of getting employment under NREGA at a time when they really need this. They have therefore announced that if this attitude persists then they’ll start a protest dharna (sit-in). 

This unhelpful attitude has been encountered despite these women and their organization having a lot of experience in the proper implementation of NREGA. In fact their effort attracted wide attention some time back in the context of receiving compensatory payment. NREGA has a provision that if after demanding employment as per procedure stated in the law, people demanding work cannot be provided employment by the local government authorities, then a compensatory payment must be given to them. In practice it has generally been very difficult to get this payment. However thanks to the efforts of the Mahila Sangathan, women of these villages could get compensatory payment not once but thrice and this led to MS and its members receiving much appreciation for their tireless efforts.

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However now a different question is being raised that when even rural women who are helped by such an experienced organization are being denied receipts for their forms demanding employment, then how much chance ordinary villagers will have of getting employment without the help of such experienced organizations.

Hence activists who work at a wider provincial or national level have been raising demands for improving the implementation of NREGA. These demands include improving the budgetary allocations for NREGA so that these come closer to the amounts that are actually needed, which can be estimated on the basis of the past experience. Other demands include implementing NREGA in more participative ways, particularly involving poorer sections and women, conducting proper social audits and curbing corruption. The tendency to use labor-displacing machinery for earth work should be avoided so that the real objective of generating employment for those who need this can be achieved. There should be better planning so that works taken under NREGA are those which are most needed by villagers.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Man over Machine, When the Two Streams Met and India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

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As the Philippine Senate embarks on the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, the nation stands at a critical juncture. What should have been a solemn and principled occasion as an opportunity for the Senate to affirm its commitment to justice, fairness, and the rule of law has instead become a mirror reflecting troubling biases and conflicts of interest among some key senators. The integrity of the entire process depends on whether those tasked with judging the case are truly impartial.

The principle of judicial impartiality is not merely a procedural formality; it is the cornerstone of credible and legitimate legal proceedings. An impartial tribunal ensures that justice is administered without favoritism, prejudice, or undue influence. When senators act as judges, they undertake a serious responsibility: to evaluate evidence objectively and render a verdict based solely on facts and the law. Failing to do so compromises the legitimacy of the trial and diminishes public trust in our democratic institutions.

Regrettably, several senators namely, Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Bong Go, Robin Padilla, Imee Marcos, and Alan Peter Cayetano, have demonstrated overt political loyalties and personal ties that cast doubt on their ability to judge fairly. Whether through longstanding alliances, shared political ambitions, or personal relationships with Vice President Duterte, their continued participation raises serious questions. Their presence in the courtroom risks turning the impeachment into a political spectacle rather than a genuine pursuit of justice.

To draw a parallel, when a judge has a clear conflict of interest, recusal is mandatory. It is not a punishment but a moral and legal obligation to prevent bias from tainting the proceedings. The same principle applies here. Senators who have demonstrated allegiance or closeness to Duterte cannot reasonably claim to be impartial arbiters. Their active participation in the trial undermines the very foundation of justice and diminishes the credibility of the process.

Furthermore, insisting that these senators remain part of the tribunal despite their biases is akin to asking a judge to preside over a case involving a close family member which is an obvious conflict that should disqualify them from judging. Expecting the public to accept a verdict handed down by senators with known loyalties to the accused is to insult their intelligence and dismiss the principles of fairness that underpin democracy.

Recusal, therefore, must be viewed as a duty, not an option. Senators with demonstrable conflicts of interest should voluntarily step aside to uphold the integrity of the trial. If they refuse, the Senate itself must take decisive action either through moral persuasion or formal procedures to ensure that only impartial members are part of the process. Anything less risks turning the impeachment into a sham, eroding public confidence and tarnishing the reputation of our democratic institutions.

This trial is not merely a political maneuver or a media spectacle. It is a litmus test of whether the Senate can uphold the rule of law amidst pressures and political loyalties. The outcome will influence how Filipinos perceive justice and whether our institutions can withstand the temptations of partisanship.

Allowing a trial conducted by senators with known biases to proceed unchallenged will inevitably cast a shadow over whatever verdict is ultimately reached. The process itself will be viewed with suspicion, and the legitimacy of the outcome will be forever questioned. Such a scenario risks undermining the very foundation of justice and democracy in the Philippines.

The clear course of action is straightforward: Senators who have demonstrated personal or political biases must recuse themselves either voluntarily, out of a sense of duty and integrity, or through formal mandates if necessary. The integrity of the trial and the trust of the Filipino people depend on this.

Anything less than complete impartiality is not justice; it is a betrayal of the oath these senators took to serve the Filipino people and uphold the Constitution. The nation deserves a process that is transparent, fair, and rooted in genuine impartiality. Only then can we hope that the verdict reflects the truth and the rule of law, rather than the whims of political loyalty.

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Prof. Ruel F. Pepa is a Filipino philosopher based in Madrid, Spain. A retired academic (Associate Professor IV), he taught Philosophy and Social Sciences for more than fifteen years at Trinity University of Asia, an Anglican university in the Philippines. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Duterte during the 2nd PSHS-ZPRC Commencement Exercises in Dipolog on June 6, 2023 (Public Domain)

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Despite all hostilities of the past, South Asia as a region really needs the path of peace-based progress, and those who sincerely wish for the welfare of people should certainly strive to keep alive the possibilities of peace even in adverse conditions.

It needs to be recognized at a deeper level that South Asia has very serious and almost unique development challenges. This region comprising eight countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives) is spread over three per cent of the world’s land area. However with just 3% of the world’s land area South Asia has about 25% of the world’s population. Its natural resources (particularly in the context of more valuable ones like oil and gas or rare earths or precious metals) are not rich and the region depends on substantial imports of most of this. In terms of climate change, this region’s long coastline, Himalayan ranges, vast deserts and river-bank areas are particularly vulnerable. Vast areas are affected by water scarcity and soil degradation.

Over the greater part of the region colonial rule exercised a very baneful impact for almost two centuries, plundering the land and people at a time when Europe and some other countries were surging fast ahead with rapid economic growth. Colonial regimes also pursued a policy of divide and rule, so that state power was deliberately used for a long time to promote hostilities among people of different communities in organized ways. Those truly great leaders who stood for unity of people were jailed and victimized at crucial times, while those who stood for divisions and for opportunism were supported and given a free hand. This resulted in partition, killing and displacing millions, and created the base for unending hostilities which have continued to this day. Other countries or territories of the region, which did not directly go under colonial rule, also suffered from its extended adverse impacts. Even in the last years of the colonial rule millions died in extended man-made famines to serve very narrowly defined colonial interests.

Thus development challenges in this region are immense and the region can progress best only in conditions of peace, away from the shadow of war. Such dangers have increased further after two countries of the region have acquired nuclear weapons and in addition there has been a big increase in the acquisition of other arms in the region.

If only the region can learn to live in peace on durable basis, it has important strengths on the basis of which to progress well and to unitedly acquire a very strong presence in the world which in turn is used to serve the wider cause of peace and inter-faith harmony at world level. This region may comprise only 3% of the world’s land area, but historically it has contributed in disproportionately great terms. This is the birthplace of at least four great religions of the world—Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. Even today, South Asia has the highest presence of people from at least four leading religions—Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Jains. While Muslims are most often discussed in the context of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, it is not often not realized that the number of Muslims in South Asia is almost double the number of Muslims in MENA region (over 600 million in South Asia compared to a little over 310 million in MENA). South Asia is also the region of some of the greatest social reformers and spiritual leaders who gave the message of the kind of spiritual greatness which overcomes all narrow inter-faith divides, while at the same time emphasizing justice and compassion– as seen in the teachings of Guru Nanak, Sant Kabir, Sant Ravidas, Garib Nawaz and several great sufi saints, preceded much earlier by the teachings of Gautam Buddha and Mahavir Jain. Christianity came to South Asian shores in ancient times, as did Judaism, and grew firm roots here. Faiths born elsewhere like those of the Zoroastrian and the Baha’i communities came here and flourished. Various adivasi religions and faiths have an important presence and following here. There have been rich traditions of agnosticism as well as atheism. 

People speaking well over 100 languages and over 1000 dialects live here, each with its rich literature and folk-songs and stories.

Hence South Asia must re-discover and re-strengthen its basic identity as a meeting ground of various cultures, languages, religions and faiths, guided by bhakti and sufi movements and also strengthened by more modern concepts of democracy, secularism, equality and human rights for all.

South Asia imagined and re-built on the basis of such unity would be able to transcend any land boundaries of countries so that people of all countries and faiths can live in peace with each other.   

During freedom movements, leaders who got the greatest and most enduring support of all people, cutting across all narrow boundaries of faith, were those who emphasized unity, inter-faith harmony, justice and rights of women. These included internationally acclaimed names like Mahatma Gandhi, Badshah Khan and Bhagat Singh. The enduring vast popularity and great respect for such leaders indicates that an agenda based on peace, unity, inter-harmony, democracy and justice has appealed to the majority of people over long periods of time, and the problems really came in a big way when the narrow forces of fanaticism and fundamentalism tied to authoritarian trends were unleashed time and again first by colonial rulers, later by other external and imperialist forces as well as their collaborators and internal powerful forces.

South Asia must strive to achieve a strong presence at world level that stands firmly for justice, peace, democracy and protection of environment, but it can achieve this only on the basis of first internally promoting the same precepts and also opposing forces of fanaticism and intolerance, as well terrorism and violence linked to them. There should be continuing commitment to strengthening peace with all neighboring countries, protection of all minorities and also to broader peace-based unity in the South Asian region. 

When we live like this, we’ll be also to fully enjoy the great music and movies of all countries of the region, their great food and cuisine, their great poetry and other literature. We’ll be able to together enjoy the beauty and flow of Urdu language, while at the same re-discovering together the greatness of Sanskrit.     

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In a report released on June 5,  2025 GRAIN, an international organization that has consistently researched and campaigned for food security and sovereignty of global south and its communities, has exposed the recent and ongoing efforts by powerful interests in Pakistan to grab land and water resources to serve corporate and foreign interests. A note by the GRAIN team accompanying this report states,

“Pakistan is rolling out the red carpet for Gulf investors. It’s all part of the Green Pakistan Initiative, spearheaded by a powerful military-backed body designed to do whatever it takes to streamline corporate farming. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have jumped at the opportunity, pouring billions into transforming Pakistan’s agricultural landscape.”

The Saudis acting through their agribusiness companies, this note states, are securing vast tracts in Pakistan for massive cattle farms and dairy operations, while the Emiratis are also deploying their “seasoned farmland grabbing companies —fresh from amassing nearly a million hectares of foreign soil worldwide.”

However all this is challenged by fierce opposition across Punjab and Sindh. As GRAIN explains,

“local farmers’ organisations denounce that the government is using corporate farming as a smokescreen for land grabs in favour of corporate mafias. Critics warn that the water meant to serve these new mega-farms, could spell disaster for downstream regions already parched by drought. They’re also not buying the promises of promoting the country’s food security. They see cash crops that, if any, will end up fulfilling other countries’ food security but not Pakistan’s.”

Further GRAIN says in its note,

“the parallels to the troubled China-Pakistan Economic Corridor experience loom large, with many fearing these new investors will follow the same pattern—extracting wealth while leaving broken livelihoods and environmental devastation behind.” 

The original report titled ‘Gulf investors in, locals out—Pakistan’s corporate farming agenda’ has been prepared in collaboration with local organizations opposed to land-grab. This report says that nearly 400,000 hectares of land has already been allocated to private investors. Chinese companies have also moved in with agricultural projects that can be very harmful for local food security. One of these relates to introduction of genetically-modified cotton, while another one relates to export-oriented peanut monocultures.

All this is being widely resisted by farmer organizations and others who say that such policies will lead to displacement of small farmers while other farmers and herders will be cut off from water and land. The lack of transparency in land auctions and other deals has also faced criticism as people are not aware on what terms land is being handed over to corporate interests or mafias. There is a tendency on the part of the promoters of these projects to classify diverted land as wasteland so as to avoid criticism. But people refute this and it appears highly unlikely that corporate interests will bring in investments just for ‘wasteland’. 

At a time when water stress already exists for local farmers over wide areas, people fear that the big corporate projects supported by military and other powerful interests will grab a lot of water while the water scarcity for others will be accentuated further. It was in this context that there was very fierce opposition to new canals being planned to take water to these corporate water-intensive projects in Cholistan and other regions. Keeping in view this intense opposition, these canal projects have been suspended for the time-being. However this issue can arise again as after all water for water-intensive new projects on vast areas of land has to be found somehow.

There is increasing concern on this issue in recent times which is also related to the increase in local food insecurity following the pandemic as well as very devastating floods in the country. These two factors had led to serious deterioration in the food security of the country in recent times. In such conditions according high priority to local food security should obviously get the highest attention, but powerful interests are taking the farming priorities elsewhere.

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In traditional farming one of the most important tasks and responsibilities was that of selecting, saving and conserving seeds. In several rural communities women farmers had an important role in this as well as special skills and understanding related to this. Several tribal communities were particularly known for their seed conservation efforts.

While this has been well recognized for a long time, what is often not appreciated adequately is the extent to which the skills and wisdom of several traditional communities was advanced in matters relating to seeds conservation.

Dr. R.H.Richharia, former Director of the Central Rice Research Institute of India, was among those few senior scientists who mingled up very well with communities of very remote villages and with tribal communities and this enabled him to have an understanding of seed conservation strengths of rural and tribal communities. It was this people-based and community-based work of this senior scientist and his colleagues which led him to prepare a great compilation of over 17,000 cultivars of rice grown in India. As he told me, he was particularly impressed by the ability of tribal communities to remember and pass from generation to generation knowledge concerning the characteristics of hundreds of rice varieties and cultivars, the suitability of different varieties for various kinds of land, their water requirements or drought resistance, their different cooking qualities, their different aromas and even medicinal properties etc. Most of this realization was in the context of farmers of Chattisgarh region including Bastar where the tendency of most other experts has been to dismiss tribal communities as being very backward.

However Dr. Richharia on the basis of his own deeper understanding was able to better appreciate the richness of the knowledge of tribal communities and he also encouraged his co-workers to do so, as I could also understand when I met some members of his team later. Dr. Richharia, who was one of the earliest and youngest scientists from India to get a doctorate in Botany from Cambridge while studying in the middle of great resource constraints in Britain, told me that some farmers including women farmers were particularly well-skilled in this and took a very keen interest too. However as not all farmers could be expected to have equal skills and ability regarding this, some of the learnings were sought to be captured in the form of some rituals which could be more easily observed as a part of daily life by most community members and farmers.

While traditional skills of farming communities for seed conservation needed to be valued greatly and constantly strengthened and encouraged, unfortunately exactly the reverse has happened due to a number of adverse factors.

From mid-1960s onwards the strategy of farm development based on new exotic green revolution varieties and seeds was based largely on uprooting the greater diversity of existing crop-varieties grown in time honored systems of mixed farming and rotations on the basis of the accumulated wisdom and experience of many generations of farmers relating to local agro-ecological conditions.

While this sudden change was inherently wrong and harmful, the situation worsened further as powerful corporate interests, including multinational companies and the research institutes allied to them,   made seeds the main source of trying to forever increase their profits as well as their control over farming and food. Towards this end they exerted huge pressure to realize the monster objective of patents and IPRs over life forms and plant varieties, as well as to promote highly harmful technologies that could facilitate this. Hence what started happening was that as crop and seed diversity was vanishing from the fields of farmers, it was being concentrated in the labs and gene banks controlled or accessed more readily by the big corporates who then used and stole the accumulated work of generations of farmers to release ‘their’ patented varieties, sometimes after manipulating them genetically to increase their control and monopoly over them. All this was sought to be promoted under the name of ‘science’ and ‘development’, with awards being given for this.

It took some time for communities to recover from this horrible deception and shock. Once more of them started realizing the extent of the harm being caused, they started assuming the responsibility of again strengthening their seed conservation efforts.

As the displacement of farm and seed diversity was far from complete particularly in the more remote villages, several communities could still take up the task of conserving seeds. These communities noted that some disruption and harm had been caused, and legal changes had also created problems, but if the farmers and their communities acted with increasing unity and wisdom to protect their seeds diversity and sovereignty, still the diversity of seeds could be saved and protected on the fields of farmers.

Hence in recent years we have seen several communities taking up the task of protecting seeds diversity and sovereignty with a renewed and increasing sense of urgency, in India and in many other countries. I was present at a recent such effort in the form of a seed festival organized by a voluntary organization Vaagdhara in parts of three states in Central India. The mostly young men and women members of this organization mobilized themselves very enthusiastically to organize nearly 90 gatherings of tribal communities, in turn reaching out to people of about a thousand villages and hamlets. At these gatherings people of various villages assembled with their collections of various seeds which have become more difficult to find in recent times, so that these and/or the knowledge relating to these cold be shared with farmers of other villages. Visiting such gatherings, I could see that the villagers assembled here were so happy and enthused by this entire effort that they wanted such seed festivals to be organized very regularly. Women in particular were very enthusiastic participants.

This could not have been such a big success if earlier efforts had not been made to prepare a strong base for seed conservation as an integral and important part of the many-sided development efforts initiated in this region by Vaagdhara in recent years. This has helped to strengthen the earlier inclinations of these tribal communities for seed conservation, although some disruption had appeared earlier to disturb the continuity of this effort.

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Earlier in the course of my work in the Himalayan region, particularly in villages of Garhwal, I could learn much from the efforts of Beej Bachao Aandolan (Save the Seeds Movement). The efforts of this movement led to much better appreciation of seed diversity saved on the farms on the basis of traditional mixed farming systems like ‘barahanaja’ ( growing 12 or more crops together on a small plot of land to ensure balanced nutrition and self-reliance in food). Before this effort, some locally posted officials and even ‘scientists’ were speaking in terms of uprooting such excellent traditional systems declared to be backward by them, much in tune with the terrible trends of the ‘green revolution’. The Save the Seeds Movement helped to confront and change this highly distorted thinking. The movement organized several foot marches in which marchers went from one village to another, carrying with them those seeds which had been getting rare to find. They provided some of these seeds to those farmers in the visited villages who wanted them. At the same time they collected information on the seeds which had been preserved and saved in this village. In very joyful ways a lot of information on diversity of traditional seeds was collected and in addition farmers could also exchange seeds. The valuable contributions made by women farmers were also highlighted in the course of these important initiatives.

Clearly there is need for many more such efforts as well as for protecting the seeds sovereignty of farmers, their rights to conserve, protect, grow and exchange their seeds without any obstructions being placed in this.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food, Saving Earth for Children, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

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In recent years efforts of Vaagdhara voluntary organization in Central India have been attracting increasing attention in view of the wider appeal of its work related to strengthening the self-reliance of rural communities, particularly tribal communities. This self-reliance approach can provide increasing confidence and resilience to rural communities by making it possible to meet more of their needs in healthy ways on the basis of sustainable livelihoods without incurring high expenses and debts, and at the same time the self-reliant system which minimizes waste, pollutants and fossil-fuels is also protective for environment.

This is linked closely to the concept of gram swaraj or village self-reliance which was very important for Mahatma Gandhi’s struggles against colonial rule. This concept was also aligned to finding alternative development pathways. 

Several disciples of Mahatma Gandhi kept alive this concept in the post-independence period in some important although limited ways. However, in times of globalization it became difficult to keep alive the true spirit of this concept. One saving grace was that even in these times this concept of self-reliant rural communities remained close to the thinking of several tribal communities in particular.

Vaagdhara works with many such communities in the tri-junction zone of three states (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat) and strengthening self-reliance of communities has been an important base around which it has planned and implemented a number of creative initiatives relating to farming, water, afforestation, education, childhood, health, nutrition and other related issues. This work has attracted national attention and earlier this year Vaagdhara was in the forefront of organizing a national dialogue on gram swaraj and swaraj sandesh (message of swaraj).  

At a time of worsening many-sided environmental crisis, concerned people worldwide are looking beyond quick-fix solutions to find alternative ways of thinking, and actual living based on this thinking, which prevail among several communities and trying to learn from this to find at least a part of the answer, a more durable and sustained answer, for avoiding the worst of the environment crisis. 

It is as a part of this wider quest and search that the work with tribal communities in India and elsewhere which is based on a better understanding of community strengths has a wider and important appeal and relevance.

Some groups and persons approach this work with a patronizing attitude. These efforts are unlikely to go very poor. It makes much more sense to approach this task with some humility and a sincere desire to learn from communities. This sincere learning can then be followed by help to strengthen communities. It is important to emphasize that such help is also important.

These communities suffered erosion and even disruption of their integrated, inter-related systems under the onslaught of colonial rule and its collaborators for a long time. Then there were other outsider exploiters who tormented them. So weakened, several communities were less able to cope with droughts and other increasingly adverse weather conditions. This turned several of them into migrant workers for survival. This further eroded their bonds with community and inheritance of it traditions and learnings.

So while basic community existence remains in place in most villages, it would be unreasonable to expect that several community strengths have not been weakened. This is why a process based on first understanding communities and then helping to strengthen them is desirable.

Vaagdhara’s members approach communities with this spirit of learning and understanding. This spirit has enabled them to understand the many virtues of the ways in which community land use and farming practices are planned, keeping in view local conditions, strengths as well as constraints. Based on this understanding they are better able to appreciate what kind of helpful activity should be taken up and what kind of interference should be avoided.

It is with this kind of understanding that several households who had become dependent on migrant work in distant cities were approached by Vaagdhara members to explore whether they were keen to return to their neglected farmland and if yes, what kind of help they’ll require during the transition period. Amritlal wanted seeds, saplings and some guidance, and some hand holding to withstand any temporary crisis due to his denial of wages as a migrant worker. Once the first year of transition was completed, there was no going back. Amrit Lal now grows a diversity of grains, vegetables, fruits, spices and other crops, following natural farming methods. His farm and its boundary have plenty of trees and he has received an award for motivating villagers to grow thousands of trees. He has come a long way back from struggling in many places as a migrant worker to returning to his family farm in Bhundri village of Banswara district. His wife Surta is very happy with the family living together again and working together in very creative ways.

After meeting this family I went to meet a women’s group, called Saksham Samooh, in Nagli Sera village of the same district. Almost all these women had stories to relate about their ability to improve their economic condition based on increasing cooperation and self-reliance approach, growing a diversity of mixed crops with emphasis on their food needs. Susheela said, with the exception of salt and edible oil, I am able to produce all the food I need in my farm.

The ability of small farmers to meet most of their food needs on small farms, without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides for the most part, is enhanced by ability of people to meet their many other  needs from forests and wildly growing trees, bushes and plants.

Saving traditional seeds of great diversity must be an important part of this self-reliance. Apart from this being encouraged at village-level, Vaagdhara has recently organized seeds protection festivals where people gathered at about 90 places for meetings to share information about diverse kinds of seeds and also brought seeds with them to share and exchange with others. Similarly food festivals are also organized to share information about traditional nutritious foods which have been getting rare. In addition recipes are shared and delicious dishes are also cooked and shared here, much to the delight of children.

Educational efforts of Vaagdhara emphasize that children should not be alienated from their communities as they grow up, and it is hope that as they acquire more learning they can come back to their communities to help as teachers or doctors in other ways.

While villages have swaraj groups and saksham groups, at a wider level there is a forum for tribal community development initiatives (janjati vikas manch) which takes up wider mobilization tasks.

Working with this spirit of understanding traditional strengths of communities and then trying to revive and improve them in difficult times can be a valuable contribution not just at the local level, but also fulfills the wider need of keeping alive thinking and living and livelihood patterns that are much more in tune with protection of environment and sustainable livelihoods.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Planet in Peril, Saving Earth for Children and Man over Machine—A Path to Peace. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

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Bernardo Frensel Lobo, journalist, geopolitical analyst. Columnist at Geopolitika.ru, Nova Resistência. Co-host of the Portuguese language Brazilian podcast “Semanário Geopolítico” (Weekly Geopolitics). You can follow Frensel Lobo on X (former Twitter) and Telegram.  

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If Socialist Party (India) would have been in power it would have pursued a completely different foreign policy. It would have not wasted any more time in trying to prove that Pakistan is a patron of terrorism.

Narendra Modi has already tried it for the 11 years he has been in power. He has probably visited every country on earth and the prominent ones a number of times. He has left no opportunity to label Pakistan as a source of terrorism. But the world is not convinced of that. United States after suffering a major terrorist attack in 2001 took ten years to track down Osama bin Laden and killed him in Pakistan but it didn’t hold the Pakistani state responsible for it. On the contrary recently US has facilitated a $1 billion loan to Pakistan through IMF. Donald Trump has, while congratulating leaders of both countries for arriving at cease-fire, addressed both of them as great nations. Other important countries like China, Russia and Turkey are also supporting Pakistan. We must introspect why? Is it because they consider Pakistan a victim of terrorism rather then its patron? If we consider the number of killings inside Pakistan by terrorist organizations it far exceed the deaths in India caused by them.

Hence, it was futile to send seven delegations to different parts of the world in trying to make India’s point of view clear. The world already knows it. Socialist Party (India) would have sent a delegation to Pakistan instead or invited one from there to India and initiated a process of dialogue. It would have picked up from where Manmohan Singh government left.

Image: Manmohan Singh, Former Prime Minister of the Republic of India (Licensed under GODL-India)

Manmohan Singh had faced a bigger terrorist attack in Mumbai compared with Pahalgam. He was also under pressure, especially from the right wing, to attack Pakistan. However, he resisted the temptation. Any war which would have ensued would have taken toll on lives and properties of common citizens on both sides. Hence he merely suspended diplomatic relations. After a gap of about a year the process of dialogue began. But Manmohan Singh government did not stop the Jodhpur-Karachi rail link, which was revived by him in 2006 after 41 years, and neither did he stop the Samjhauta Express between Delhi and Lahore. Earlier he won accolades when he started the Srinagar Muzaffarabad bus service in 2005 as part of his vision to make Kashmir borderless so that people on two sides of LoC could easily meet. All these train and bus services, including the Delhi Lahore bus service initiated by Atal Behari Vajpayee were suspended after India’s decision to dilute Article 370 applicable to J&K, bifurcate J&K and reduced the status of both J&K and Laddakh to Union Territory in 2019.

Socialist Party (India) would open all possible train and bus links to Pakistan immediately and make it easier for people to travel across the border. In addition it would open a corridor from Pakistan to Ajmer Sharif dargah for pilgrims to be able to travel without visa in a reciprocal gesture to Pakistan having opened Kartarpur Sahib corridor in 2019. This move alone will win tremendous goodwill for India inside Pakistan.

In the long run Socialist Party (India) would revive South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and along with the other countries of the forum create a passport-visa free travel regime across all countries in South Asia. Needless to say all trade restrictions would be removed. If we can double our import-export deficit with China even though China has killed 20 Indian soldiers and captured 4,000 sq. km. of our territory why should we put any restrictions on trade with other countries in the neighbourhood?

Students would be allowed to study in academic institutions, artists will be able to perform, players will be able to play and patients will be able to get treatment across the border freely. South Asia Union would work like a block for the common interest of the people residing in the region.

India and Pakistan by an agreement would give up their nuclear weapons so that South Asia can be declared a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone like five other regions which exist in the world presently – Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Southeast Asia, countries of the South Pacific region and Central Asia in addition to Mangolia which has declared itself to be nuclear weapons free country. The number of such countries all together is over 125. Hence, the majority of the world wants to be nuclear free. India and Pakistan should join this club rather than the aggressor domineering nations. Palestinians have shown how a brave people can take on a nuclear armed bully valiantly.

All countries of South Asia will reduce their defence budgets and armies will be moved away from borders. The fence built either on the India Pakistan border or the India Myanmar border would be dismantled. Ultimately, if China wishes it can join this Union too. When all countries have joined some such regional unions we’ll arrive at the possibility of a world government, a concept envisioned by scholar Rahul Sankrityayan in his book ‘22nd century’.

All regional aspirations like in Kashmir, Baluchistan, Nagaland, etc. will be accommodated in the South Asian Union by ensuring these provinces maximum possible autonomy. When the borders between countries would become irrelevant disputed territories like Kashmir will yield to solution easily. The two Punjabs and Bengals on either side of Indian and Pakistani borders may coalesce into cohesive units giving its citizens a richer socio-cultural environment to enjoy. Such a scenario should be desirable for all countries in South Asia because it’ll weaken the forces of religious nationalism which have become a problem for various member countries today. It is sad that present restrictions have shut off all social, cultural, games and sports, educational exchanges preventing citizens of various countries from tremendous opportunities which can be unleashed by merely removing these artificial barriers. It doesn’t really make any sense to prevent people with shared backgrounds from interacting. World has seen how the people on both side of Germany borders, East and West, themselves dismantled the border because of this urge to be one. Unfortunately the political leadership of South Asian countries has demonstrated very little vision to unite their people. But politics of division will last only so long as people allow it. Once people are awakened the governments will have to follow people’s mandate. Socialist Party (India) will work towards unraveling this potential which opens up the possibility of a peaceful and prosperous South Asia and ultimately the world. It has already organized two online meetings of activists and youth from India and Pakistan with such a shared destiny after the Pahalgam attack.

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Sandeep Pandey is General Secretary of Socialist Party (India). E-mail: [email protected]

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Various tribal communities constitute about 8.6 per cent of the population of India. Nearly 700 tribal communities with a total population of over 110 million are spread all over the country with their more dense habitation on about 15% of the land area. 

The tribal communities have been known for long for their more self-reliant life patterns integrated closely with forests and their protection. However they suffered heavily during colonial rule in terms of introduction of new exploitative practices, assault on their life and livelihood pattern and the resource base which sustained it. Subsequently there were several revolts against colonial rule and its collaborators. Apart from some of the better-known struggles such as those led by the valiant Birsa Munda, there were several less known but also no less important struggles such as those led by Govind Guru among the Bhils and related tribal communities in Central India. The extent of repression by colonial forces and their close collaborators here was also very extreme, perhaps even more than some of the widely known events of extreme repression such as the Jalianwala Bagh massacre.

In the post-independence period it was a well-recognized aspect of government policy that tribal communities constitute a particularly vulnerable group and special efforts for ensuring a fair deal to them should be made. This led to several development initiatives aimed particularly at benefiting tribal communities, while of course there are other schemes and programs open to all sections which benefit tribal communities as well. There are reservations for scheduled tribes in jobs as well as in other aspects. Above all, there is recognition of their more autonomous path of development in keeping with their traditions and life-patterns, and a special law PESA (Panchayati Raj Extension to Scheduled Areas) has been enacted in recognition of this, also protecting the rights of tribal communities over resource base in several ways.

However at the implementation level, the admirable aims of protecting tribal communities and their rights and interests could not be achieved to the desirable extent. In several areas tribal communities have been displaced on a very large scale or their life has been disrupted very badly by ecologically destructive projects. It is clear by now that several distortions and mistakes need to be corrected.

This is all the more important in view of several fast emerging new factors that are re-emphasizing the importance of strengthening tribal communities and sustainable livelihoods of tribal communities by integrating this task more closely with protection of environment. In this fast emerging thinking based on relatively new understanding, the progress of tribal communities is seen not in terms of individual beneficiaries, but in terms of more holistic strengthening of tribal communities and their sustainable livelihoods in ways that are at the same time very helpful in reducing very serious environmental problems.

In recent years there has been increasing evidence-based recognition that a number of environmental problems led by but not confined to climate change are becoming serious enough to emerge as a survival crisis. In fact in the context of several vulnerable communities this survival crisis can already be seen. Along with climate change, related local problems of deforestation, changing land-use and resource use patterns including emergence of highly destructive ones, increasing water scarcity and threatened water sources are seen as parts of this survival crisis.

As a part of the sincere efforts for mobilizing an adequate, credible, hope-giving and sustainable response to this emerging crisis, among more enlightened sections there is a refreshing trend to question the dominant development paradigm which has resulted in this deeply worrying crisis. This enlightened viewpoint argues that there is increasing need to give more importance to alternative patterns of thinking and living (on that basis) which can give much greater hope for protection of environment. In this context the commitment and capability of several tribal communities to have a life-pattern integrated closely with forests and protection of forests has attracted much attention. On deeper inquiry, several of these communities are found to be making much more careful and sustainable use of resources to meet their needs in ways which minimize waste and are more self-reliant in terms of satisfying needs on the basis of well-informed utilization of local resources, including sustainable , protection-based, careful use of forests and other bio-diversity.

Hence it is increasingly realized that these communities, their life-pattern, world-view and thinking can contribute a lot to protection of environment. Despite there being increasing evidence of this, the bigger conservation projects even in the areas inhabited by such communities are often based on the displacement of these communities or on disrupting their life-pattern based on close integration with forests. This comes on top of other kinds of displacements and disruptions caused by various ‘development’, mining and other projects supported by powerful interests.  

There is thus a clear need to bring suitable changes in the existing policy framework to give the highest importance to strengthening tribal communities and their sustainable livelihoods and integrating this task with a wider vision of protecting environment. This would be a great way forward for taking forward the welfare of tribal communities and at the same time achieving significant success in environment protection on a firm base with community involvement, the kind of success that would be welcomed and admired all over the world.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril and A Day in 2071. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

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Along with growing realization of the various adverse consequences of climate change, there is increasing concern regarding the communities that are more vulnerable and are likely to be more severely impacted by climate change.

This calls for multi-dimensional analysis as we need to explore which areas are more vulnerable to increasing heat or increasing disasters like floods, which communities are poorer and have less social security, whose livelihoods are more susceptible to climate change, what is the housing condition of people and what is the disaster-preparedness of people. At the same time how the response to climate change can be improved at community level to reduce adverse impact also has several dimensions. This involves improving the resilience of the community in several ways as well as improving the kind of government assistance that is needed the most.

Tribal communities are often identified to be among the more vulnerable communities. In a recently published (2025) paper Amit Kumar and T. Mohanasundari have stated that in terms of their own perceptions tribal community members in very large numbers are confirming the manifestation of climate change in their communities and villages. In this paper titled ‘Assessing Climate Change Risks and Vulnerabilities among Bhil and Bhilala Tribal Communities in Madhya Pradesh, India’, the authors mention the percentage of Bhil community members who confirm the increasing impact of climate change in term of their living experience. 97% of respondents agreed that there is increasing irregularity of rain. 98% said there are increased summer hot days. 85% said there is decrease in number of rainy days. 97% said there is overall increase in temperature.

Another study by S.K. Das and J.P. Basu found the vulnerability of Lodha tribal community in W. Bengal to be particularly acute and serious. In yet another study for Tripura, N. Roy and A. Debnath looked at communities in terms of intensity of hazards and risks, sensitivity and exposure, and found that tribal communities have much greater vulnerability and exposure compared to non-tribal communities.

While all this confirms the urgency of making more extensive and well-thought out efforts for better protection of tribal communities and their adaption to climate change, there is another aspect, more on the positive side, which also needs to be emphasized.

In terms of their traditional strengths, tribal communities are well-endowed in several respects which have a new relevance in terms of climate change adaption and resilience. They have been practicing water conservation in ways which are very well suited to local needs. They have their own local systems, in terms of nutrition, housing, gardens, medicines etc. of coping with heat stress. They have mixed farming and tree systems which can give protective food yield even in times of below normal rainfall. Keeping in view also their ability to meet several needs from forests and wildly growing trees, based on their rich knowledge of biodiversity, they have more self-reliant communities. They are in a better position to mobilize communities for collective or shared tasks and responsibilities. Many tribal communities are in a better position to save a diversity of traditional seed varieties.

All these are important traditional strengths which can be very useful in terms of climate change adaption too. With proper recognition of the importance of these traditional strengths, present-day efforts can build further on these strengths to have a stronger climate adaption capability in place.

What is more, several strengths of tribal communities are important not just for climate change adaption, but in addition also for climate change mitigation. If we go back to the traditional ways of several tribal communities, these would be found to have very useful systems of protecting forests, using them in very sustainable ways, increasing the green cover in ways which are in tune with natural ways and having farming systems which conserve soil very well. All this would be very important today in terms of climate change mitigation as well.

This is not to say that all the traditional strengths can still be found everywhere. These have suffered erosion due to several factors. Due to exploitative practices of outside forces, the resilience of tribal communities suffered. As several members became more dependent on migrant labor, the traditional skills could not always be passed from one generation to another, and regeneration and restoration work done by the community together also suffered.

Hence a lot of efforts are needed so that tribal communities can firstly get back the traditional strengths which, quite apart from their intrinsic usefulness, have an increasing new relevance in the form of what they can contribute in various ways to climate change adaption and mitigation. Secondly, a lot can also be done in numerous very creative and beautiful ways to and further to this traditional strength and to build further on this on the basis of its proper and participative understanding and cooperation.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Saving Earth for Children, Planet in Peril and A Day in 2071. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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On Friday last week, the Supreme Court refused to pass interim orders to halt deportation of Rohingyas from India and called a writ petition alleging forcible deportation of 43 Rohingyas, including elderly, women and children to Myanmar by throwing them into international waters as a “beautifully crafted story”. Such incredulity expressed by the apex court not only makes little sense when evidence of a prima facie case exists, but is also unreasonable and deeply unconstitutional.

When Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioners, opted to present reports, photographs and tape recordings from Myanmar, the Supreme court noted that “foreign reports cannot override Indian sovereignty.” In another plea by a Sri Lankan Tamil seeking asylum in India, the Court observed that India is not a “dharmashala” that has to put up all the refugees in the world.

Though India is not signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, the principle of non-refoulement which is part of customary international law, has been judicially recognized in cases such as Ktaer Abbas Habib Al Qutaifi And Anr. vs Union Of India. The right to settle in India is only provided to citizens, and any constitutional right accorded to foreigners is limited to Article 21. 

The petitioners have claimed that a number of refugees detained by the Delhi Police under the pretext of biometric testing were subsequently flown to Port Blair. They were eventually transported to international waters and stranded there with life jackets, forced to swim to the Myanmore shore. Two images have featured alleged physical mistreatment by the Delhi Police. 

The standard of proving beyond a reasonable doubt is essentially reserved for criminal trials. The mere fact that the origin of prima facie evidence is ‘foreign’ is not a reasonable ground for blanket denial of the cause. The constitution does not impute legality of evidence originating outside the country and to disregard material solely on such ground does not render any compliance. Rather it reflects the Court’s evasion of duty to assess relevant information, shrouded in the veil of security. In the post-truth era, selective treatment of some facts as gospel and others as baseless fabrication cannot come at the cost of testing the veracity of these claims. 

The question of a refugee’s right to settle and residence in India and the other of forcibly risking their lives – such as tying them up and throwing elderly and children into the waters with only life jackets for support are two distinct areas of constitutional inquiry and do not overlap. Granting permanent status as Indian citizens to the refugees solely on grounds of persecution could possibly downplay the role played by persecutor states and is part of a larger discourse on humanitarian and immigration concerns. On a similar note, the alleged forcible deportation of Rohingyas crosses the line of lawful state action and is a flagrant disregard to protections imbued in Article 21 of the constitution. The fact that Rohingyas are a stateless population and extensive reporting of arbitrary treatment in detention camps exists, imparts considerable gravity to this issue. 

A chance opportunity is also bestowed upon the Apex court to scrutinize India’s undefined refugee policy and inconsistent legal rulings on the same. Some studies have cited that India is host to more than 200, 000 refugees not bound by any domestic refugee policy or international safeguards. India has been a generous home to refugees and asylum seekers historically, but the absence of any formal framework has often allowed the state to deal with them in an ad-hoc manner. 

Refugee International has found evidence of severe mental health and physical ailments suffered by Rohingya refugees in detention camps that have no relief and lack proper sanitation and ventilation. There looms a constant threat of arbitrary arrest on the Rohingyas in spite of them holding UNHCR cards. Thousands of undocumented Rohingya refugees stay in detention camps and slums across Jammu, Hyderabad and Delhi. Prior to their escape from Myanmar, they were subjected to military campaigns of rape, massacre and restrictions on marriage, employment and freedom of movement. Till date no one has been held accountable for ethnic cleansing and these gross human rights violations. 

The mass expulsion and crackdown on the Rohingyas by Myanmar has been cited by the UN as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” 

The fallout of authoritarianism in 2011 did not pave the way for democracy to take root in Myanmar. The military continues to retain control through genocidal violence, severe socio-political repression and perpetuation of poverty. 

In 2017, the Government of Myanmar under the pretext of eliminating a terrorist organisation called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) from Rakhine, unleashed brutal military attacks forcing thousands of Rohingyas to leave Myanmar. 

Gambia has alleged Myanmar of violating the Genocide Convention in the International Court of Justice. Last year the Court found interventions in Myanmar admissible within Article 63 of the Court’s Statute. 

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has set a deadline of 30 days to identify illegal immigrants of Bangladesh and Myanmar to States and UTs following which to initiate their deportation. In light of this order, it needs to be reiterated that state protocol must respect due process and protection of life and liberty. The most the Court could do is not add insult to the injury of a victimized population by dismissing concerns without a firm legal footing. 

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Taniya Basu is a writer and a third-year student of B.A. LLB at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences. She writes through the intersection of power structures in society and rights. Her curiosity lies in legal journalism as a means to promote accountability and empowerment for the ones most frequently left behind.

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Singapore’s ruling centre-right People’s Action Party (PAP) won the May 3 general election, gaining 65.5% — a swing of 4.3% from the 2020 result. PAP won 87 out of the 97 parliamentary seats.

While this outcome was expected, the vote share told a different story.

The PAP government, which has ruled since 1959, used various tactics to cripple the opposition parties and maintain its supermajority, in the lead up to the election. Gerrymandering, conveniently timed subsidies and vouchers for citizens and control of the mainstream media were just some examples.

Gerrymanders and Handouts

Electorates are divided into Single Member Constituencies (SMC) and Group Representative Constituencies (GRC), where parties must stand teams of 3–5 people.

Ostensibly marketed as ensuring minority representation, in practice, the GRC system is used to disadvantage opposition parties and parachute new and unpopular candidates into GRCs that are calculated as being “safe”.

Meanwhile, the PAP gerrymanders the country’s electoral boundaries to its advantage. Often SMCs are absorbed into GRCs, or SMCs are carved out of GRCs. This process is carried out by Singapore’s Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC), which is convened by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Singapore’s Online Citizen website reported on May 4 that the EBRC released its report on the new electoral boundaries less than two months before polling day, which resulted in GRCs such as Marine Parade-Braddell Heights being redrawn with awkward and peculiar borders. This change left little time and almost no recourse for opposition parties to reorganise their campaigns.

These newly created areas merged dissimilar neighbourhoods into unfamiliar blocks. Along with drawing a popular candidate from a neighbouring SMC, the redrawn electoral boundaries led the social democratic Workers’ Party (WP) to withdraw from contesting Marine Parade–Braddell Heights GRC, leading to a PAP walkover. This was much to the disappointment of many residents who had hoped for continued opposition presence.

Among the organisations that have been embedded into the lives of everyday Singaporeans are the People’s Association (PA), the Residents’ Committee (RC), and the National Trade Unions Congress, which are managed by public funds.

When PAP candidates lose an electoral contest, they are given the title of “Grassroots Adviser” in opposition constituencies where they claim credit for community activities organised by the PA and RC and control community centres throughout the country. This enables the PAP to link the activities of their PA, RC and grassroots leaders to the PAP government and ensure political loyalty from Singaporeans.

A key example of how the PAP was able to use its control of these institutions to their advantage was the recent rollout of heavily subsidised “S$1 deals”, such as cheap hawker meals, eggs, public transport rebates and basic health check-ups. These handouts were distributed through grassroots channels and town council communications, with ruling party members often acting as the public faces of these schemes.

While claiming these measures are meant to ease cost-of living burdens, the timing of these schemes came suspiciously close to the general election announcement. The timing of the handouts aligned conspicuously with the election campaign and is believed to have helped the PAP increase its vote share.

Speaking to the Online Citizen on May 4, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) spokesperson Dr Paul Tambyah said that while many Singaporeans supported the opposition, they felt compelled to vote for the PAP, saying:

“We like you. We think Singapore needs to change. But frankly, I need that $1 deal.”

By doing this, PAP has been able to offer immediate relief, while framing political alternatives as risky.

Democratic Space

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who took over in May last year, also used PAP’s control of the media to tout the importance of a strong and stable government and conduct fearmongering about rising geopolitical tensions and their potential effects on Singapore.

In the run up to the election, PAP candidates were not subjected to the same level of scrutiny in debates and media coverage as opposition parties. For example, PAP candidates were given four minutes to answer questions in roundtable discussions and debates, while opposition candidates only got one minute, while being endlessly fact-checked and scrutinised.

Meanwhile, mainstream newspaper, the Straits Times, targeted the WP with feature spreads on GRCs that the WP were holding onto or threatening to wrest from the PAP. These were biased in favour of the PAP.

While the PAP will claim that this election has given it a strong mandate, the reality is a lot more complicated, with the results showing that the country is divided.

While the PAP brand is recognisable, most Singaporeans aren’t aware of the opposition parties. The WP, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) and Progress Singapore Party (PSP) concentrated their campaigning efforts in the country’s east, north and west, respectively.

The PAP’s political strategy was effective, and it gained more than 75% of the vote in some constituencies. It also improved its performance against opposition candidates in most of the country, except the east.

This was a bitter pill to swallow for the opposition parties, especially the SDP and PSP, which have been working on the ground for years.

Workers’ Party

In the east, the WP — with a reputation for being a credible and responsible opposition party — held onto their existing seats of Hougang SMC, Aljunied GRC and Sengkang GRC. However, the party was unable to win any new GRCs and SMCs, losing in close contests with the PAP by a small margin.

In Hougang SMC — which the WP has held since 1991 — Dennis Tan gained 62%, a 1% increase from 2020. In Aljunied GRC, headed by WP Secretary-General and Opposition leader Pritam Singh, the WP gained more than 59% of the vote. The WP also managed to defend the Sengkang GRC — which it won in 2020 — increasing its vote from 52% to 56%.

The WP also managed to gain more than 40% of the vote in the four other GRCs and SMCs it ran in, with its most notable results being 48.53% in Jalan Kayu SMC and 47.37% in Tampines. These two results were the highest runner up tallies, giving the WP two non-constituency members of parliament (NCMPs) and 10 MPs, making them the only opposition party in the parliament.

Long-time SDP stalwart Chee Soon Juan managed to gain 46.81% in Sembawang SMC, narrowly missing out on the second NCMP seat. The highest vote for the PSP was 39.99% in the West Coast-Jurong GRC. However, they lost both the NCMP seats that they gained at the 2020 general election and suffered a 4.89% swing against them.

A notable result was that of independent candidates Jeremy Tan and Daryl Lo, who campaigned extensively on social media and at the grassroots. Tan gained 36.16% in Mountbatten SMC, the highest vote for an independent candidate since 1972. Meanwhile, Lo gained 23.47% in Radin Mas SMC. In an interview with Online Citizen on May 7, both candidates vowed to remain active in political discourse and community engagement.

The election results reveal a few things. PM Wong will be able to claim the result vindicates his call for a strong mandate in uncertain times.

Second, the PAP brand is recognisable and was useful in an election that was largely about branding rather than the calibre of candidates.

Third, younger voters, while espousing the desire for a robust parliament, are willing to compromise their idealism in times of perceived hardship.

The PAP’s appeal for a strong mandate gained it a 4.3% swing, while the WP maintained its status as the official opposition. While the WP held its ground, for all the opposition parties the election was a setback, with no other opposition parties able to enter parliament.

Reacting to the disappointment about the election outcome, Singaporean activist Elijah Tay told Green Left he shared the frustrations of many Singaporeans and said:

“But democracy cannot and will never exist solely at the ballot box.

“Every day, the PAP gets involved in our lives — when we spend $7 on chicken rice, when we work overtime without pay, when housing prices rise to the millions — that is the PAP exercising their power over us.”

Tay encouraged people to continue to remain active:

“I hope that you will give yourselves the permission to keep these feelings and actions alive beyond these two weeks; I hope to see you at grassroots rallies, such as the upcoming independent Labour Day Rally on May 25, and I hope to organise with you on the ground.”

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While the tragic death of about 23 persons in Amritsar district of Punjab and the serious condition of several others has understandably evoked a lot of concern, this must be seen as only a partial although very tragic reflection of a much wider and steadily worsening multi-dimensional tragedy of alcohol-related deaths, ailments and social disruption in India.

The total number of alcohol-related deaths in India in a year was estimated by the WHO to be around 260,000 (2.6 lakh) in 2018. This excludes some kinds of liquor-related deaths which can be quite high. What is more, the number must have increased considerably since then as alcohol consumption has been steadily increasing. Taking a very conservative estimate, or rather under-estimate, of about 3.6 lakh deaths in a year now in India (compared to 26 lakh alcohol-related deaths annually in world), in India about 30,000 people die in a month, about 1,000 in a day and 42 die every hour due to alcohol consumption-related factors. 

Hence while the problem of spurious liquor deaths is certainly serious, the overall tragedy of increasing alcohol-related deaths is a much, much bigger problem. What is more alcohol causes much more domestic violence and all forms of violence as well as family and social disruption compared to any other intoxicant, legal or illegal. The bigger, wider aspects of the alcohol problem are often neglected as very powerful interests are linked to the fast increasing alcohol consumption. As the latest available (2025) data (from IWSR—international wine and spirits records) indicate, unlike several other leading liquor consuming countries which are reducing their consumption of alcohol due to health campaigns and other factors, India is among those countries where alcohol consumption is increasing at a fast pace.

One of the main reasons for this is that very healthy social traditions which discouraged liquor consumption are being allowed to die, and instead a very wrong version of modern living, which includes not just overemphasis on consumerism but also on instant gratification including that based on substance abuse is being promoted. In some Punjabi and Bhojpuri songs one can see shocking celebration of alcoholism. The problem is particularly huge and increasing in some states including Punjab. What is more when governments embark on nasha mukti or campaigns against intoxication they focus mainly on  addiction to illegal drugs and supply side of these drugs and leave out alcohol, even though the number of deaths, domestic violence and social disruption caused by legally available liquor is the highest. Despite this, the same governments which claim to be carrying out nasha mukti go on opening more and more liquor vends in villages, something which is opposed strongly by women but they find themselves helpless in most situations although at some places they have been coming forward to oppose these vends and at times have succeeded in driving these away.

In my small way, I have been carrying out a campaign in many places and our approach is that we try to create conditions in which people are encouraged to give up all kinds of intoxicants, including various forms of liquor and tobacco and various drugs. Almost everywhere when I have spoken, the response of villagers particularly women has been very good and they ask that this effort should continue.

The increasing tragedy of liquor consumption is also related to those who seek to derive excessive legal and illegal profits from the manufacture and sale of liquor (again including illegal and legal liquor). Since this is seldom admitted at the official level, it is important to hear what a very senior retired official of Punjab had to say on this issue soon after the Amritsar tragedy.

Former Chief Secretary of Punjab Suresh Kumar has written an article published in The Tribune on 16 May in which he has stated,

“One of the most formidable barriers to reform is the monopolization of Punjab’s liquor trade. Over the past decade, a handful of persons —many linked to both ruling and opposition parties— have cornered the right to liquor manufacturing and distribution. These monopolies, solidified through opaque auctions and manipulated licensing processes, stifle competition and accountability. In many districts the police serve less as enforcers of the law and more as protectors of the liquor empire. Excise inspectors, often silenced by fear or complicity, remain ineffectual. Even honest officials find themselves powerless within a system fortified by money, muscle and political influence.” 

Further this review by a well-informed senior official states,

“The tragedy is exacerbated by warped economic incentives. Punjab rakes in over Rs. 10,000 crore (1 crore=10million) annually through liquor excise, making it the state’s second largest source of non-debt revenue. This fiscal dependency breeds a wilful blindness. When both legal and illegal profits flow upward through the same shadowy networks, the state becomes a silent accomplice in the slow poisoning of its people.” 

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Man over Machine—Gandhian Path to Peace, Protecting Earth for Children, A Day in 2071 and Planet in Peril. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research. 

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Abstract

This is a conversation between Japanese artist Mio Okido and art historian Asato Ikeda, centered on Okido’s exhibition Remembered Images Imagined (Hi)stories—Japan, East Asia, and I at the Museum of Asian Art in Berlin. The dialogue examines Okido’s exploration of imperialism, nationalism, and cultural identity through works such as Ghosts, Holy Person from Hiroshima, and Viewing. Okido discusses her critical engagement with historical narratives, aesthetics as propaganda, and the systemic frameworks shaping art and memory.

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Mio Okido (b. 1986) is a contemporary Japanese artist who lives and works in Berlin.[1] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tokyo University of the Arts and a Master of Arts degree from Berlin University of the Arts. Her work explores conflicts between people, particularly those arising from differences in social class, ideology, nationality, and cultural and political identity. She employs a variety of media and techniques, including two-dimensional art, installation art, and action pieces. Most recently, her works were featured in Remembered Images Imagined (Hi)stories—Japan, East Asia, and I at the Museum of Asian Art in Berlin, part of the Humboldt Forum. This exhibition, which ran from September 2024 to February 2025, was the artist’s first institutional solo exhibition. It took place in one of the semi-permanent galleries of Japanese and other Asian art.

Ikeda: How long have you been living in Germany, and why Germany?

Okido: I briefly studied in Germany in 2013 while still affiliated with Tokyo University of the Arts, but I returned to Japan afterward. I moved to Berlin more permanently in 2015. My primary interest was in understanding how postwar German history differed from that of Japan. During the Cold War, Germany was divided into two spheres—Western capitalist and Eastern communist—while Japan was not. I come from Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, which is geographically close to Russia. My grandfather, who was stationed in China as a soldier during the war and later sent to Siberia as a prisoner of war, spent some time in Russia. Despite this physical proximity, Japan has been diplomatically and culturally distant from Russia on the official level, which has always felt like a “black box” to me. I found that very intriguing, and Germany’s unique relationship with Russia was one of the reasons I chose to live there.

Ikeda: I’d like to ask about the works currently displayed at the Museum of Asian Art in Berlin, particularly those related to Japan and the Second World War. Could you first talk about how the exhibition came about?

Okido: The exhibition was curated by Kerstin Pinther (curator for modern and contemporary art in a global context) and Alexander Hofmann (curator for arts of Japan).[2] In 2023, I became a fellowship holder for the project Collaborative Museum at the Ethnological Museum of Berlin and the Museum of Asian Art, both of which are located at the Humboldt Forum in Mitte. These museums house over 500,000 objects, making them one of Europe’s largest collections of non-European art and culture.

The Humboldt Forum and its authoritative presence in central Berlin have been a focal point of critical debate about decolonization. The museums launched this project to collaborate with contemporary artists who are critical of the state’s colonial legacy, reframing the collection to challenge colonial structures and existing power dynamics. The aim is to promote diversity, accessibility, and a reimagined relationship with the collection, even though the content of the collection itself cannot be changed easily.

Ikeda: There are five works displayed in the exhibition Remembered Images Imagined (Hi)stories—Japan, East Asia, and I. Let’s start with Ghosts (2024) (Figure 1). This piece consists of seven works and incorporates, via silk-screen, seven works that were displayed at the 1931 “Japanische Malerei der Gegenwart (Contemporary Japanese Painting)” in Berlin, which exclusively featured Japanese-style Nihonga paintings: Kaburagi Kiyokata’s Sound of Water, Takeuchi Seihō’s Fish and Vegetables, Yamamoto Shunkyō’s Clear Waters of Hozu River, Kawai Gyokudō’s Late Autumn in the Mountains, Hayami Gyoshū’s Snow at Night, Yokoyama Taikan’s Crested Myna on a Fig Tree, and Nishimura Suishō’s Hungry Ravens.[3] Four of these original paintings are displayed in the same gallery space for arts of Japan at the museum (Figure 2).

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Figure 1. Mio Okido, Ghosts (2024), Screen Prints on Silk. Copyright: Mio Okido.

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Figure 2. The 2025 installation of Japanese-style paintings from the 1931 Japanese painting exhibition in Berlin. The Museum of Asian Art, Berlin. Copyright: Asato Ikeda.

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Okido: Japanese paintings—including those from the modern period—are often presented as examples of the country’s “traditional” art in museum settings. However, the history of how these works came to Europe is often overlooked. While art from other non-Western regions is often contextualized within narratives of European imperialism and colonialism, Japan’s imperialist history is less acknowledged.

The paintings were displayed in Berlin in 1931 as part of Japan-German cultural diplomacy and served as national propaganda, shortly before the Manchurian Incident took place. These works were intended to portray Japan as a nation of art and beauty, even as its militaristic ambitions grew. Through my work, I aimed to bring attention to the collection history of these paintings.

My work incorporates photographs published in The Manchurian Incident Photographic Collection (Manshū jihen shashin chō) in 1932. Both the paintings and photographs served propagandistic purposes, and I tried to juxtapose militaristic and “beautiful” Japan. In my work, I removed the central elements of the original 1930s paintings and inserted photographic images of the Japanese flag and soldiers holding weapons. This contrast highlights the dual narratives of Japan during that time.

The title of the work, Ghosts, is translated as Geister in German, a word that also resonates with the German Geist (spirit), as in zeitgeist. When studying the 1930s in Germany, it’s hard to comprehend how such events unfolded, yet they were driven by the “spirit” or atmosphere of the time. Similarly, we live within today’s zeitgeist, which future generations may struggle to understand. This idea—that our actions are shaped by the systems and spirits of our time—is central to my work. These images and paintings from the 1930s existed within Japan’s imperialist framework, and my work reflects on their haunting legacy.

Ikeda: In the brochure produced in conjunction with the exhibition, you write that “In Japanese art, ‘beauty’ is sometimes associated with cultural and national identity…I am not an artist who simply creates beautiful things and loves them uncritically. I am rather a ‘schizophrenic’ artist who believes in and yet doubts the beauty of art, who appreciates and yet doubts its existence. In this exhibition, I contemplated the dangers of the ‘beauty of Japanese art’ and its modern history.”[4] Among the five works displayed in the exhibition this time, Ghosts most directly addresses the issue of Japan and beauty and the production of soft power.

Okido: Japanese-style painting (Nihonga) developed as a counterpart to Western-style painting (yōga). While it aimed to reinterpret and reconstruct the traditions of premodern East Asian and Japanese art, it was also influenced by Western painting and modernism. However, during the era of militarism in the 1930s, the works that were endorsed by those in power were those that embodied nationalism.

Ikeda: And of course, these works were received through a white Orientalist lens that would reinforce and reconfirm Japan’s self-Orientalizing presentation.

Okido: In the history of modern Japanese art, Western-style oil paintings (yōga) were as important as Nihonga, but Japanese oil paintings never received attention in the West. More than modern Nihonga, what was popular in Europe was ancient Japanese art. There was a large ancient Japanese art exhibition in 1939 in Berlin, which Adolf Hitler famously visited.

Ikeda: Do you think Japan is associated with beauty still today?

Okido: Absolutely. It’s quite obvious if you look at how many foreign tourists are coming to Japan now. It’s not just that foreign tourists are interested in Japan. The Japanese side is intentionally creating an image that Japan is an attractive place. It’s part of “Japan, the beautiful country” (Utsukushii kuni Nihon) and, more recently, Cool Japan.

As an artist, I think it’s important to be aware of the systemic and political framework we work in. “Japanese” is a concept that was created in the process of modernization from the beginning of the Meiji period onward, and Japanese art was also constructed in the process of the idea of “art” being introduced from the West. As an artist, I want to always be critical about the framework of “beauty.”

Self-critical thinking is encouraged in some cultures. Being self-critical has been a very important part of German culture, especially after the Second World War and during the student protest movement in the 1960s. In Japan, independent thinking is generally not encouraged.

Ikeda: When visitors start the gallery visit by seeing Ghosts, the next work they would encounter is Holy Person from Hiroshima (2021), which is a relatively small work displayed on a big wall, but its shining quality can draw attention (Figure 3).

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Figure 3. Mio Okido. Holy Person from Hiroshima (2021). Brass plate and rhinestones. Copyright: Mio Okido.

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Okido: Hiroshima and Nagasaki are important parts of Japan’s war memories. The stories regarding the violence inflicted by the atomic bombing must be narrated and continue to be passed on. If the memories about the atomic bombings are narrated in the framework of humanism, that is most ideal, but they are often associated with narratives that promote national identity and reinforce the idea of the nation-state. There were Korean victims, for example, but they are underrepresented.

I come from eastern Japan, so I do not have any family or relatives who were directly affected by the atomic bombings. I think we grow up often fed by secondary information without having direct access to the primary sources.

Ikeda: I agree. I am also not from Hiroshima or Nagasaki, and when the atomic bombings are discussed in the framework of “Japan” and I am not actually part of it, I feel awkward. This doesn’t have to be about the war. When the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown happened in northeastern Japan, it was often discussed as a “Japanese” disaster, but I was not from that area, and I was not a victim.

Okido: The memorial events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki often have political tones, with Japanese flags everywhere. When I lived in Tokyo, I had a friend who was a third-generation victim. But he was not able to make that public because often his parents and grandparents came from the generation where atomic victims were often discriminated against within Japan because of their exposure to radioactive materials. That’s when I learned what it was really like to be a victim of atomic bombs. They were bombed and then discriminated against even when they survived, while being iconized as the symbol of the country’s suffering within the narrative of the nation-state by those who might not have necessarily experienced the suffering or understood the depth of the victims’ plight and hardship.

Ikeda: What is the material used here? What does the image show? It looks very shiny and beautiful on the surface, but it is hard to see what kind of image we are looking at.

Okido: I used rhinestones. The photograph shows a person lying down, and the person’s skin has been burned. I am not sure if the victim is still alive or has already died, but it was taken right after the bombing. The image comes from Getty Images, so this is something you can “purchase,” so to speak. It is a “commodity.”

I grew up in a generation where girls used rhinestones to decorate their belongings, like cellphones. I wanted to use kitschy materials like rhinestones. They are shiny and decorative, but they are only imitations of diamonds and cannot be “authentic.” I placed hundreds of rhinestones by hand, and it was labor-intensive work. As I spent more time creating this work, I also came to understand the weight of the image. But the disconnect between how the victim is represented and aestheticized here with the rhinestones alludes to how their stories become disconnected from the victims themselves and beautified by the nation-state with a sense of patriotism. The title Holy Person from Hiroshima refers to how the victims are often “worshipped” in the postwar narrative of the war.

In principle, if we are touched by the experiences of victims in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we should be able to renounce violence in general regardless of nationality or ethnicity, and we should not have any problem empathizing with the Asian victims of Japanese militarism. There is a movement by activists in Hiroshima to address this point, but this is not the kind of perspective shared on a national level in Japan. The nation-state comprises an imagined community that is intangible, and often the memory, culture, and history of the nation are constructed in that context, which can be dangerous.

Ikeda: Two side walls that “sandwich” Holy Person from Hiroshima display Human Relationships (2024), which consists of brass plates that have German words on them (Figure 4). As I understand it, the work is about how language can govern the way we think, and it explores German grammar involving the verb “to kill” (töten).

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Figure 4. Human Relationships (2024) Wall-based textual art, engraved brass plates. Copyright: Mio Okido.

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Okido: I am often asked why I used German, not English—a more accessible language—here. I chose German because that’s the language in which I learned about the cultural and artistic importance and discourse around war memories and postwar history. I used brass plates because they are often used throughout German cities as Stolpersteine (“stumbling blocks”) on streets, with inscriptions that explain histories related to Jewish victims under Nazi rule.

The verb describes a basic action. Here, I chose the verb “to kill” and displayed the table of possible conjugations often seen in German language textbooks. Depending on how we conjugate, we can change the tense—killed, kill, or will kill—and the probability of the action—will kill, may kill, must kill, etc. The verb can also be passive or active—to be killed or to kill. There are different variations depending on combinations of tense, probability, and active/passive voice. German conjugation tables can be different from their English counterparts as it has more types of subjects than English, and the auxiliary verbs used to express the future and intention are distinct. Also, there are expressions that theoretically exist but not commonly used.  

This work was inspired by contemporary events, such as the Russia-Ukraine War, October 7th, and Palestine. I thought my art would not make sense unless the war and imperialism in East Asia were seen in a global context. This work was conceived as a bridge between the military conflicts in East Asia in the past and those in the world today. I think it’s meaningless to talk only about East Asia; I wanted to address global history, connecting different local histories. It’s relatively easy for Germans or Americans to criticize Japan and Japanese discourses on war memories. It’s much more difficult for them to address more relevant contemporary issues like Palestine.

Ikeda: Yes. I’ve spent time in and traveled to places like Copenhagen, Tokyo, Berlin, and New York. By far, it’s easiest to talk about Palestine in Japan. I found that interesting.

Okido: I agree. It’s ironic that we can say or do things about Japanese imperialism now in Germany but not in Japan, and we can say or do things about Palestine in Japan but not in Germany. What we can talk about heavily depends on our system of economic profit and political agenda.

Ikeda: Do you think German audiences understood what you had in mind about this work being a bridge between Japan’s imperialism in East Asia and ongoing military conflicts today, especially regarding Palestine? In the brochure, I did see the Shoah (the Holocaust) mentioned but not Palestine.

Okido: That reflects the “local” discourse in Germany. Coming to terms with the Shoah was the most important event in postwar Germany. Offering sincere apologies to Jewish victims was foundational to the construction of postwar German society on a psychological level. It would be ideal to discuss both the Shoah and Palestine, but on an official level, that is not currently possible. This might not make sense logically, but many people in Germany have an emotional and political investment in how postwar Germany critically reflected on its actions during the Second World War. Both logic and emotion are important parts of being human, so I am not in a position to criticize them.

Ikeda: Another work you present in the ongoing exhibition is Facial Façade (2024), located behind the wall that displays Holy Person from Hiroshima (Figure 5) It’s a larger-than-life-size photographic “banner” of your face, wearing a necklace-like chain that has smaller photographic images of Meiji-period Japanese men, like Fukuzawa Yukichi, Shibusawa Eiichi, Inoue Kaoru, and Ito Hirobumi.

I wonder about the relationship between yourself as a female artist and all these modern Japanese pioneers. Are you being “effaced” by them? Are they “imposing” something on you?

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Figure 5. Facial Façade (2024) Print on fabric. Copyright: Mio Okido.

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Okido: I see this as a kind of collage. Their faces intersect with mine. These are the Japanese men who pioneered the country’s path in the global world, and I benefit from their work. I have privilege thanks to them. These Japanese men were the first “Asian” men to imitate white men. As a Japanese woman, I’m also a privileged kind of Asian woman compared to other people from Asia. I can easily obtain a visa to stay in Europe, for example.

Ikeda: That’s interesting. I thought these men were “oppressing” you as a woman. Now the title of your work, Façade, makes sense. You exist as part of the same structure.

The gender component of the work interests me. There is clearly a contrast between the genders, but your head is shaven. You look quite rebellious, but you clearly put on makeup, especially around your eyes. I saw this work reproduced in the brochure, but the actual work, since it is so monumental, captures the raw texture of your skin and hair in a striking way.

Okido: I shaved my head for this work. It might sound paradoxical, but I think after getting rid of certain decorative attributes like long hair that are supposedly “feminine,” you actually see the real femininity in my face. Also, I thought having long hair and wearing makeup would be visually too much.

Ikeda: Because you present yourself in such a direct way in this work, I think this piece might have the most visual impact among the five.

Okido: This work indeed garnered a lot of attention from certain people, but for a different reason. When I had a group of Korean visitors see my exhibition, this piece elicited the most emotional response from them. In Japanese textbooks, these Japanese men are important historical figures who contributed to the modernization of the country. But for the Koreans, these men, especially Ito Hirobumi, are infamous figures, being colonists and oppressors. There are historical figures who are remembered rather differently depending on where you are from. Toyotomi Hideyoshi is another good example. The violence they inflicted outside Japan is often not taught in Japan.

Ikeda: Displayed close to Facial Façade is Viewing (2024), a video installation displayed on two facing walls. The installation consists of about one hundred small monitors, which look like a grid (Figure 6, 7).

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Figure 6, 7. Mio Okido, Viewing (2024) Two-channel video installation. Copyright: Mio Okido.

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Okido: The work is a video of myself blinking every eight seconds, filling each wall, and still photographic images from South Korea and Japan, filling each monitor. One wall is dedicated to photographs from Korea, and the other to Japan. Every time I blink, the number of images from Japan and South Korea changes. When there are more Japanese images, fewer images from South Korea are shown, and vice versa. I spent two weeks in South Korea photographing important war-related monuments and sites. My eye and blinking represent the contemporary gaze at the two sides of history.

Facial Façade and Viewing are displayed behind the arts of Korea gallery. This Korea gallery is very small compared to the galleries of Japan and China. I guess this reflects the collecting history of Korean art in the twentieth century. As Korea was a colony of Japan, their art was not ardently collected in Europe compared to other Asian countries. Important Korean artworks are sometimes found not in the West, but in Japan, the former colonial ruler.

In the video, for the Japan side, there are photographs of Japanese flags, amulets for soldiers, Shinto shrine gates, the Meiji Memorial Hall, Tokyo Station, Kamikaze armbands, among others. Some of the photographs are related to Korean laborers who were forced to work in the Sado gold mines (Kinzan) in Niigata, where I am from. There were Korean laborers throughout the country in the early twentieth century, and many in Niigata as well. But often, these stories have not been made into “history” and are underrepresented in historical narratives. The Sado mines became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2024, but the dark history of Korean laborers has not been sufficiently acknowledged.

For the Korea side, there are photographs related to the comfort women system—such as images of surviving women, comfort women statues, condoms distributed by the Japanese army to their soldiers—and the independence movement. Some of the postwar South Korean monuments about their independence have patriotic and nationalistic tones, and their education can be biased, but I am not entitled to criticize it. I never experienced living in a country whose sovereignty was deprived.

Living in Germany, I interacted a lot with Koreans as we were both considered “Asians.” That’s when I learned that our narratives about the war were very different. We have a shared history, but our perspectives are distinct.

With this work, I wanted to show how we look at the same history from different sides and that our narratives are parallel and never really merge. Of course, it would be ideal if our narratives reconciled, but I am skeptical about that possibility. It’s a big step just to be able to acknowledge that there are different narratives to the same history. That acknowledgment allows us to go beyond “us” and “them.”

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Notes

1. For more on Okido’s work, see https://www.miookido.net
2. Asato Ikeda would like to thank Dr. Alexander Hofmann for kindly introducing her to the artist. This written piece combines two interviews that took place in Tokyo, December 2024 and at the Museum of Asian Art in Berlin, January 2025.
3. For more on the collection and the exhibition, see Sato Dōshin, “Berurin Nihonga tenrankai” [Japanese-style Paintings Exhibition in Berlin,” Hizō Nihon bijutsu taikan: vol. 7 Berurin Tōyō bijutsukan [Secret Japanese Art Conpedium, volume 7: Oriental Museum in Berlin], edited by Hirayama Ikuo and Kobayashi Tadashi (Tokyo: Kōdansha, 1992), 275-283.
4. The brochure is accessible through the museum website: https://smart.smb.museum/media/exhibition/82712/Brochure-Mio-Okido.pdf

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India has a good record of standing up for safety of food by opposing GM crops, particularly in the context of food. This is why despite relentless lobbying by powerful corporate groups to introduce GM varieties for food crops like mustard and brinjal, this could be avoided so far and GM crops remained confined in India to cotton (even in the context of GM cotton several false claims have been exposed from time to time). However the authorities have now tried to get over this opposition by introducing gene edited food crops instead but it is unlikely that this tactic will find any takers as in the course of opposition to GM crops it has already been made clear several times that gene edited crops also need to be opposed on substantially similar grounds. 

Hence it is hardly a surprise that soon after the government announced its decision regarding the release of gene-edited rice varieties opposition to this has been picking up. Within a day of the government announcing the release of two gene-edited rice varieties in India on April 4, the Coalition for GM Free India issued a strong statement voicing their opposition to these two rice varieties (Kamala and Pusa DST Rice 1). The Coalition has also demanded that the government should bring gene editing under the purview of rigorous regulation. 

While issuing a detailed evidence-based critique of the decision of the government to release two gene-edited rice varieties, this coalition has argued that these have the potential to harm human beings and cause irreversible damage to environment, in addition to threatening our seed sovereignty. The coalition has emphasized that it is essential to follow the precautionary approach in this context to avoid serious and irreversible harm. In view also of the threat to gene pool and the diverse indigenous varieties of rice, the coalition has stated that public spirited scientists and citizens will together oppose this decision in the days to come. 

It is particularly tragic that such a decision has been taken in the context of rice, which is the most important food crop of India and India is famous for a very rich diversity of indigenous varieties. Dr. R.H. Richharia, India’s most senior rice scientist had worked very closely with farmers of remote villages, including villages of tribal communities in regions like Bastar, to collect and catalogue thousands of indigenous rice varieties and cultivars. If only a proper and detailed study of these thousands of indigenous varieties and cultivars is made, it will be possible to find varieties which can be extremely useful for meeting various desired objectives and characteristics, instead of resorting to the highly uncertain and hazardous techniques of gene modification and editing.

Even from a purely economic perspective, India’s interests are best served as a leading center from where healthy and GM-free rice can be obtained. Understanding this some rice exporters from India have also been keen to oppose to oppose GM-gene editing lobby, as I found them in meeting held to oppose these hazardous technologies. However some powerful foreign interests do not want India to flourish as a center for such healthy, non-GM and diverse rice varieties, and it is under the pressure of such lobbies that such harmful decisions are being taken.   

What is the real game of those lobbying for gene edited crops? As consciousness regarding the many-sided adverse impacts and high hazards and risks of GM crops has grown, some promoters allied to the same big business interests and multinational companies directly and indirectly have instead started trying to push for gene editing technologies but as these too have similar adverse impacts and risks to a large extent therefore these too must be rejected. This is supported by scientific research as well as court decisions. 

In a study published in Nature Biotechnology, scientists from the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK found that new genetic engineering techniques like CRISPR may cause ‘genetic havoc’. Researchers found large deletions and rearrangements of DNA near the target site that were not intended. Earlier studies also found that gene-edited plants such as soybeans had off-target effects in which gene-editing occurred at unintended locations. Friends of the Earth found on the basis of the actual applications of these techniques that this was in the direction of further increasing chemical intensive approach to agriculture. 

Gene-editing can also be used to construct ‘gene drives’ which aim to spread genetically-modified genes across wild populations faster than normal inheritance allows. Once released, gene drive organisms cannot be recalled. This can have very adverse impacts and there have been several demands for moratorium on this. Use of this technology on mosquitoes and insects has proved very controversial and there have been several adverse impacts and high risks reported regarding this.        

In fact the entire trend and tendency of big business interests and multinational companies gaining control over seeds and agriculture must be firmly opposed by farmers, health and environment activists all over the world because big business operates in ways that are harmful for sustainable livelihoods of small farmers, for environment and health. On the one hand they try to spread inherently unstable, unreliable, disruptive and dangerous technologies like GM and gene-editing and on the other also market herbicides and agro-chemicals that are expensive as well as harmful for health and environment.

One of the most eminent scientist of India on this subject Dr. Pushpa Bhargava has clearly stated that the available evidence is overwhelmingly against GM crops. Dr. Pushpa M. Bhargava was the founder of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology and in addition he was also the Vice Chairperson of the National Knowledge Commission. He had been appointed by the Supreme Court of India as an observer in the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee as he was widely perceived to be not only a very accomplished expert on this issue and that too of the highest integrity but in addition he was also seen on the basis of his past record as a very strong and persistent defender of public interest.

Therefore it is very useful and interesting to see what this very senior scientist with a comprehensive understanding of this issue had to say about GM crops in an article written for a leading newspaper The Hindustan Times.  He wrote,

“There are over 500 research publications by scientists of indisputable integrity, who have no conflict of interest, that establish harmful effects of GM crops on human, animal and plant health, and on the environment and biodiversity. For example, a recent paper by Indian scientists showed that the Bt gene in both cotton and brinjal leads to inhibition of growth and development of the plant. On the other hand, virtually every paper supporting GM crops is by scientists who have a declared conflict of interest or whose credibility and integrity can be doubted.”

In addition, in a review of recent trends titled ‘Food Without Choice’ (published in another leading newspaper The Tribune) Prof. Pushpa  Bhargava  drew pointed attention to the “attempt by a small but powerful minority to propagate genetically modified  crops to serve their interests and those of multinational corporations  (read the US), the bureaucracy, the political set-up and a few unprincipled and unethical scientists and technologists who can be used as tools.” Further he warned,

“The ultimate goal of this attempt in India of which the leader is Monsanto, is to obtain control over Indian agriculture and thus food production. With 60 per cent of our population engaged in agriculture and living in villages, this would essentially mean not only a control over our food security but also over our farmer security, agricultural security and security of the rural sector.”

The strong stand of Dr. Bhargava against GM crops is supported by other eminent scientists in various parts of world. A group of eminent scientists organized under the Independent Science Panel have stated in very clear terms,

“GM crops have failed to deliver the promised benefits and are posing escalating problems on the farm. Transgenic contamination is now widely acknowledged to be unavoidable, and hence there can be no co-existence of GM and non-GM agriculture. Most important of all, GM crops have not been proven safe. On the contrary, sufficient evidence has emerged to raise serious safety concerns, that if ignored could result in irreversible damage to health and the environment. GM crops should be firmly rejected now.”

A lot of these high risks exist also in the context of gene-edited crops. The enormously powerful billion dollar GMO multinationals, known for innumerable deceptions and falsehoods, tried again to introduce confusion and uncertainty in public mind by coming up with the concept of gene-edited crops and claiming that these should not be subject to the same restrictions as GM crops. However in July 2018 the highest court in Europe ruled that gene-edited crops should be subject to the same strict rules and regulations as GM crops.

Earlier a review of the legal and scientific facts surrounding this debate by Dr. Janet Cotter and Dr. R. Steinbrecher (published in the Ecologist) had concluded,

“It is clear that gene-edited crops and animals need to be assumed as GMOs in the same way as current GM crops.”

The court verdict is along similar lines.

With gene editing researchers can add, delete or modify bits of an organism’s genome. The European Court said that any crops edited using CRISPR or other gene-editing techniques must abide by the same laws restricting the use of GMOs. More specifically the Court  concluded it

“considers that the risks linked to the use of these new mutagenesis techniques might prove to be similar to those that result from production and release of a GMO through trans-genesis ,since the direct modification of the genetic material of an organism through mutagenesis makes it possible to obtain the same effects as the introduction of foreign gene into the organism (trans-genesis) and these new techniques make it possible to introduce genetically modified varieties at a rate out of all proportion to those resulting from the application of conventional methods of mutagenesis.”   

Welcoming the court verdict Franziska Achterberg, Greenpeace EU’s food policy director, said,

“Releasing these new GMOs into the environment without proper safety measures  is illegal and irresponsible, particularly given that gene editing can lead to unintended side-effects… The European Commission and the European governments must now ensure that all new GMOs are fully tested and labeled, and that any field trials are brought under GMO rules.”

A spokesperson of Friends of the Earth said,

“We applaud the European Court of Justice for this forward looking decision.” 

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food, Man over Machine, Protecting Earth for Children and A Day in 2071. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

Featured image: Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched two genome-edited rice varieties on 4 May, 2025 | Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (Source)

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It’s a charming British summer for corporations, following the long-awaited UK-India trade deal signed after three years of negotiation. The Labour Party-led British government has hailed the agreement as “the best deal India has ever agreed to, providing businesses with security and confidence to trade,” and describes it as “a deal for growth.” British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated that the deal would “deliver for British people and business” by boosting the UK economy. Using the Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model known as the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP), the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) projects that UK exports to India will increase by 59.4%, adding £15.7 billion to the British economy and increasing bilateral trade with India by £25.5 billion.

The same DBT modelling reveals that the deal will result in a meagre 0.2% increase in real wages in Britain. As such, it offers little to no tangible benefit for working people in the UK. The agreement includes a provision exempting Indian and British workers from social security payments for three years—a modest gesture that has nonetheless been branded “an unprecedented achievement.” The deal also claims to improve living standards in India. But how? There appears to be little, if anything, in the agreement for Indian workers. Despite this, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described the trade pact as “ambitious and mutually beneficial.” Neither the Indian nor British prime ministers have acknowledged that this trade deal primarily serves corporate interests, offering substantial gains to businesses while leaving ordinary workers on both sides largely untouched. The UK India trade deal is a corporate coup.

Corporate leaders are hailing the UK-India Free Trade Agreement as pathbreaking. From Chivas Brothers Ltd. and Diageo to Mark Kent, Chief Executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, many have welcomed the deal as “transformational,” particularly in light of opportunities in India’s whisky market. Across sectors—ranging from biomedical corporations and food corporations to luxury knitwear brands, banking institutions, and even the sports industry led by the Premier League—businesses are celebrating the deal, eyeing India’s 60 million-strong middle class, which is projected to grow to a quarter of a billion by 2050. According to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook published in April 2025, India is expected to become the world’s third-largest economy within the next three years. Such a lucrative market has compelled British corporate leaders to swallow the pride and set aside colonial-era prejudices, embracing a trade reality in which “dogs and Indians” now can walk side by side in a racialised capitalist system where white supremacy continues to thrive.

Even the section titled “Protecting Our Values” in the trade agreement carries a condescending tone that echoes British colonial attitudes. It reads:

“Throughout the negotiations, we have championed our values—securing India’s first-ever chapters on anti-corruption, consumer protections, labour rights, the environment, gender equality, and development. We have protected the NHS, defended the UK’s interests, ensured the points-based immigration system is not affected, upheld our high food standards, and maintained our animal welfare commitments throughout. This deal demonstrates our commitment to both workers and businesses, staying true to our values while driving economic growth.”

The language in this paragraph implies as if India lacked principles before this agreement—a patronising assertion that masks deeper, dominant and inherent colonial reminiscences. These lofty declarations serve as rhetorical cover for a deal crafted not by visionary leaders but by shopkeepers—those who focus on trade margins and tariffs rather than social transformation. True transformational leadership seeks social progress through trade, business, and politics. This agreement, however, is a deal by shopkeepers, for shopkeepers. It offers nothing of substance to the working people of India or Britain, serving instead the entrenched interests of corporate elites in both nations.

In “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations” by Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith defined Britain during his time as “a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a people of customers, may at first sight, appear a project fit only for a nation of shopkeepers. It is, however, a project altogether unfit for a nation of shopkeepers, but extremely fit for a nation whose government is influenced by shopkeepers. Such statesmen, and such statesmen only, are capable of fancying that they will find some advantage in employing the blood and treasure of their fellow-citizens, to found and maintain such an empire” (p. 498). These words were written in the late 18th century and published on March 9, 1776, yet they echo unmistakably in the UK-India trade deal of May 2025. The British empire is dead, but its spirit continues to guide its governing elites and their shopkeeper mentality where people are treated as customers and nation-states reduced to mere markets. The celebration of the UK-India trade deal is merely a reflection of this ideological framework, where a corporate coup is presented as mutually beneficial, all while sidelining the interests of working people.

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Bhabani Shankar Nayak is a political commentator. 

Featured image: Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi meets Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 11 November 2024. (Licensed under CC BY 2.0)

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On April 22, 2025, in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, unidentified people who emerged from the forest in the vicinity of the city of Pahalgam shot a group of civilians, including tourists, with machine guns. According to estimates by the Indian side, 27 people were killed and dozens more injured. A little-known group, the Kashmiri Resistance Front (TRF), claimed responsibility for the attack.

New Delhi, however, accused Pakistan of the attack and immediately retaliated by expelling Pakistani diplomats, closing the main land border (the only land checkpoint Wagah operates between Lahore and Amritsar) and canceling visas for all Pakistani citizens. In addition, The Indus Waters Treaty was suspended, which obliges the parties not to limit river flows – the Indus, Jhelum, Ravi and Chenab flow into Pakistan from India. In addition, India has deployed counter-terrorism measures in the Kashmir Valley and along the line of control.

Pakistan, for its part, stated that such accusations are unfounded and violate bilateral agreements, as well as UN Security Council resolutions, similarly declared Indian military advisers in Pakistan persona non grata, cancelled visas for Indian citizens, put the armed forces on alert, closed the airspace for Indian aircraft and completely stopped economic cooperation, including contacts. through third countries. The office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan also issued a statement that if India restricts the water flows to Pakistan, it will be considered as military action and any means available to the state can be used in response. And the Pakistani stock exchange saw a sharp drop in its value due to the incident.

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Security personnel patrol a street the morning after militants indiscriminately opened fire on tourists near Pahalgam in Indian-controlled Kashmir, April 23.

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The escalation is evident, although its real causes are clearly politicized by the Indian side, since Pakistan has also been suffering from the actions of various extremist and separatist groups for many years, and the annual number of victims in Pakistan itself is significantly higher than in India. But mutual accusations and the appointment of the secret services of the opposing country as guilty are commonplace, since the two states have been at war since the very beginning of independence from Britain in 1947.

Putting aside historical claims, the most pressing question will be how India, which is much stronger than Pakistan economically and militarily, will behave. But since Pakistan possesses nuclear weapons, there is a risk of further escalation. It is no coincidence that, year after year, Western experts have referred to Kashmir as a potential hotbed of regional war.

Assuming that New Delhi will act according to the logic of previous precedents, India may well launch a limited retaliatory strike. The only question is where and for whom. In February 2019, the last major terrorist attack was in Pulwama in southern Kashmir, when a suicide bomber drove a car up to a police convoy and detonated an explosive device. More than forty people were killed. At that time, the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed. group claimed responsibility for the attack. And India has attacked the territory of Azad Kashmir (AJK), a nominally independent quasi-state, but under the protection of Islamabad. According to the ironic comment of the Pakistani side, then “the trees were damaged” by this strike. Although, according to India, precise weapons were used to attack the terrorist training camp, there were no casualties on the other side of the Line of Control.

As for the Indian-administered territory of Kashmir (in addition to the Pakistani part, another historical part of this former principality is under the control of China, an ally of Pakistan), a special status has been revoked there since 2019, which led to the loss of some of its rights by its indigenous inhabitants.

As an act of revenge for the revocation, which led to a change in the demographic balance, the Kashmiri Resistance Front (TRF) called its campaign. And, probably, the dissatisfied will continue to try to somehow resist the pressure of New Delhi.

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JD Vance India Visit.

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Although in this case there are interesting nuances that are worth paying attention to. Firstly, the Indian part of Kashmir is one of the most militarized zones in the world, with 700,000 Indian military, police and security personnel stationed on its territory. If they managed to footle away this terrorist attack, then this is a serious failure, and in addition to the repressive measures promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, some cabinet reshuffles should follow. Secondly, the terrorist attack occurred during the visit of US Vice President JD Vance, who publicly called on India to buy more American weapons. In Pakistan itself, they fear that the terrorist attack was nothing more than a false flag operation in order to carry out some radical measures, like those that Israel did in the Gaza Strip. The narrative of “Islamic fundamentalism,” taking into account the historical US war on terrorism and the current position of the White House, could contribute to this. And India could benefit not only from the diplomatic solidarity of the United States and Israel, but also from their military assistance.

On April 24, a military transport aircraft took off from the US Air Force base in Doha for India, which Pakistan also regarded as part of some kind of secret plan directed against Pakistan, and possibly China. It should also be noted that now the military leadership in Pakistan is closely linked to the British lobby, which is quite critical of the administration of Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, the discourse about “Islamic terrorism”, which, according to New Delhi, is sponsored by Pakistan, clearly does not correspond to reality in India.

Other than the long-standing problem in Kashmir itself, India has other critical points. One of them is Punjab, where some Sikhs are interested in creating an independent state of Khalistan. The other is the central and eastern parts of India, where the so-called Naxalite belt (known as the “Red Corridor”) stretches from south to north, where armed groups of Maoists operate, against which the government is fighting. And while a counter-terrorism operation is underway in Jammu and Kashmir, a similar one is underway in another part against the Naxalites. And according to official data, in the Bastar region of the small central state of Chhattisgarh alone, 1,623 civilians were killed by Maoists between 2021 to 2024, and another 228 were killed by explosive devices, while 1,292 security personnel were killed in several incidents of encounter, ambush and IED blasts.

Based on these data alone, it can be concluded that there were much fewer violent deaths in Kashmir.

And at least India does not officially accuse China or any other countries with leftist governments of supporting these groups.

Presumably, the historical memory of the first (1947-1949) and second (1965) Indo—Pakistani wars over Kashmir, as well as the Kargil War (1999), causes the Indian leadership to overreact. And, taking advantage of its status and position, including through cooperation with Russia, and being a member of the BRICS and SCO, India will use such incidents to its geopolitical interests.

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The Resistance Front (TRF) has denied involvement in the deadly attack on April 22, which left 26 tourists dead in the popular Baisaran meadow in Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

In a post on X, TRF stated,

“Any attribution of this act to TRF is false, hasty, and part of an orchestrated campaign to malign the Kashmiri resistance.”

“Shortly after the attack in Pahalgam, a brief and unauthorized message was posted from one of our digital platforms. After an internal audit, we believe it resulted from a coordinated cyber intrusion – a familiar tactic in the Indian state’s digital warfare arsenal.” 

TRF is pointing to a cyber-hack that led to the group being blamed for the attack, which has prompted a massive crackdown in Kashmir, including arrests, and razing of family homes, and India has revoked Pakistani visas and ordered Pakistani nationals to leave Indian territory before April 27.

Malik Ayub Sumbal, a geopolitical analyst and broadcaster, said:

“Indeed, it’s a severe security lapse by the Indian security forces. The accusation against anyone else is the second thing, but first, India should find the security lapse, and the concerned politicians must resign.”

“India and Pakistan are both nuclear states, so the nuclear deterrence on both sides may not ignite a full-fledged war. India has already made some announcements, and that’s the maximum they can do. However, India cannot withdraw from the Indus Water Treaty unilaterally,” Sumbal added.

“The Pulwama attack also hints at the India RSS-led agenda to politicize the elections in some states with anti-Muslim rhetoric, and the current tone of the Indian government is major proof of this,” said Sumbal.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on April 26, that he was ready for a “neutral” investigation into the attack. India blames Pakistan for supporting “cross-border terrorism”, but Islamabad denies involvement.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his trip to Saudi Arabia, returning to India and vowing to hunt down all those responsible for the attack.

The Indian government has taken punitive measures, including downgrading diplomatic ties, expelling Pakistani diplomats, and suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, a critical water-sharing agreement between the two nations.

The recent attack occurred in a popular tourist spot in the Himalayan territory of Kashmir, often called “Paradise on Earth” due to its breathtaking scenery.  The region is lush with green valleys, snow-capped mountains, beautiful lakes, and picturesque landscapes that evoke a sense of paradise.

Springtime in Kashmir beckons tourists and authorities say about 1,000 people were in the area when the militants opened fire. The victims were male Indians and one Nepalese.

Pakistan has previously denied India’s allegations that it helps Islamist separatists in Kashmir, saying it only provides moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiris seeking self-determination. 

However, Pakistan has a long history of being supportive of Islamic terrorists, including those in neighboring Afghanistan, going back to the advent of Al Qaeda there.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the Arab Gulf monarchies all had their past involvement in Radical Islam. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and others have radically changed their position and have banned the Muslim Brotherhood and all other terror groups. 

Pakistan has condemned the attack and expressed sorrow for the loss of lives but has criticized India’s immediate attribution of blame without concrete evidence. Pakistani officials have labeled India’s actions, such as the suspension of the water treaty, as “illegal” and “cowardly,” warning of a tit-for-tat response.

This latest episode is a grim reminder of the unresolved issues that have plagued India-Pakistan relations since their partition in 1947. The Kashmir region remains a flashpoint, with both nations claiming it. Previous incidents, such as the Pulwama attack in 2019, have similarly escalated into diplomatic and military confrontations.

India and Pakistan had been occupied by Britain for 300 years and won their independence in August 1947. 

Under a partition plan provided by the Indian Independence Act, Kashmir was free to accede to either India or Pakistan.

Hari Singh, the local ruler, initially wanted Kashmir to become independent, but in October 1947 chose to join India, and the land dispute began.

In July 1949, the UN established a ceasefire which both India and Pakistan signed, and the region became divided.

In 1965, a war broke out between the sides, and again in 1999, India battled with Pakistani-backed forces.

India and Pakistan had both declared themselves to be nuclear powers in the meantime.

Delhi and Islamabad both claim Kashmir in full, but control only parts of territories recognized internationally as “Indian-administered Kashmir” and “Pakistan-administered Kashmir”.

Article 370 of the Indian constitution preserved Indian-administered Kashmir with significant autonomy, including its own constitution, a separate flag, and independence over all matters except foreign affairs, defense, and communications.

But Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP revoked the privileged status as promised in his 2019 election campaign.

Telephone networks and the internet were cut off in the region in the days, public gatherings were banned, and thousands of troops were sent in, as tourists were warned to leave Kashmir under terror threats.

Religion plays a huge role in the conflict, as Jammu and Kashmir are more than 60% Muslim, making it the only state within India where Muslims are the majority.

Critics of the BJP said the move was designed to change the state’s demographic makeup by giving people from the rest of the country to right to acquire property and settle there permanently.

Feelings of disenfranchisement have been aggravated in Indian-administered Kashmir by high unemployment, and complaints of human rights abuses by security forces battling street protesters and fighting insurgents.

In 2018, more than 500 people were killed, including civilians, security forces, and militants, marking the highest death toll in a decade.

On February 14, 2019, more than 40 Indian soldiers were killed in a suicide attack, with India blaming Pakistani-based militant groups for the deadliest attack on Indian soldiers since the insurgency began three decades ago.

While both nations have expressed a desire for peace in the past, the current situation underscores the fragility of their relationship. International mediation and a renewed focus on dialogue could be potential pathways to de-escalation. However, the deeply entrenched mistrust and political pressures on both sides make this a challenging prospect.

As the world watches, the hope remains that cooler heads will prevail, steering the region away from the brink of further conflict. Analysts suggest a third-party broker, perhaps China, could urge negotiations to decrease tensions. 

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Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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On April 16, 2025, India experienced a deadly terrorist attack in the Pahalgam area of the broader Jammu and Kashmir region, with authorities suspecting that the perpetrators may have passed through Kishtwar to Tajmou and reached Baisaran via Kokernag in southern Kashmir, carrying out one of the most lethal attacks on civilians in the valley in recent years.

The Resistance Front, a splinter group of Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in Pahalgam that has cost the lives of 26 citizens, including two foreigners. This terrorist attack occurred a few days after the chief of the Pakistan army, General Asim Munir, described Kashmir as the “jugular vein” of his country, using this analogy to imply that Pakistan considers Kashmir an integral geographical and cultural part of its territory, a part that slightly protrudes from the main body of the country but is essential for the country to continue to have a voice. The voice from which Pakistan seeks to draw political and religious power.

Of course, the Indian people found Asim Munir’s statement provocative and inappropriate. However, the chief of the Pakistani army continued undeterred with his hate rhetoric against India, stating that Pakistan would continue to stand by the people of Kashmir in their struggle against Indian occupation. Additionally, he called on Pakistani citizens to tell stories to their children so that they do not forget that “they are different from Hindus.”

On April 17, Randhir Jaiswal, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs of India, dismissed Pakistan’s statement that it considers Kashmir its jugular vein, asking “how can the jugular vein be in a vein that someone is deliberately cutting, making it bleed continuously.”

The relations between India and Pakistan have never been friendly and worsened after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution on August 5, 2019, which revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and divided the region into two parts.

The issue that arises now is what is really happening with the Pakistani army, which constantly creates turmoil in its neighboring countries, as it is not only responsible for these incidents in Kashmir but has also been continuously organizing attacks for many years, sometimes taking responsibility for them and sometimes not, both in Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Regarding the battles it has initiated against its neighbors, the Pakistani army has engaged in four wars with India: first in 1947-48, second in 1965, third in 1971, and fourth in the Kargil War in 1999. Pakistan has lost all four wars. For the first time, the Pakistani army took responsibility for the Kargil War against India. The army chief, General Asim Munir, in a speech given on September 7, 2024, during an event for Pakistan’s defense day, made special mention of the Pakistani soldiers who had died in various conflicts with India, including the Kargil War, a topic he had carefully avoided in official statements for over two decades. However, this time Munir did not hesitate to state that “the Pakistani community is a community of brave men who understand the importance of freedom and its cost. For this reason, in 1948, 1965, 1971, and in the Kargil War in 1999, thousands of soldiers sacrificed their lives for the country and Islam.” Unlike his predecessor, the humble pragmatist General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Asim Munir, known for his aggressive stance and appetite for risk, seems to be reviving the doctrine of “managed escalation,” a strategy that uses carefully calculated acts of violence as a tool of political pressure.

To understand why Pakistan resorts to such actions, we must examine the internal situation of the country at this moment. Pakistan today is a deeply unstable state. It is economically paralyzed, politically nebulous, and socially fragmented. In this context, the adventurism of the Pakistani army in Kashmir becomes a political tool as it serves as a means for the army to divert the people’s dissatisfaction from the socioeconomic situation of the country. Very often, the influence of the Pakistani army extends beyond its constitutionally defined responsibilities. There have been many instances in Pakistan’s history where the army has intervened in the country’s political affairs, suspending democratic governance and acting as a powerful force within the state, a “semi-autonomous state within a state.”

Additionally, the Pakistani army has engaged in numerous border conflicts with Afghanistan along the Durand Line, as well as numerous attacks on civilians in Balochistan, often in coordination with Iranian security forces. Furthermore, the Pakistani army has participated in international military engagements and terrorist attacks.

Since the 1960s, the Pakistani army has supported Arab states during Arab-Israeli conflicts. Additionally, it collaborated with the United States during the first Gulf War in the early 1990s. Regarding the atrocities committed by the Pakistani army in Bangladesh, Bangladesh demanded that Pakistan issue an official apology for the genocide it perpetrated against the people of Bangladesh in 1971, a genocide in which three million people were killed according to Bangladeshi authorities. Of course, Pakistan usually attempts to distort reality as it reports only 26,000 civilian casualties. The genocide in Bangladesh is the only genocide in modern times that stemmed from a deliberate policy of suppressing the democratic aspirations of the people. Now, Pakistan and Bangladesh have experienced significant improvement in bilateral relations since the transitional government, led by Nobel laureate Mr. Yunus, took power in Bangladesh after protests that forced former Prime Minister Hasina to take refuge in India in 2024. It is now clear that Pakistan and Bangladesh find common political ground in the dominance of Muslims over Hindus in the region.

Subsequently, regarding the actions of the Pakistani army in Afghanistan, on December 25, 2024, the Pakistani army carried out airstrikes before dawn on multiple targets in the Paktika province of Afghanistan. Afghan officials stated that the attacks killed at least 47 terrorists and injured another 23.

“The Pakistani side must understand that such arbitrary measures are not a solution to any problem,” wrote Enayatullah Khorasani, spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, on the social media platform X. “The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered and considers the defense of its territory an inalienable right,” he added, referring to Afghanistan by the name given by the Taliban government.

Members of the Pakistani army often violently abduct young boys, at the onset of their teenage years, from their families who lose all trace of them. Subsequently, while the boys are vulnerable, exposed in some desolate location far from their homes, they are continuously raped, destroying their dignity, sense of self-respect, and hope for a future. When all hope is lost and the young person is ready to commit suicide, the Mullah appears, presenting Allah and faith in the Quran as a lifeline for the shattered individual. The military personnel, along with the religious officials, play a role in violently destroying the individual’s psyche, using the two sides of the same coin: despair and faith. The individual who had just lost everything now finds a new purpose in existence: to kill infidels in the name of Allah, without any fear or rational restraint about dying themselves in the process. Why does this extreme method of rape remain a taboo subject in the Pakistani army, which many know about but no one speaks of? For the same reason that no one denounces the rapes occurring to women in the North Korean army. Because we are talking about people who, due to the trauma they have suffered, are now empty human vessels who have lost all sense of humanity and can now carry out functions indiscriminately.

Concluding the analysis of the Pakistani army, it is difficult to be optimistic that it will not commit atrocities again since it is an entity formed against the concept of human respect. And before we consider that such a thing happens only to desperate, poor, provincial youths who are recruited to staff the Pakistani army, let us also think of the European girls who voluntarily go to Dubai to participate in party boats. The most dangerous thing that turns a person into either an empty vessel or a war machine is the loss of self-consciousness, and unfortunately, both materialism and religious fanaticism achieve this loss of consciousness in the best way possible.

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On April 22 in one of the most inhuman terrorist attacks seen in India, terrorists killed 26 entirely innocent tourists and injured several others in the tourist resort of Baisaran Meadow, located in the famous Pahalgam area of Kashmir.

While the terrorists fired indiscriminately initially, it soon became clear that they were targeting tourists in particular, and among them they were more specifically targeting Hindu men.

In such a situation the local Muslim people may have stayed back quietly, considering that their position was safe, but this is not the way Sayyad Adil Hussain looked at the situation. A local youth from a remote village who earned his livelihood from providing mules to tourists, Adil just could not bear to see innocent people being killed in such a cruel way. Forgetting the threat to his own life, in anguish he shouted at the terrorists—why are you killing innocent persons. The terrorists responded by shooting at him too and he died on the spot.

However some eye witness accounts have stated that Adil went much beyond merely raising his voice. A woman tourist said that he had started fighting the terrorists despite being unarmed himself and according to another account he tried to snatch the gun of one of the terrorists (see report in Dainik Tribune, April 24).

Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, went to attend the last rites of Adil and to console the family. He praised the exceptional courage and deep humanity of Adil. Despite the terror conditions, hundreds of people gathered to pay their homage to the brave youth. 

While Adil made the supreme sacrifice, several other local (Muslim) persons also took risks to rescue endangered tourists and provide shelter to them. An elderly tourist from Gujarat told the reporter of Dainik Bhaskar newspaper that in the midst of firing local shopkeepers and mule-owners appeared like angels to rush injured persons to hospital. Another family from Maharashtra told the newspaper that at the time of the attack a taxi driver, also named Adil, provided them shelter and later arranged for food. A trader from Chattisgarh had come with an 11 member group, including children, for a holiday. He told the newspaper that a local trader Nazakat Ali had rescued them from a dangerous situation at the time of firing. At the same time, several mosques had opened their doors and arranged food for stranded tourists and other passengers in the aftermath of the terror attack (see Dainik Bhaskar April 24).

All over Kashmir protests and shutdowns have been organized to condemn the terrorist attack and to express grief for the victims of the tragedy. Candles were lit at several places to honor the memory of the innocent people who had been killed so suddenly and in such a cruel way. At Makka Market the Union President said,

“There is mourning in the whole of Kashmir. Our guests have been killed.” 

Another protester in Kashmir said,

“Imagine the trauma of a child whose father was killed in front of him.”

He said what distressed him most was that the attackers used the name of religion and Kashmir in the attack.

There is some evidence that this terrorist attack has a wider aim of not just disrupting peace and tourism (a leading source of livelihood here), but in addition disrupting inter-faith harmony in India. Just a few days before the attack, on April 16 the Pakistan army chief Gen Asim Munir had gone out of his way to make highly controversial and inflammatory remarks on big dividing lines between Hindus and Muslims and their alleged inability to live together in harmony.

Hence this is a particularly important time in India to protect inter-faith harmony, and all those Muslim residents of Pahalgam who rushed to the rescue of threatened Hindu tourists, in at least one case the rescuer even sacrificing his own life for the cause, have shown the way forward for maintaining inter-faith harmony. The people of Kashmir have also come out in large numbers to voice their strong opposition against violence in the name of religion. By rejecting those who are trying to provoke violence and disharmony, and by strengthening inter-faith harmony and peace, people of the entire country can give a befitting reply to those enemies of humanity who are trying to provoke disharmony and violence.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include When the Two Streams Met, Protecting Earth for Children, A Day in 2071 and Man over Machine—The Path to Peace. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

Featured image: Security personnel near the site of the Pahalgam terror attack, in Anantnag district, Jammu and Kashmir, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. At least 26 people were killed in the terrorist attack on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

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Since Myanmar’s 2021 coup, lead mining in the country’s southern Tanintharyi region has exploded, with the number of mining sites more than doubling as lawlessness enables rapid expansion.

The environmental impact has been severe, with polluted rivers, dying crops, and communities losing access to clean water.

Armed groups and junta officials profit from the boom by collecting bribes and taxes, turning mining into a revenue source across all control zones.

Environmentalists warn that without immediate action and sustainable planning, the region’s ecosystems and natural resources may be permanently lost.

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In July 2024, Maung Tu, 40, a manager at a mining company, purchased a betel nut farm of 2.4 hectares, or 6 acres, near the southern tip of Myanmar for nearly seven times the market price, paying approximately 200 million kyat (about $50,000 at the unofficial exchange rate).

He has little interest in the cash crop, despite the long-held cultural tradition of chewing betel nuts in the country. Instead, his focus is on extracting lead from the land.

“If the price of lead is good, the land price is good. They are directly proportional. If I am confident about the land’s potential, I will pay whatever price they ask,” Maung Tu said.

This is because while mining lead is more dangerous, the profit margin is staggeringly high compared to farming. Once mined, the raw materials are transported to Thailand, where the lead is cleaned and processed, and then on to China, which has long imported lead ore from Myanmar. Globally, the vast majority of lead consumption is for use in the production of lead-acid batteries, but local sellers said they don’t know who the eventual Chinese buyers are or what the lead is used for — but said armed groups in Myanmar and Thai traders are involved.

In the past, exporters had to contend with both community protests and a complex licensing process. Since the February 2021 coup, though, these obstacles have disappeared.

This has led to a mining boom in Tanintharyi, Myanmar’s southernmost region. Since the coup, orchards, farmland and rubber plantations have been transformed into mining operations, many of them illegal. Polluting and dangerous extractive activities that were once confined to riverbanks and streams have now expanded into gardens, residential areas, and even next to a police station.

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Mining site in Ye Phyu Township, Tanintharyi, photographed in late 2024. Image by Aung Ban.

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Our analysis of satellite imagery from Copernicus and Google Earth, verified by on-the-ground reporting and interviews with activists and community members, found that since 2021, the number of mining sites has doubled and the amount of land being mined has more than tripled. Taking advantage of general lawlessness and political instability across the country, the mines have devastated farmland, degraded soil, and killed aquatic life in rivers and streams.

Prior to the coup, the region held 30 mines covering approximately 3,108 hectares (7,680 acres).  Satellite images from April 2024 showed there are at least 65 sites in the region, covering more than 10,120 hectares (25,000 acres), equivalent to about 14,200 soccer pitches. The distinctive markers of these sites — scoured yellow earth, tailings ponds, potholes —  now riddle the province.

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Changes in Mining Area by Township (Acres)

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Lead, a toxic metal identified as “one of 10 chemicals of major public health concern” by the World Health Organization, is the main metal being mined, but some are also digging for gold.

Many of the sites we investigated are operated by opportunistic local businessmen or outsiders who reportedly pay the various armed groups present in the region — the military junta and its proxy militias, the pro-democracy forces, and ethnic armed organizations — to access these resources.

As in many parts of Myanmar where armed clashes have become near-daily occurrences, Tanintharyi now has three distinct zones: areas controlled by the military, areas controlled by pro-democracy forces, and contested areas where both are vying for control. Mining is booming across all three zones, and if left unchecked, could lead to total destruction of the environment and natural resources, environmentalists said.

Already, mine sites have become barren, streams and water sources have become polluted, and farms along waterways have lost their betel nut, rubber and durian trees after sediment from the mines caused the trees to wither and die. The accumulation of sediment has also caused streams and the Dawei River to become silted in some parts, making the riverbed shallower and obstructing the natural water flow. Environmentalists warn this can eventually lead to flooding.

“If the environment is destroyed it can’t be restored,” said Mae Su, head of the MAGGA Initiative, which monitors natural resource extraction in the Tanintharyi region.

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Mining site near Myay Kanti and Taung Phila villages in the forested area in eastern Dawei, photographed in October 2024. Image by Bo Peter.

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A Sign of Lawlessness

Small-scale miners have always been active in Tanintharyi, even before the most recent political takeover, extracting lead from rivers and the areas surrounding company mining sites. But the scale is now unprecedented.

Mining has become so pervasive in Tanintharyi that one site now hugs the back fence of the police station in the Kanbauk village tract in Ye Phyu township. That mine is operated by the Delco company, owned by Zahkung Ting Ying, also translated as Ding Ying, a leader of the New Democratic Army–Kachin, a border guard force under the military junta. The Kanbauk mine site is roughly 64 kilometers (40 miles) north of the regional capital, Dawei, and in an area that has been mined for metals since the time of the British colonial administration, more than a century ago. The area is also known for exporting natural gas to Thailand.

That a symbol of law enforcement now stands as an ironic witness to the growing lawlessness in the region shows how bad the situation is, said Aung Pan, a resident and former member of a community watchdog group under the previous civilian government.

“There is absolutely no rule of law at the moment. It’s not surprising that the very people meant to uphold the law are contributing to its decline. These are the times we live in,” said Aung Pan, who has been working on this issue for 12 years.

Data released by the central government’s Department of Mines in November 2021 showed that three companies held mining permits in this area: Delco with 845 hectares (2,087 acres); Poppa L with 15 hectares (37 acres), and Aung Hein Bo Win with 18 hectares (45 acres).

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Comparison of Mines in Kanbauk Region: December 2024 vs. January 2021 Google Earth Engine Timelapse, Sentinel-2 L2A

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Up until January 2021, satellite images show that mining operations were limited to approximately 148 hectares (365 acres). However, images from April 2024 reveal a stark change: mining has expanded to nearly 405 hectares (1,000 acres), thanks to Delco expanding its operations and the arrival of new, individual entrepreneurs.

Delco did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Kanbauk is home to the Myanmar military’s Mawrawaddy naval base, which means most of the area is under the junta’s control. Here, businesses that want to dig for lead pay tens of millions of kyat in bribes to various branches of the junta, including the police and the administrators appointed by the military, according to both activists and businessmen.

“There’s no problem with mining as long as you have a good relationship with the military council-appointed administrators. You just need to be on good terms with them and pay them,” Aung Pan said.

Maung Tu, who said he hopes to reap the rewards from his small betel nut farm-turned-lead-mine, said he pays at least 3 million kyat (about $700 monthly) to Pyithusit, or the People’s Army, a proxy militia group for the junta, and local administrators.

“[Pyithusit] takes their share, the village authorities take theirs. They demand as much as they want, and we have no choice but to pay,” Maung Tu said.

Po In, a resident of Myeik, another major township in Tanintharyi, said the same thing is happening in his area, where the military has also retained control. Po In is also in charge of the Natural Resources and Environment Department of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, a pro-democracy group set up by former student leaders.

Areas under military control are currently limited to district towns with military bases and the strongholds of Pyithusit, where competition for mining operations is increasingly fierce, sources said.

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Mining sites in the Tanintharyi Region as of December 2024. Image by Dawei Watch. (Click for full map.)

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Power Vacuum Encourages Mining Boom

Satellite images and reports from the ground reveal that unregulated mining is also taking place in areas held by ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy forces, including the Karen National Union (KNU), the exiled National Unity Government (NUG), the People’s Defense Forces (PDF), and local PDF units.

There are at least 17 mining sites in the forested area of eastern Dawei alone, covering an estimated 1,780 hectares (4,400 acres) in an area that serves as a base for multiple armed groups.

In many of these areas, lead mining operations are mainly overseen by the KNU, Myanmar’s oldest ethnic armed group, and groups that emerged to fight the military regime, including the Kawthoolay Army (KTLA), local sources said.

They collect fees from mining businesses and manage the transportation of extracted lead, according to Peter, joint revenue officer for the Dawei Public Administration Council under the NUG.

“Nowadays, there is widespread cooperation between the mining companies and the armed groups,” Peter said.

In one instance, small-scale miners working under the KTLA in Hinda, where mining dates back to the British colonial era, even dug up the village road, claiming there were valuable minerals  underneath, according to residents, who were unable to travel and transport goods as a result.

At a time when the NUG and the ethnic armies are fighting against a common enemy — the Myanmar junta — the NUG does not want to confront ethnic armed groups such as the KNU and KTLA for their roles in the mine sites, sources said.

“There are times when we have to be very careful when talking about [the mine issues] between us [and] armed groups,” Peter said.

The commander of KNU Brigade 4, which oversees this area, did not reply to a detailed list of questions.

To regulate the increase in mining activities, the NUG began collecting taxes on their operations in July 2024, with rates set based on the power of the mining equipment being used. The monthly rates, set by the NUG’s Ministry of Natural Resources, comes up to 100,000 kyat (about $23) for a single engine, with prices increasing proportionally for each additional engine.

Despite these taxes, environmental observers report that mining activities continue largely unabated.

However, the impacts of mining are even more severe in areas where there is a power vacuum.  These areas frequently experience clashes between the resistance groups and the military. When the military advances, conflicts erupt, but after they retreat, revolutionary forces often take over.

Such areas are scattered throughout the Tanintharyi region, and attract both local entrepreneurs and outsiders, local sources said, making the region a Wild West.

The gold mining site at Zimbar Creek in Ye Phyu township serves as a stark example. Located within Tanintharyi Nature Reserve, Zimbar Creek, which originates near the Thai border and runs 26 km (16 mi), has suffered devastating destruction in a remarkably short time since the coup as a result of illegal gold mining operations.

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Comparison of Mines in Zinbar Chaung Hpyar: December 2024 vs. January 2021 Google Earth Engine Timelapse, Sentinel-2 L2A

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The creek, which is an important source of water for both drinking and washing for some downstream communities, now looks like the surface of the moon. The water still flows but it is often very muddy and locals who continue to use it said they have developed skin rashes, and that fish catches have declined. Residents also express concerns about the health and environmental impacts of mercury, which is commonly used in small-scale gold mining.

The nature reserve area surrounding Zimbar Creek falls under the control of multiple factions, including the KNU, the military junta, and various revolutionary forces.

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Gold mining site at the mouth of Zimbar Creek, photographed in the first week of December 2024. Image by Dawei Watch.

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Urgent Action Plan Needed

Nearly all of the lead ore mined in the Tanintharyi region is exported to Thailand, primarily through the porous land border, four sources told Dawei Watch. But lead is also transported via waterways to Ranong, a Thai province bordering the town of Kawthaung. Key export pathways include Htee Khee in Dawei district and border crossings in the Maw Taung area of Tanintharyi township.

The trade through land crossings involves armed groups working together with businesses, sources said.

“As far as I know, tons of it comes in from Kawthaung by cargo boats. When it reaches this side, someone with a Thai metal trading license buys it at the boatyard. Then they stamp it with the ‘Made in Thailand’ stamp,” said a trader in Ranong who did not want to be named.

The lead is then sent to Phuket, a tourist magnet better known for its sandy beaches and famous islands, where Chinese buyers then take possession of it, the trader added.

The mining boom has also led to land speculation, driving land prices to unprecedented heights. Some landowners have engaged in deceptive practices, such as burying lead on their land, to get higher prices.

Along with the environmental impacts, this means farmers are no longer able to cultivate crops along the rivers and waterways, locals have to find alternative sources of drinking water, and many of those who come into contact with the polluted waters have developed skin rashes.

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Mine in Tanintharyi Township, photographed in early March 2025. Image by Dawei Watch.

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A local aid worker helping displaced people in Tanintharyi township said, “Until around 2023, the locals along the Tanintharyi River used it for drinking water. By 2024 and 2025, nobody was doing that anymore.

“Previously, people relied on the Tanintharyi River for everything. Now, they only rely on water from wells and lakes,” he added.

Crops no longer grow on sand dunes on the river either, although locals are unclear why.

“Although skin rashes are seasonal and appear in the rainy season, many cases are occurring in the summer. I think it is not possible to say whether it is due to lead poisoning or not,” he said.

Yet some say such concerns take a back seat to the revolution against military dictatorship, a perspective environmentalists argue is short-sighted.

“If we continue to ignore environmental degradation, we will leave behind a legacy of destruction rather than one of value for future generations,” said Mae Su, head of the MAGGA Initiative, the monitoring group in the region.

Po In echoed this sentiment. He urged revolutionary forces to address environmental protection promptly and said they should educate local communities about sustainable resource management for long-term benefit.

Ignoring environmental issues during this critical period could result in irreversible harm, making it much harder to rebuild the region’s ecological and economic foundation in the future, he said.

A coordinated resource management plan between the NUG and the KNU is crucial to ensure sustainability, he added.

This interim management plan could be developed through dialogue with political leaders and decision-makers in the region to mitigate further harm, Mae Su said.

“If we don’t use these resources sustainably or take actions that benefit us in the long term, there will be nothing left for us to depend on once the liberation struggle succeeds,” Po In said.

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Dawei Watch is an independent news outlet established in 2012, with a special focus on covering southern Myanmar.

Featured image: Mining site in Ye Phyu Township, Tanintharyi, photographed around October 2024 by Aung Ban.

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This study examines recent massacres (April, 22, 2025) in Kashmir through the lens of Quranic teachings, particularly its foundational principles of non-violence, justice, and peace. The Quran unequivocally condemns terrorism, violence against civilians, and unlawful killings, offering an ethical framework to analyse the Kashmir conflict. Employing a hermeneutic approach, this research advocates for pacifism, dialogue, and restorative justice, drawing on relevant Quranic verses alongside classical and contemporary exegesis to address the complexities of the situation.

The Kashmir Context and Quranic Relevance

The Kashmir conflict, marked by recent massacres involving innocent civilians, presents a profound moral and humanitarian crisis. Violence—whether perpetrated by militant groups targeting civilians or security forces engaging in excessive repression—has led to significant loss of life and suffering. This study applies a Quranic lens to condemn such acts, advocate for peace, and propose a path toward justice. The Quran’s universal principles, emphasizing the sanctity of life (5:32), the prohibition of oppression (2:191), and the prioritization of peace (8:61), provide a normative framework for analysing the conflict and advocating non-violent solutions.

This study adopts a pro-pacifist hermeneutic, meaning it prioritizes non-violence and dialogue over armed resistance, even in cases of oppression, unless strictly justified under specific Quranic conditions (e.g., 22:39-40). It engages with classical tafsir (exegesis), hadith, and contemporary ethical considerations to ensure a comprehensive interpretation.

Quranic Principles: Core Themes

The Quran establishes an ethical framework that profoundly shapes Muslim responses to conflict, emphasizing the sanctity of human life, the rejection of oppression, and the imperative of justice. At its core is the inviolable principle that life is sacred: the unjust killing of a single person is equated to the annihilation of all humanity (5:32), a stark condemnation of violence against civilians. This extends to an explicit prohibition of terrorism and aggression; any act targeting non-combatants—whether perpetrated by militants or state forces—is deemed haram (forbidden) (2:190, 6:151).

Image: This is a photo of one of the first Qurans ever made, it is written by Ali ibn Abi Talib the close companion of Prophet Muhammad and first Shia Imam. This photo was taken in Mashhad, Iran where this Quran is kept. (Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0)

Central to this moral vision is the Quran’s condemnation of zulm (oppression), which encompasses both state repression and militant extremism. The text warns that systemic injustice (zulm) is spiritually and morally graver than killing itself (2:191), challenging all parties to confront cycles of violence. Crucially, the Quran mandates peace as the default pursuit: even in warfare, reconciliation and dialogue must be prioritized when adversaries incline toward peace (8:61), and disputes should be resolved through restorative justice (49:9).

Underpinning these injunctions is justice (‘adl) as a universal obligation—one that demands impartiality even when it conflicts with personal or communal interests (4:135). In the context of Kashmir, these principles collectively reject indiscriminate violence, call for accountability for atrocities, and insist on equitable solutions rooted in dialogue and ethical governance.

Key Quranic Verses and Their Interpretation

Below, we analyse relevant Quranic verses, their classical exegesis, and their application to the Kashmir massacres.

1. Absolute Ban on Killing Innocents

“Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [fasad] in the land—it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one—it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.” (Quran 5:32)

Classical Islamic exegesis profoundly emphasizes the sanctity of life. Tafsir al-Jalalayn highlights this principle by drawing upon Jewish tradition (Sanhedrin 4:5), while universalizing its moral imperative for all humanity. Ibn Kathir further clarifies that “fasad” (corruption) in this context refers specifically to grave crimes like armed rebellion, banditry, or terrorism—acts destabilizing society—rather than peaceful dissent or personal beliefs.

Applying this to Kashmir, the verse’s condemnation takes on urgent relevance. Massacres targeting civilians—whether by militant groups (e.g., bombings in public spaces) or state forces (e.g., excessive violence against protesters)—directly violate this sacred principle. The verse’s potent language (“as if he killed all mankind”) underscores the gravity of such acts, categorizing them as major sins (kabira). Importantly, no political grievance, including oppression, can justify killing innocent lives.

This verse carries a profound pacifist implication: it mandates non-violence toward civilians and prioritizes preserving life above all else. In Kashmir, this moral injunction demands that all parties immediately cease attacks on non-combatants, recognizing that indiscriminate killing is not only a crime against individuals but an affront to all humanity.

“Do not kill the soul which God has made sacred, except by right of justice.” (Quran 6:151, 17:33)

Classical exegesis, such as Al-Tabari’s, interprets “right of justice” as strictly limited to state-administered punishments (lawful retribution after due judicial process) or combat against active aggressors in a legitimate conflict. Any killing outside these sanctioned boundaries constitutes a grave transgression against the divine sanctity of life.

This principle has profound implications for Kashmir. Extrajudicial killings—by security forces or militants—fall outside the “right of justice” and are unequivocally haram (forbidden). Examples include targeting civilians in indiscriminate crossfire or deliberate attacks like grenade assaults in crowded markets, which flagrantly violate Islamic ethical standards.

This verse underscores the necessity of judicial restraint and non-violent conflict resolution. Rather than resorting to unlawful violence, all stakeholders must prioritize legal accountability and diplomatic engagement. True justice requires lawful means, upholding the sacredness of human life.

2. Rules of Engagement: No Terrorism

“Fight in the way of God those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed, God does not like transgressors.” (Quran 2:190)

Classical scholarship, articulated by interpreters like Al-Qurtubi, provides a rigorous ethical framework for warfare, restricting legitimate fighting only to combatants actively engaged in hostility. The verse explicitly prohibits transgression (‘udwān), encompassing targeting non-combatants, destroying civilian infrastructure, and using disproportionate force. It establishes clear principles of proportionality and restraint—core tenets of Islamic just-war ethics.

These principles bear directly on Kashmir. Militant attacks against civilians or soldiers in non-combat situations (e.g., assaults on off-duty personnel) are clear transgressions. Similarly, state forces employing excessive or indiscriminate repression (e.g., pellet guns against protesters) breach the Quranic injunction against disproportionate force. The ethical imperative is unambiguous: hostilities must be confined strictly to active combatants, sparing non-combatants and civilian spaces.

Beyond regulating warfare, the verse carries a deeper pacifist implication: it actively discourages escalation, prioritizing de-escalation as a moral obligation. By framing transgression as a grave ethical breach, the Quran supports minimizing violence. In Kashmir, this underscores the urgent need for all parties to step back from retaliation cycles and seek dialogue and restraint.

“If they incline to peace, then incline to it [also] and rely upon God.” (Quran 8:61)

The Quranic injunction to accept peace offers, as elucidated by scholars like Ibn Abbas, establishes reconciliation as a divine imperative, even with adversaries. This tradition underscores the Quran’s preference for conflict resolution over protracted hostility, framing peace-making not merely as pragmatic but as a theological obligation.

In Kashmir, this principle lends sacred legitimacy to ceasefire agreements, diplomatic dialogue, and negotiated settlements (bilateral talks or grassroots initiatives). Conversely, rejecting peace efforts for vengeance or political dominance violates Quranic ethics, which elevates preserving life and societal harmony above triumphalism.

This verse is a cornerstone of pro-pacifist Quranic hermeneutics, challenging conflict parties to transcend violence cycles. Mandating receptivity to peace calls upon state actors, armed groups, and civil society to prioritize diplomatic engagement and institutional peacebuilding, recognizing true victory lies in reconciliation.

Hadith Support (Sahih Muslim 1731): “Do not betray, do not be excessive, do not kill a new-born child.”

This hadith reinforces prohibitions against treachery (e.g., attacking under false pretences) and killing non-combatants, directly condemning tactics like suicide bombings or ambushes in civilian areas.

3. Condemnation of Oppression (Zulm)

“Oppression [Fitna] is worse than killing.” (Quran 2:191)

Classical exegetes like Al-Razi interpret zulm (often linked conceptually to Fitna – persecution, sedition, trial that disturbs faith and order) not just as individual wrongdoing but as systemic oppression—denial of fundamental rights, persecution, tyrannical rule. The Quranic imperative is clear: addressing structural injustice takes precedence over reactive violence, positioning justice as the foundation for lasting peace.

This framework finds urgent relevance in Kashmir, where zulm manifests multiply. State policies (revocation of Article 370, heavy militarization) are widely perceived locally as systemic oppression. Militant violence targeting non-combatants also constitutes zulm, perpetuating suffering. The Quran unequivocally condemns both forms as violations of its moral code.

The verse’s pacifist implication is transformative: it rejects the “oppression justifies violence” cycle, advocating systemic reform through institutional justice and inclusive dialogue (Quran 49:9). Rather than legitimizing armed resistance, the Quran prescribes nonviolent struggle, calling on governing powers to rectify injustice legally and politically, and urging dissenting groups towards peaceful advocacy. This means rejecting militarized solutions (state repression or militant retaliation) in favour of truth, reparations, and participatory governance.

“God does not guide the wrongdoing (zalimeen) people.” (Quran 6:144)

Scholars like Al-Baghawi clarify that zalimeen (wrongdoers) encompass not only overt oppressors but also those perpetuating injustice along ethnic, religious, or political lines—through systemic discrimination or retaliatory violence. This broad ethical categorization warns that injustice is defined by actions and consequences, not just one’s position in a conflict.

In Kashmir, this applies multi-dimensionally. State practices singling out Kashmiris for suspicion or persecution (profiling, arbitrary detentions, collective punishment) constitute zulm. Militant groups retaliating with indiscriminate attacks targeting non-Kashmiri civilians or minorities similarly fall into the zalimeen category. The Quranic verdict is unambiguous: both distort justice and alienate perpetrators from divine guidance.

The pacifist implication is profound. It calls for moral introspection and disciplined restraint, not vengeance or armed resistance. It challenges oppressed communities to resist non-violently—affirming rights without replicating dehumanization—while demanding governing powers abandon repression for accountability and redress. This ethic necessitates breaking from cyclical violence, recognizing justice cannot be achieved by mirroring oppression.

4. Conditions for Armed Resistance

“Permission [to fight] is given to those who are being fought, because they have been wronged… [those] who have been expelled from their homes unjustly only because they said, ‘Our Lord is God.’” (Quran 22:39-40)

The Quranic stance on armed resistance, as explained by interpreters like Ibn Kathir, establishes a strictly conditional framework: defensive fighting is permitted only against unambiguous tyranny (genocide, forced expulsion, systematic denial of religious worship). Even then, resistance remains bound by stringent ethics: absolute prohibition against harming non-combatants (2:190) and requirement to first exhaust peaceful avenues (4:90). This delineates a narrow, exceptional justification within Islam’s dominant ethic of restraint.

In Kashmir’s complex conflict, this framework raises difficult moral questions. While Kashmiri Muslims facing systematic persecution might theoretically meet the threshold for permissible defensive resistance, most contemporary militant actions fail the test of Islamic legitimacy. Deliberate targeting of civilians, terror tactics, and disregard for proportionality render such violence religiously impermissible (haram). Similarly, state forces undermine their lawful authority when employing collective punishment, indiscriminate force, or extrajudicial measures—violating the same Quranic principles.

The profound pacifist implication emerges in its hierarchical prioritization: nonviolent resistance is the mandatory first recourse; armed defence is a last resort against existential threats. By setting such a high bar for legitimate violence, embedded within rigorous ethical safeguards, the Quran reinforces a pro-pacifist hermeneutic. For Kashmir, the burden of proof lies with advocates of armed struggle to demonstrate both extreme oppression and method purity—a standard current militant groups patently fail. Meanwhile, the verse equally delegitimizes state repression, creating a dual imperative to desist from violence and return to political dialogue and rights-based resolution.

“If they withdraw from you and do not fight you and offer you peace, then God has not made for you a cause [for fighting] against them.” (Quran 4:90)

Al-Tabari’s interpretation establishes a clear ethical framework: peace offers must be honoured; armed engagement is strictly limited to immediate self-defence against active combatants. This creates a powerful Islamic legal precedent privileging reconciliation over retaliation, strictly prohibiting violence outside these narrow parameters.

In Kashmir, this injunction exposes ethical violations. Militant groups persisting in attacks despite genuine peace overtures (amnesty programs, ceasefires) contravene this mandate. State security forces undermine their moral standing when targeting non-combatants with disproportionate force, arbitrary detentions, or collective punishment. The verse renders both forms of violence religiously illegitimate, demanding good faith in de-escalation.

This Quranic teaching embodies a profound pacifist imperative. By making peace-making obligatory, it aligns with nonviolent conflict resolution principles. It challenges all stakeholders to transcend retaliation cycles and embrace their sacred responsibility to pursue dialogue, offering a theological foundation for sustainable peacebuilding grounded in Islamic ethics. Fidelity requires replacing bullets with negotiation, vengeance with restorative justice.

5. Justice and Dialogue as Solutions

“If two factions among the believers fight, then make peace between them… with justice, and be fair.” (Quran 49:9)

Interpretations like Al-Jalalayn emphasize mediating conflicts impartially, prioritizing reconciliation over partisanship. In Kashmir, this suggests third-party mediation (neutral international bodies or civil society) is necessary to address grievances between Kashmiri groups, militants, and the state. Meaningful dialogue requires focusing on justice—addressing human rights abuses and acknowledging political aspirations. The verse explicitly favours negotiation over violence, reinforcing a pacifist hermeneutic.

“God commands you to render trusts to whom they are due and when you judge between people to judge with justice.” (Quran 4:58)

According to commentators like Ibn Abbas, this verse underscores rulers’ obligation to uphold justice and protect all individuals’ rights, regardless of affiliation. In Kashmir, this implies the state must prioritize equitable governance, addressing long-standing grievances like political disenfranchisement. Simultaneously, militant groups must abandon violence for legitimate advocacy. Both parties must uphold their “trusts,” including ensuring civilian safety and adhering to the rule of law. The Quranic solution lies in governance and dialogue, not violence.

Applying the Hermeneutic to Kashmir Massacres

The recent massacres in Kashmir—whether militant attacks on civilians or state forces’ excessive responses—violate core Quranic principles.

Militant Violence: Attacks on civilians (bombings in markets, targeting non-Kashmiri workers) directly violate Quran 5:32, 2:190, and 6:151. These acts constitute fasad (corruption) and terrorism, strictly haram. Aligning with pacifist interpretations, militants must cease targeting innocents and adopt non-violent advocacy (political activism, international appeals). Quranic resistance is permissible only against clear tyranny under strict rules (22:39-40), criteria most militant actions fail.

State Repression: Excessive force (pellet guns blinding protesters, extrajudicial killings) violates Quran 5:32, 6:144, and 2:191. Collective punishment and systemic oppression (communication blackouts) are forms of zulm. The state is obligated to pursue justice (4:58) by addressing Kashmiri grievances, ensuring accountability for abuses, and engaging in dialogue (49:9). Military de-escalation and protecting human rights align with Quranic ethics.

Vulnerable Populations: The Quran prioritizes protecting the vulnerable (4:75) and condemns actions harming civilians caught in crossfire. The sanctity of life (5:32) demands humanitarian intervention. Civil society, NGOs, and international actors should facilitate aid, mediation, and peacebuilding, fulfilling the Quranic call for justice and reconciliation (49:9, 8:61).

Pro-Pacifist Recommendations

Based on this Quranic hermeneutic, the following recommendations address the Kashmir crisis:

1. Cease Violence: All parties must halt attacks on civilians, adhering to 5:32 and 2:190. Militants should abandon terrorism; state forces must avoid disproportionate force.

2. Prioritize Dialogue: Stakeholders (government, Kashmiri leaders, civil society) must engage in inclusive negotiations, mandated by 49:9 and 8:61. International mediation may help ensure impartiality.

3. Uphold Justice: The state must address grievances (political rights, human rights abuses) to fulfil 4:58. Militants must channel resistance into non-violent advocacy to align with 4:90.

4. Humanitarian Focus: Protect civilians through aid, safe zones, and de-escalation, reflecting the Quran’s emphasis on saving lives (5:32).

5. Moral Accountability: Both sides must introspect, as 6:144 warns that oppressors lose divine guidance. Public campaigns can promote Quranic ethics of peace and justice.

Hermeneutical Errors Underpinning Violence Justified in Islam’s Name

The violence condemned above, particularly acts of terrorism committed in the name of Islam, represents not only a devastating assault on human life but also a profound distortion of the faith. Groups perpetrating such violence often claim Quranic justification, weaving a narrative of divine sanction. However, a rigorous hermeneutical analysis grounded in established Islamic interpretive principles (Usul al-Tafsir) reveals this justification rests upon a fundamentally faulty theology, characterized by de-contextualization, selective reading, and disregard for the scripture’s overarching ethos. Key errors include:

1. The Neglect of Context (Asbab al-Nuzul):

A cornerstone of sound Quranic interpretation is understanding the historical context (occasions/circumstances of revelation) of specific verses. Many verses cited by extremists pertain to specific historical situations, primarily the early Muslim community’s struggles against persecution and aggression in 7th-century Arabia (e.g., Quran 9:5, revealed during active warfare following treaty violations by specific hostile groups). Extremist hermeneutics commits a grave error by stripping these verses of their context, universalizing commands meant for particular circumstances of self-defence against declared belligerents and applying them indiscriminately to contemporary civilians in vastly different global contexts. This ignores qualifying principles like Quran 2:190 (“Fight… those who fight you, but do not transgress…”), which forbids harming non-combatants. Terrorism inherently transgresses these limits.

2. The Violation of the Sanctity of Life:

The Quran places immense emphasis on life’s sanctity (5:32: “…whoever kills a soul… it is as if he had slain mankind entirely…”). While extremists seize upon exceptions (“unless for a soul or for corruption”), established Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh) strictly limits these to judicial processes or legitimate warfare under specific conditions. Terrorism flagrantly violates this by engaging in extrajudicial killing, targeting innocents, and spreading “corruption in the land” (fasad fi al-ard) through fear and chaos—the very thing the verse condemns. It ignores the verse’s overwhelming weight on preserving life, focusing myopically on exceptions to justify indiscriminate slaughter.

3. Ignoring the Principles of Justice (Adl) and Proportionality:

Justice (Adl) is fundamental (4:135, 5:8). Terrorism is the antithesis of Adl, operating on collective punishment, hatred, and disproportionate retribution. It fails to distinguish between combatants and non-combatants, violating just war principles derived from Quranic injunctions and Prophetic practice (Sunnah). Targeting civilians and infrastructure demonstrates a complete lack of proportionality and rejects the Quranic demand for justice, even towards adversaries. Furthermore, terrorism often engenders Fitna (sedition, chaos), strongly condemned in the Quran (e.g., 2:191, 2:217).

4. The Suppression of Mercy (Rahmah) and Compassion:

The Quran constantly emphasizes God’s mercy (Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim) and describes Prophet Muhammad as a “mercy to the worlds” (21:107). Forgiveness, patience, and compassion are repeatedly encouraged. Extremist theology actively suppresses this dominant theme, saturating discourse with vengeance and cruelty, portraying a God primarily of wrath. This ignores verses permitting kindness towards non-belligerent non-Muslims (60:8-9). Terrorism’s inherent brutality starkly contrasts with the Quranic emphasis on Rahmah.

5. Atomistic Reading vs. Holistic Interpretation:

Perhaps the most significant hermeneutical failing is the atomistic approach: isolating verses from the whole Quranic message. Sound interpretation requires holistic reading, understanding how verses qualify, explain, or balance each other. Extremists “cherry-pick” verses appearing to support violence while ignoring the vast body emphasizing peace, reconciliation, dialogue, and coexistence. They disregard the hierarchy of principles, elevating context-specific conflict verses above universal principles like life sanctity and justice. This often bypasses centuries of Islamic scholarly tradition (Usul al-Fiqh, Usul al-Tafsir) and consensus (Ijma) favouring simplistic, literalist interpretations serving violent agendas.

From Misinterpretation to Mercy

The Quran’s pro-pacifist framework condemns the recent Kashmir massacres as violations of divine principles. Verses like 5:32, 2:190, and 8:61 establish an ethical blueprint: life is sacred, violence against innocents is haram, and peace must be pursued. This hermeneutic rejects both militant terrorism and state oppression, advocating dialogue, justice, and non-violence.

Terrorism carried out in Islam’s name is rooted not in authentic Quranic teaching but in a dangerous, faulty theology built upon severe hermeneutical errors like ignoring context, violating life’s sanctity, rejecting justice, suppressing mercy, and atomistic readings. These distort the Quranic message beyond recognition. A faithful, contextual, holistic engagement with the Quran reveals a worldview centred on justice, compassion, and the profound value of human life – principles fundamentally incompatible with indiscriminate violence. Countering extremist narratives requires robust promotion of sound Quranic hermeneutics. By aligning with core Quranic values of peace and justice, stakeholders can address the Kashmir crisis, honour the sanctity of life, and build a just, peaceful future.

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V.A. Mohamad Ashrof is an independent Indian scholar specializing in Islamic humanism. With a deep commitment to advancing Quranic hermeneutics that prioritize human well-being, peace, and progress, his work aims to foster a just society, encourage critical thinking, and promote inclusive discourse and peaceful coexistence. He is dedicated to creating pathways for meaningful social change and intellectual growth through his scholarship. He can be reached at [email protected]

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A very important and much needed rural reform is getting increasingly neglected. This relates to the need for all rural households to have at least some farmland.

While this is being written here mainly in the context of what I have seen in the context of my visits to villages of India over several decades, this is likely to be relevant for several other countries as well.

What I have seen over the decades in many villages is that while there is clearly urgent need for all rural poor landless families to have some land, the number of landless families has been increasing. While partly this is due to division of family land over generations, it is also to a significant extent due to loss of land by indebted farmers due to distress sale of land, or due to land grab by the powerful persons using various legal and illegal methods. More vulnerable households, such as single woman households, can face increasing difficulty in retaining their small land holding. 

As following the spread of green revolution expensive inputs, machinery and technologies were imposed on farmers, these high expenses and the resulting debts became a big cause of loss of land. 

In several cases landlessness is also caused in addition by displacement related to various projects and inability to provide alternative land in place of this. 

Land loss caused by river erosion, floods, landslides or more gradual degradation over a number of years has also been increasing. 

On the other hand rich and powerful persons in many villages own or control increasing tracts of land, using various devices to get over any legal limits.

Sometimes the poorest farmers are also evicted by government agencies claiming that the land being cultivated belongs to them and has been illegally encroached upon. At the same time encroachments by some powerful persons remain in place.  

According to the available data, there were 127.3 million landowning farmers in India in 2001 and this number decreased to 118.7 million in 2011. In other words, within ten years this number fell by about 8.6 million, which works out to about 72,000 farmers becoming landless in one month, or about 2400 in a day, or about 100 small farmers becoming landless every hour, or about two every minute.

There are two aspects of land security which are very important for the poorer or weaker households in rural areas. One is that the land on which their house is located should clearly belong to them. Due to linkages to feudal past, in several villages the most powerful landowners sometimes claim that the land on which some of the poorest households are settled belongs to them and were given to those working for them in old times temporarily. The government is supposed to have settled this matter a long time back by settling such land in favor of those actually living here, but visiting some villages even in very recent times this writer has come across cases of members or agents of powerful landowners asserting ownership of such land and forcibly collecting payments from the poorest under the threat of evicting them.

So one aspect of the problem that should be clearly settled beyond doubt is that all inhabitants of a village should have housing rights (with proper rights to a land holding of a certain size) and there cannot be any eviction from a place where any family has been staying traditionally, or where there is a settlement of several poor families living together. While no one can be removed by a private party, if the government for urgent development needs requires anyone to be displaced for a house, then better living place will have to be arranged and resettlement expenses provided before any eviction is caused.  

In India there is an ongoing nationwide scheme of the government which can be used further to improve the housing of the poor, but the implementation of the scheme, which has substantial budgetary support and is conceptually a very good scheme, should be improved to ensure that the new houses are in keeping with local needs and secondly, that these do not lead to further indebtedness of these households, which often happens in the process of arranging their share of the expenses as well as the payments made to corrupt officials.  

Secondly there is the question of farmland. In a rural area, it is extremely important for a family to have at least some farmland for economic security, for food security and to have a base in the village.

The authorities often say that there is no land available to be given to the landless so from where can we give land. However if the same authorities are asked to find several hundred acres for a big industrialist or some other big project then they readily do so. When it is a question of finding much lesser land for the landless, then they say there is no land. If there is no land for the landless, how is there so much more land in the hands of the richest and most powerful persons of villages, or increasingly also in the hands of many rich persons based in cities who are keen to buy farmland in addition to their urban property?

If there is a will there will be ways to find at least some minimum land for the landless in most villages. Even in areas where finding land is really difficult, this writer has been suggesting alternatives like regeneration of unused land lying vacant close to villages with afforestation schemes and then providing sustainable, ecologically friendly livelihoods, with land ownership, on the basis of non-timber produce of these trees, supplemented with some inter-cropping, kitchen gardens, dairying etc. In a single such settlement, about 50 or more landless households can get sustainable livelihoods based on ownership rights of land, with active government support. This also helps in the objective of increasing tree cover of indigenous species.

So a very important objective of rural development in the next decade should be to provide farmland to all rural landless persons, along with extending other necessary support like minor irrigation to them.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food, Protecting Earth for Children, A Day in 2071 and Man over Machine—A Path to Peace. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research. 

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It was a deal for the cretinous, hammered out by the less than bright for less than honourable goals.  But AUKUS, the trilateral security alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, is now finally receiving the broader opprobrium it should have had from the outset.  Importantly, criticism is coming from those who have, at points, swooned at the prospect of acquiring a nuclear-powered submarine capability assuming, erroneously, that Australia somehow needs it.

A report by the Strategic Analysis Australia think tank has found that AUKUS, despite the increasingly vain promise of supplying the Royal Australian Navy with nuclear powered submarines in 2032, has already become its own, insatiable beast.  As beast it is, with the cost over the next four years for the submarine program coming in at A$17.3 billion, exceeding by some margin the capital budget of the Royal Australian Airforce (RAAF) at A$12.7 billion.  One of the authors of the report, Marcus Hellyer, notes that “in terms of acquisition spending, the SSN [nuclear-powered attack submarine] enterprise has already become the ADF’s [Australian Defence Force’s] ‘fourth service’.”

The report notes some remarkable figures.  Expenditure on SSNs is estimated to be somewhere between A$53 billion and A$63 billion between 2024-2034, with the next five years of the decade costing approximately A$20 billion.  The amount left over for the following years comes in at $33 to $44 billion, necessitating a target of $10 billion annually by the end of the financial decade in the early 2030s.  What is astounding is the amount being swallowed up by the ADF’s investment program in maritime capabilities, which will, over the coming decade, come to 38% of the total investment.

The SSN program has made its fair share in distorting the budget.  The decade to 2033-4 features a total budget of A$330 billion.  But the SSN budget of $53-63 billion puts nuclear powered submarines at 16.1% to 19.1% more than either the domains of land and air relevant to Australia’s defence. 

“It’s hard to grasp how unusual this situation is,” the report notes with gravity. “Moreover, it’s one that will endure for decades, since the key elements of the maritime domain (SSNs and the two frigate programs) will still be in acquisition well into the 2040s.  It’s quite possible that Defence itself doesn’t grasp the situation that it’s gotten into.”

To add to the more specialist literature calling large parts of AUKUS expenditure into question comes the emergence of disquiet in political ranks.  Despite the craven and cowardly bipartisan approval of Australia’s dottiest military venture to date, former Labor senator Doug Cameron, who fronts the Labor Against War group, is a symptom of growing dissent. 

“There are other more realistic and cost-effective strategies to protect our territorial integrity without subjugating ourselves to a dangerous, unpredictable and unworthy Trump administration.”

On the other side of the political aisle, former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is pessimistically inclined to the view that Australia will never get those much heralded submarines. 

“There will be Australian sailors serving on US submarines, and we’ll provide them with a base in Western Australia.”  Furthermore, Australia would have “lost both sovereignty and security and a lot of money as well.”

The spineless disposition of Australia’s political cadres may prove irrelevant to the forced obsolescence of the agreement, given the scrutiny of AUKUS in both the United States and the United Kingdom.  The pugilistic nature of the tariff system imposed by the Trump administration on all countries, friendly or adversarial, has brought particular focus on the demands on naval and submarine construction.  Senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, told an AUKUS dinner in Washington this month that

“We are already having trouble getting these ships and subs on time [and] on budget.  Increase those prices – it’s going to be a problem.”

Taine’s point is logical enough, given that steel and aluminium have been targeted by particularly hefty rates.  Given the array of products requiring exchange in the AUKUS arrangement, tariffs would, the senator reasons, “slow us down and make things harder”.

Another blow also looms.  On April 9, the White House ordered the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to comb through the procurement of US Navy vessels in order “to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these processes” and contribute to the Trump administration’s Maritime Action Plan.  Consistent with Trump’s near obsession of reviving national industry, the order seeks “to revitalize and rebuild domestic maritime industries and workforce to promote national security and economic prosperity.”

Australian taxpayers have every reason to be further worried about this, given the order’s emphasis that US departments and agencies pursue “all available incentives to help shipbuilders domiciled in allied nations partner to undertake capital investment in the US to help strengthen the shipbuilding capacity of the US”.  Given that that US submarine industrial base is already promised $US3 billion from Australia’s pockets, with $500 million already transferred in February, the delicious exploitation of Canberra’s stupidity continues apace.

In the UK, the House of Commons Defence Committee this month announced a parliamentary inquiry into the defence pact, which will evaluate the agreement in light of changes that have taken place since 2021. 

“AUKUS has been underway for three years now,” remarked Defence Committee chairman and Labour MP, Tan Dhesi.  “The inquiry will examine the progress made against each of the two pillars, and ask how any challenges could be addressed.”

The first pillar, perennially spectral, stresses the submarine component, both in terms of transferring Virginia class SSNs to Australia and the construction of a bespoke nuclear-powered AUKUS submarine; the second focuses on the technological spread of artificial intelligence, quantum capabilities, hypersonic advances and cyber warfare.  While Dhesi hopes that the inquiry may throw up the possibility of expanding the second pillar, beady eyes will be keen to see the near non-existent state regarding the first.  But even the second pillar lacks definition, prompting Kaine to suggest the need for “some definition and some choices”.  Nebulous, amorphous and foolish, this absurd pact continues to sunder.

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Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge.  He currently lectures at RMIT University.  He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). Email: [email protected]

Featured image: Photo courtesy of the Royal Australian Navy

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“Saigon liberated! A victory for all humanity”, was the cover headline of Australian socialist publication Direct Action (DA) on May 2, 1975. DA (forerunner of Green Left) joined the worldwide celebrations for the historic victory of the Vietnamese people and the National Liberation Front (NLF) over the United States-backed puppet regime in South Vietnam.

Rallies were organised across Australia and around the world to celebrate the historic milestone: it was a victory not only for the Vietnamese people, but for the mass, international anti-war movement of the time.

I was a DA contributor at the time and wrote about the dramatic events for that special issue:

“On April 30, Vietnamese liberation forces entered the city of Saigon and occupied the presidential palace. This signalled the end of 30 years of bitter struggle by the Vietnamese people to rid their country of imperialist domination.

“The rushed evacuation of the last US military and civilian personnel from Saigon meant the total victory of the liberation armies and was one of the most decisive and far-reaching defeats for the mighty US war machine in history.”

The Sydney Morning Herald of May 1, 1975, described the scene as liberation forces moved into the capital:

“Laughing, cheering communist troops entered the presidential palace shouting ‘Hello comrade’ to the bystanders and newsmen.

“Troops moved through the streets with loudhailers declaring: ‘The forces of the National Liberation Front have become masters of Saigon. Do not worry: you will be well treated.’

“Traffic continued in the centre of the capital. People stopped to ask if they could move about freely and were waved on with a smile and a ‘yes’ from the Vietcong soldiers,” the SMH reported.

All the available evidence is that the people of Saigon overwhelmingly welcomed the liberation forces. The Australian of May 1, 1975, reported:

“People ran into the streets and cheered as dozens of tanks flying Vietcong flags and loaded with communist troops started to rumble into Saigon. The Vietcong soldiers grinned and waved to the crowds.”

The ABC program PM on April 30 reported an “air of extraordinary friendliness. The population is strongly favourable to the occupation.”

The NLF and North Vietnamese troops had fought against colonialism for decades. These armed forces, headed by Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese Communist Party leadership in Hanoi, defeated the French colonialists in 1954, forcing them to withdraw their forces in the wake of the victory at Dien Bien Phu.

Inspiration

The Vietnam War changed the course of world history.

The Australian described the final days of the puppet regime in the South, noting “the disastrous collapse of South Vietnamese resistance amid almost incredible scenes of treachery, greed and brutality”.

“[There is a] total breakdown of military and civilian authority in the Republic of Vietnam, running battles among fleeing soldiers and with civilians, an absolute paralysis of will on the part of then-President Nguyen Van Thieu, the large-scale treachery of the ruling Vietnamese elite and the presumed fate of 7.4 tonnes of gold worth about $30 million, as well as additional millions in hard currency reserves.”

DA’s editorial on May 2, 1975, stated:

“Who can doubt that the oppressed masses of Latin America and Africa will derive a mighty impetus to their struggles from the victory of the popular masses in Vietnam.

“The defeat of the imperialist intervention in Vietnam is also a victory for the international anti-war movement, above all the anti-war movement in the United States itself. The Vietnamese people and their liberation forces acquitted themselves with tremendous heroism on the Indo-China battlefields. But they were rendered decisive assistance by Washington’s inability to bring the full weight of its awesome military power to bear against them.

“The essential reason for this was that the American people tied the hands of their own rulers. Under the impact of the protracted struggle in Indo-China and the ever-larger demonstrations organised by the opponents of the war in the US itself, the vast majority of the American people came to oppose the war.

“A whole new levy of radical youth around the world, especially in the imperialist countries, themselves were awakened to political life, and received a basic anti-capitalist education in the struggle against the imperialist war of intervention in Vietnam.”

The fall of Saigon was symbolic of one people determined to forge their own destiny in the world. North and South Vietnam are now united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, despite some elements of capitalism re-emerging.

Lessons for Today

The fall of Saigon and the defeat of US and allied (including Australian) imperialism in Vietnam 50 years ago contains important lessons for today, especially in the context of the determined struggle of the Palestinian people against Israel and its US (and other Western) backers today.

While the specific circumstances are different: the US, Australian and other allies had massive military forces directly involved on the ground in Vietnam, Israel acts today (and has since the 1948 Nakba) as the spearhead of Western imperialism in Palestine and the wider Middle East — nevertheless, with unlimited military backing, supply and political support.

Israel seeks to act with total impunity in its genocidal war against the Palestinians in Gaza, just as the US and its allies sought to do in Indochina in the 1960s and 1970s, and French imperialism tried to do for decades before that.

However, the growing mass movement in support of the Palestinian people around the world, but most importantly in the US itself, is already challenging the Western ruling consensus in support of Israel.

In the turbulent era of Donald Trump’s second US presidency, when Western imperialism is descending into a disastrous international trade war, there is a very real prospect of the courageous Palestinian people — supported by a growing global anti-war movement — forcing a major defeat on Israel and its US and allied backers.

The liberation of Vietnam 50 years ago can be a beacon for the Palestinian people and their international defenders today.

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Featured image: Protesting the Vietnam War at Sydney University (left). Protesting Israel’s war on Gaza at Columbia University (right). (Source: Green Left)

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The international community is sounding the alarm about the situation in Balochistan, where incidents of violence against intellectuals and activists are reminiscent of the persecutions faced by people of spirit in Bangladesh. According to a United Nations report on March 21, 2025, the police in Quetta attacked a peaceful protest by the BYC (a network advocating for the interests of the Baloch minority) in front of the University of Balochistan, demanding the release of prisoners and forcibly disappeared activists. Three people are reported to have been shot and killed, while others were injured and dozens more were arrested.

Experts have expressed concern over a series of escalating actions by the Pakistani police against the Baloch Unity Committee (BYC).

These actions intensified following a terrorist attack by Baloch separatists on a passenger train on March 11, 2025, after which several prominent human rights defenders from the Baloch Unity Committee (BYC) were reportedly arrested by Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department or forcibly disappeared.

The only way to attempt to understand the deeper causes of these events both in Bangladesh and in Balochistan is to remove the blinders from our eyes and dive into the essence of the region’s history. The answer is complex as cultural and political parameters, and most importantly, religious parameters, enter into the geography of each area. Often, Western eyes do not see the significance of religious differences in Eastern countries as they are under the false illusion that all religions are the same. We do not see how Islam is used as a social form of gender-based violence covered under the veil of faith, up to an extreme means of political pressure, since its main purpose is the suppression of infidels and dissenters. The masses who do not have access to education and a broader framework of thought believe in the doctrines controlled by the governments, and when they cannot control them through legal political means, they unleash the extreme religious groups that until recently they promised to have firmly put in place.

History often creates unpredictable parallels between different places, connecting them through common trials and resistance. Bangladesh and Balochistan, although separated by extensive geography, different languages, distinct ethnicities, and unique cultural fabrics, are inextricably linked by a grim similarity—the relentless persecution they have suffered at the hands of Pakistan, which repeatedly employs extremist organizations acting extrajudicially but receiving financial support from the Pakistani state.

Their most significant difference is that while Bangladesh emerged triumphantly after a bloody war in 1971, Balochistan remains in a state of permanent subjugation with its aspirations for self-determination being fiercely suppressed.

Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, is a land of fertile plains and rivers, steeped in a rich Bengali cultural and literary heritage that predates the founding of Pakistan. In contrast, Balochistan is an extensive, arid region characterized by imposing mountains and a stark desert landscape, with its ethos deeply rooted in a tradition of tribal dominance. Their linguistic identities, Bengali, an Indo-Aryan language, and Balochi, a Northwestern Iranian language, have no historical or structural affinity.

Despite these vast differences, both regions have suffered from the same oppressive machinations of the Pakistani state, which range from the systematic marginalization of a large part of the population, economic exploitation, and military repression.

A pivotal year in the history of Bangladesh is 1971. For years, the people of East Pakistan suffered from political deprivation and economic subjugation while their calls for autonomy were met with ridicule. The situation escalated to catastrophic proportions on March 25, 1971, when Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight, an organized genocide designed to eliminate Bengali nationalism. Intellectuals were executed immediately, women suffered unimaginable sexual violence, and entire villages were razed to the ground. The subsequent war, filled with immense human suffering, resulted in the independence of Bangladesh with the decisive intervention of India. The cost of freedom was overwhelming, with a toll of three million lives lost, millions more displaced, and a nation born from the ashes of unparalleled barbarity. Bangladesh may have gained independence in 1971, but the situation has been in turmoil since mid-2024, when student protests against corruption and rising inequality swept the country. The unrest claimed the lives of 870 people, according to provisional government figures, and forced Sheikh Hasina to resign after more than a decade in power.

The protests also targeted journalists. Many journalists were attacked while covering demonstrations, and two lost their lives. Many others, especially those considered favorable to Hasina’s government, now face politically motivated charges, arrests, or exile.

In contrast, Balochistan was annexed by Pakistan overnight in 1948 despite the opposition of the indigenous people. The province became embroiled in continuous uprisings, each of which was violently suppressed by military operations. The Pakistani state covertly implemented the same draconian strategies it had applied in Bangladesh, such as enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions, for the systematic suppression of dissent.

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Balochistan region in pink (Public Domain)

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In contrast to Bangladesh, the quest for the sovereignty of Balochistan remains unfulfilled. Thousands of activists, journalists, and citizens have disappeared, their fate shrouded under the iron grip of the state machinery. Despite being endowed with immense natural wealth—gold, gas, and minerals—Balochistan is mired in extreme poverty, its resources siphoned off to enrich the Pakistani elite while its people remain homeless.

Bangladesh was looted for jute tea leaves and other commodities, just as the minerals of Balochistan are exported without benefiting the indigenous population.

Of course, the now-autonomous Bangladesh, freed from the grip of Pakistan, is in much better shape than Balochistan as it has emerged as an economic giant, with strong infrastructure and a developing industrial sector, particularly in the garment industry.

In stark contrast, Balochistan remains an open wound, simmering under the oppressive weight of a relentless security apparatus. Enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and relentless military raids have turned the region into a dystopian landscape of fear and despair. Calls for international intervention are becoming increasingly urgent, but tangible action remains elusive.

Bangladesh and Balochistan stand as distant yet interconnected chapters of history—one a tale of liberation, the other a poignant narrative of relentless oppression. One country was liberated, the other still bleeds. Yet, history has an immutable lesson: tyranny has an expiration date, and the will of an oppressed people cannot be extinguished forever. In my personal opinion, because at the end of the day, our economic actions are political acts, the oppressed people of Balochistan can emulate the example of the students in Turkey who, after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, and the call by CHP leader Özgür Özel for a targeted boycott, engaged in a 24-hour economic abstention as they collectively decided not to buy or sell anything on April 2. When all other means of pressure are not accepted, do small consumer actions carry political weight?

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Staikou Dimitra writes articles for Greece’s largest Newspaper PROTO THEMA. Dimitra graduated from Law School, a profession she never practiced, and has a master’s degree in theater and is involved in writing in all its forms, books, plays, and scripts for TV series.

Featured image is from the author

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China recently approved the construction of the world’s largest hydropower dam, across the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet. When fully up and running, it will be the world’s largest power plant – by some distance.

Yet many are worried the dam will displace local people and cause huge environmental disruption. This is particularly the case in the downstream nations of India and Bangladesh, where that same river is known as the Brahmaputra.

The proposed dam highlights some of the geopolitical issues raised by rivers that cross international borders. Who owns the river itself, and who has the right to use its water? Do countries have obligations not to pollute shared rivers, or to keep their shipping lanes open? And when a drop of rain falls on a mountain, do farmers in a different country thousands of miles downstream have a claim to use it? Ultimately, we still don’t know enough about these questions of river rights and ownership to settle disputes easily.

The Yarlung Tsangpo begins on the Tibetan Plateau, in a region sometimes referred to as the world’s third pole as its glaciers contain the largest stores of ice outside of the Arctic and Antarctica. A series of huge rivers tumble down from the plateau and spread across south and south-east Asia. Well over a billion people depend on them, from Pakistan to Vietnam.

Yet the region is already under immense stress as global warming melts glaciers and changes rainfall patterns. Reduced water flow in the dry season, coupled with sudden releases of water during monsoons, could intensify both water scarcity and flooding, endangering millions in India and Bangladesh.

The construction of large dams in the Himalayas has historically disrupted river flows, displaced people, destroyed fragile ecosystems and increased risks of floods. The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Dam will likely be no exception.

The dam will sit along the tectonic boundary where the Indian and Eurasian plates converge to form the Himalayas. This makes the region particularly vulnerable to earthquakes, landslides, and sudden floods when natural dams burst.

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The Yarlung Tsangpo flows through Chinese Tibet before turning south at the ‘Great Bend’, near where the proposed dam will be, before turning into the Brahmaputra as it flows through India and Bangladesh. Prepared by the author

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Downstream, the Brahmaputra is one of south Asia’s mightiest rivers and has been integral to human civilisation for thousands of years. It’s one of the world’s most sediment-rich rivers, which helps form a huge and fertile delta.

Yet a dam of this scale would trap massive amounts of sediment upstream, disrupting its flow downstream. This could make farming less productive, threatening food security in one of the world’s most densely populated regions.

The Sundarbans mangrove forest, a Unesco World Heritage Site that stretches across most of coastal Bangladesh and a portion of India, is particularly vulnerable. Any disruption to the balance of sediment could accelerate coastal erosion and make the already low lying area more vulnerable to sea-level rise.

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The Brahmaputra eventually flows into a region of fertile fields and mangrove forests. Sk Hasan Ali / shutterstock

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Unfortunately, despite the transboundary nature of the Brahmaputra, there is no comprehensive treaty governing it. This lack of formal agreements complicates efforts to ensure China, India and Bangladesh share the water equitably and work together to prepare for disasters.

These sorts of agreements are perfectly possible: 14 countries plus the European Union are parties to a convention on protecting the Danube, for instance. But the Brahmaputra is not alone. Many transboundary rivers in the global south face similar neglect and inadequate research.

Researching Rivers

In our recent study, colleagues and I analysed 4,713 case studies across 286 transboundary river basins. We wanted to assess how much academic research there was on each, what themes it focused on, and how that varied depending on the type of river. We found that, while large rivers in the global north receive considerable academic attention, many equally important rivers in the global south remain overlooked.

What research there is in the global south is predominantly led by institutions from the global north. This dynamic influences research themes and locations, often sidelining the most pressing local issues. We found that research in the global north tends to focus on technical aspects of river management and governance, whereas studies in the global south primarily examine conflicts and resource competition.

In Asia, research is concentrated on large, geopolitically significant basins like the Mekong and Indus. Smaller rivers where water crises are most acute are often neglected. Something similar is happening in Africa, where studies focus on climate change and water-sharing disputes, yet a lack of infrastructure limits broader research efforts.

Small and medium-sized river basins, critical to millions of people in the global south, are among the most neglected in research. This oversight has serious real-world consequences. We still don’t know enough about water scarcity, pollution, and climate change impacts in these regions, which makes it harder to develop effective governance and threatens the livelihoods of everyone who depends on these rivers.

A more inclusive approach to research will ensure the sustainable management of transboundary rivers, safeguarding these vital resources for future generations.

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Mehebub Sahana, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Geography, University of Manchester

Featured image: The proposed dam will span the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, the world’s deepest. Biao Liu / shutterstock

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Apropos the recent Raisina Dialogue in Delhi, Politico wrote, quoting an Estonian diplomat that “engaging with Russian lawmakers was a waste of time given Russia’s autocratic system.” He disdainfully added, “Why should we? On a list of people who matter, members of the state Duma of the Russian Federation do not appear.” Show me the world map. Where is Estonia?

What was the point in hosting a clutch of inconsequential New Europeans for a cogitation on Ukraine? The United States and Russia have decided that peace talks to end the war will be at the bilateral level, and even Old Europeans will be excluded lest they act as spoilers undermining the dialogue process to continue with the war. Russia is adamant that it will not accept any form of European deployment (Old or New) on Ukrainian soil.

All things taken into account, the Raisina Dialogue 2025 turned out to be a wasteful extravaganza. Someone in authority should order an auditing. 

This is not to suggest that the Raisina Dialogue per se is a bad idea, but only to flag that there must be some way to make it purposive and cost-effective. For that to happen, a sense of direction is needed. When Europeans have been washed ashore like beached whales, we held a jamboree with 11 of the 20 ministers drawn from Europe and turned it into a circus for poking the bear! 

What is it that the Narendra Modi government hopes to achieve by trying to embarrass its Russian friends? Simply put, we exposed ourselves as clueless, ungrateful people after having profited from the Ukraine war by cashing in on discounted Russian oil and fertilisers, and, thereafter, claiming to be the voice of the Global South. Never once did we show the courage to call out the collective West for fuelling a proxy war that threatened Ukraine’s existence. 

We kept quiet when Joe Biden and Boris Johnson undermined the Istanbul agreement in April 2022 when the conflict had just begun, and struck a Faustian deal with Kiev to choose instead the military path with Western backing. (here and here) We never took a position on the root cause of the conflict — NATO’s expansion towards  Russia’s borders in a strategy of encirclement. One is confused. Does the Modi government have a stance on the Ukraine conflict at all? 

Ukraine’s capitulation is now a matter of time. The Europeans are in no position to replace the US in the war. Indeed, the big picture is worrisome — Modi government’s unipolar predicament even as the Trump administration is transitioning to multipolarity and seeking a concert of three superpowers.

Aren’t there conflict situations close to our hearth which should have been prioritised? The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is itching for a war with Iran and is hoping to draw Trump into it, who is torn between his obligation to the Jewish lobby and the near-certainty that a war with Iran will wreck his foreign policy agenda, just as Jimmy Carter’s.

Given Modi’s bromance with Netanyahu and hug diplomacy with Trump, he has a role as peacemaker cut out for him. Alas, this year’s Raisina Dialogue could have been put to use to calm tensions in the Gulf region and build up a collective voice against war in our extended neighbourhood, where India has high stakes. Indeed, why is India not having the spunk to advise Netanyahu and Trump that ‘this is not an era of war[s}’? Such pusillanimity cannot be attributed to ‘national interest’. 

Again, following up the CIA’s coup and regime change in Bangladesh, the US Pacific Command is shifting gear to use that country as the base camp for intervention to force regime change in Myanmar. Even as the Raisina Dialogue was in session, Lieutenant General Joel ‘JB’ Vowell, Deputy Commanding General for US Army Pacific, a veteran with three combat tours in Afghanistan and two in Iraq, sneaked into Dhaka one night as part of the “planning to launch a major military offensive  to capture three remaining towns in the Rakhine State – Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and Manaung – where the Myanmar military continues to hold out.” 

No doubt, Sittwe is of vital importance from the Indian perspective. Why not include the Myanmar / Bangladesh conflict zone as an agenda for the Raisina Dialogue? Surely, there are any number of topics of vital concern for India that should be engaging the attention of our public diplomacy. In about a week’s time, Trump’s tariff war will come to India’s doorstep. Again, BRICS is in Trump’s crosshairs. Aren’t these worthy enough topics to cogitate? 

Public diplomacy is not about event management. The MEA may be favouring some non-official agency for reasons best known to its decision makers, but it should be anchored on India’s interests. Is poking the bear in India’s interests? This is not an occasion for good times and tan lines.

The Indian leadership should honestly find an explanation as to why the two superpowers decided on Saudi Arabia as the neutral venue for holding their peace talks. Remember Nehru’s role in ending the Korean War or India’s leadership in the International Commission for Supervision and Control to oversee the implementation of the Geneva Accords in Indochina (1954)? 

To be brutally frank, why is New Delhi ignored today, our mantra about the futility or irrelevance of war notwithstanding? Actually, the whole world could see that India is being patently dishonest — a country that is figuring year after year as the world’s biggest buyer of weaponry in the world market espousing peace in speeches and podcasts and TV interviews! Poker-faced moralising engenders only contempt.  

India’s ‘neutral’ position on Ukraine is laced with the angst to harmonise with the collective West. True, it was done with elan, but so are most acts of dissimulation. The grotesque truth came out nonetheless at the Raisina event last week. In another week’s time, Trump will decide whether Modi government deserves his pity. 

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There is a widespread feeling in the villages of India that when the national rural employment guarantee scheme is implemented properly as per the provisions of its law called NREGA, it is very helpful, particularly for women. However a frequent complaint of people is that it is not being implemented properly in many places. Hence many organizations are working all over the country to try to secure better implementation of NREGA.

In this context the experience of a women’s organization in the desert district of Barmer (Rajasthan) is very interesting. This organization called Mahila Sangathan Barmer has been working for a long time to ensure that more rural women here are able to get NREGA employment. In terms of fulfilling various procedures like placing demand for work, obtaining receipts and taking follow-up actions, this mahila sangathan (women’s organization) has been very active and has been involved in securing employment for nearly 4,700 rural women.

In the course of these efforts, the mahila sangthan has gained a new insight that while the primary justification of NREGA is for providing employment and income support, there is also an additional important benefit of this employment law being that women living in remote desert houses are able to come together regularly for several days. They meet each other, make new friendships, share their worries and concerns. This has helped these women to improve their mental health while helping to reduce their pent-up tensions.

Thus as Anita Soni, coordinator of mahila sangthan, says NREGA is good for livelihoods but it is also good for mental health. This may well be more of a reality in this desert area where houses tend to be located at greater distances, but perhaps to a lesser extent this can be true in other areas as well.

This women’s organization was quick to realize this additional potential as it had already been working on a program to improve mental health supported by MIH. This program in turn started, Anita Soni says, when an increase of suicides by women was reported in these villages and it was considered necessary to start a program for reducing this disturbing trend and for improving mental health.

The mahila sangathan has about 2,000 members. Group leaders from various villages have monthly meetings in Barmer town.

These meetings and being part of a larger organization of sympathetic women increases the confidence of women that when in difficulty they can get help. This also creates a deeper sense of solidarity with each other and with the sangathan.

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The mahila sangathan has also been working more specifically for reducing domestic violence and in fact for reducing all kinds of violence against women. Earlier some women were silently enduring such violence. This resulted in accumulation of distress, pain and tensions which worsened the situation. Recognizing this reality, the mahila sangathan started a ‘chuppi todo abhiyan’ or break the silence campaign. As a result of this when women started sharing their problems with their friends, their worries and distress decreased and at the same time the collective strength of the mahila sangthan could be used to reduce the problems of these women.

There has been a lot of discrimination against widows in these villages and they are barred from wearing more colorful dresses and ornaments even if they are of a relatively young age. Such discriminatory practices have also been challenged by the mahila sangathan and subsequently these are being reduced.

The mahila sangathan on the basis of its observations has found that alcoholism among men has been a leading cause of violence against women as well as of several other problems. Hence one of the challenges it wants to take up more in the near future is to reduce the increasing menace of alcoholism.

One of the important gains of the work of the mahila sangathan has come from its ability to integrate economic and social issues, livelihood and social reform issues, health and social interaction issues. This has helped the mahila sangathan to achieve significant gains, and such insights from its work can be useful for other social movements and organizations as well.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071. He is a regular contributor to Asia-Pacific Research.

All images in this article are from the author

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