22 March 2023

DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS

Q1. In order to protect its long-term security and economic interests in Myanmar, India should adopt a “Neighborhood First” strategy that is objective, pro-active, and supportive of the Act East policy. Discuss. (250 words)

 Paper & Topic: GS II –  International Relations

 Model Answer:

Introduction:

• After a military coup, Myanmar has declared a one-year state of emergency. The coup resulted in the military taking back control of Burma. Myanmar held democratic elections in November 2020. In the combined lower and upper houses of Parliament, the party headed by Aung San Suu Kyi won 396 of the 476 seats. 25% of seats are designated for the military under their 2008 Constitution.

Body:

 Background:

• The military, also known as the Junta and Tatmadaw, asserts that there was widespread fraud at the general elections in November 2020, rendering the results void.
• Myanmar’s brief stint with democracy came to an end with the military’s implementation of parliamentary elections and other changes in 2011.

India is having problems as a result of the situation in Burma right now:

• Geopolitical interests: Myanmar serves as a land bridge connecting South Asia and Southeast Asia and is an important part of India’s regional diplomacy strategy in the Indo-Pacific. It is situated at the intersection of India’s “Act East Policy” and “Neighborhood First” policies.
• An authoritarian government will make more overtures to China, which could be detrimental to India’s interests.
• Because of its advantageous location, it serves as a barrier between China and India. The coastline of Myanmar provides access to the Bay of Bengal. It connects the violently unrest-ridden North Eastern states of India, China, and Bangladesh.
• Moreover, it is close to the Nicobar archipelago in India. Instability would impact India’s security situation.
• National security: Indian groups like the NSCN (IM) in Nagaland and the ULFA in Assam have converged on the Burma-China border, together with local armed separatist groups operating in Myanmar.
• India is interested in Myanmar’s natural resources for economic reasons. Moreover, it is working on the multimodal Kaladan project, which will link its landlocked northeastern territories to the port city of Sittwe in Myanmar, which is located in the Bay of Bengal, as well as the trilateral highway linking India, Myanmar, and Thailand.
• The instability in Burma will impede their efforts.
• Defeating China If Myanmar becomes weak and falls into China’s hands as a satellite state, India will be under pressure to carry out Beijing’s demands in regional affairs.

Ways to get beyond the aforementioned challenges:

• India might back the democratically elected government if Burma requested it. Similar to how Bangladesh and Nepal are India’s strategic allies, Myanmar is also one.
• India may help Myanmar in a similar way to how it helped the former Bangladesh in 1971.
• India must strengthen the current partnership. India and Myanmar are currently actively working together in the areas of security, counterterrorism, trade and investment, and energy cooperation.
• India needs to encourage more active cooperation in these areas.
• The trade between India and Myanmar can become official. Border trade between Myanmar and India is now quite low.
• By formalising border trade like the Border Haats between India and Bangladesh and providing proper support, we can improve interpersonal ties.
• Long-term, it will also result in peace.
• India can assist Myanmar in implementing the suggestions made by the Kofi Annan Advisory Committee regarding the Rohingya refugee situation.
• The panel’s recommendation is to fund infrastructure projects.
• One such initiative is the recent plan by the Indian government to increase the capacity of the Sittwe port in the Rakhine region of Myanmar.

Conclusion:

• India should keep the momentum going by inviting the foreign minister of Myanmar and other important figures, such as the leaders of political parties, organisations that advocate for civil society, and think tanks, to meet with their Indian counterparts. The only goal should be to return Myanmar to its original course of becoming “a stable, democratic and federal union”.

Q2. The recently proposed drafted regulations are fundamentally anti-democratic and aim to hasten Lakshadweep’s development. Analyse critically. (250 words)

 Paper & Topic: GS II –  Government Policies and Interventions

 Model Answer:

Introduction:

• According to the Lakshadweep UT Administration, the current administrator’s (Praful K. Patel) plans are meant to assure resident safety and well-being and to market the islands as a tourist destination akin to the Maldives. Nonetheless, the residents think that they are destroying the social and cultural fabric of the islands.

Body:

The LG announced several proposed laws that will have a big impact on the islands:

• The Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation, the Lakshadweep Panchayat Regulation, and the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation (PASA), all of which take effect in 2021.

Proposals for the development of the Lakshadweep islands:

• On an island where crime is already low, the administrator suggested enacting the Goonda Act, also known as the anti-social Activities Control bill, in 2021. This statute allows for the up to a year-long detention of someone without a trial.
• The Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021 is another divisive draught (LDAR).
• The administrator would have the power to relocate islanders from their houses for town planning or other development initiatives, the proposal states. Lakshadweep would resemble the Maldives as a result. This approach has major ecological problems.
• The draft bill gives the government and its agents unchecked power to block an islander’s right to possess and utilise their property.
• In order to increase tourism, which has previously been hampered by the region’s primarily Muslim population, the new proposal also asks for the development of liquor stores on the islands.
• The rules governing panchayats are also being altered to bar anyone with more than two children from participating in panchayat elections.
• Among other changes, a ban on meat has been proposed. Also, non-vegetarian items have been taken out of the noon meals.
• The sale of alcohol in resorts on populated islands has been approved by the administration. Due to the prohibition that is currently in place on all inhabited islands, alcohol is only currently provided at resorts on the uninhabited Bangaram island.
• The islands used to require a mandatory 14-day quarantine under Covid laws, but admission would now only require a negative RT-PCR. The locals are concerned about this.

Critical analysis:

• Together with island residents and social media users, opposition leaders in the neighbouring states of Kerala and Lakshadweep have also raised concern.
• According to the islanders, the decision, which the island had been working under up until now, has supposedly resulted in an increase in alcohol sales.
• The change in COVID regulations caused the island to lose its status as a “green zone,” and infections increased in the months that followed. As of May 28, there have been about 7,300 illnesses and 28 fatalities reported in the Union Territory. The government is accused by islanders of handling the outbreak improperly.
• Kerala lawmakers brought up the complaints of the residents. Due to suspected Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) infractions, the new administration ordered the dwellings of the majority of the island’s 70,000 population, who depend on fishing and government support, bulldozed.
• The locals are adamantly opposed to the administrator’s actions, which have been criticised as being dictatorial. Due to this, there is now more need for a certain amount of autonomy so that the populace can run their own affairs through elected authorities.

Conclusion:

• To yet, most residents of the Lakshadweep have remained inside the islands’ ecologically sound bounds. The latest measures could rob the islanders of their independence, it is thought. Islanders may feel isolated from their resources and borders as a result of the entrance of outside developers, which could fuel separatist efforts in the north and east.