Marginalia, Nida-e Haq

1 Sept 2019 Hong Kong Protests: Democracy under threat Asad Mirza The ongoing protests in Hog Kong is a movement without clearly identified leaders or structure, making it difficult for the authorities to effectively handle it and hard for the protestors to manage. The protests against an extradition law have been on going for seven consecutive weeks in Hong Kong, they took a violent turn last weekend. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam publicly denounced the violence. Protesters in Hong Kong have achieved a major victory in their fight to protect their legal system from Chinese interference. On June 15, in response to massive popular resistance, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced she would suspend a vote on a proposed new law that would allow China to extradite suspects accused of certain crimes and prosecute them in Chinese courts. For over a fortnight, some 1.3 million people had gathered daily outside Hong Kong’s legislature to protest the legislation,...

18.08.2019 Indian opposition in disarray, what should the Muslims do? Asad Mirza The passage of abrogation of the Art 370 of the Indian Constitution in the parliament recently, clearly bought out the fissures within the opposition parties. It has also shown to the public the essential role played by an opposition in a parliamentary democracy and also the impact of a well sustained and managed campaign, in this case by the ruling party. The Congress faced a vertical split within the party over opposing the government’s move to withdraw special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution. Members of several regional parties took a stand, which was not in consonance with the official stand of their respective parties, thereby strengthening the government’s hand and weakening the opposition further. The All India Trinamool Congress, strongly opposed the government in both Houses of Parliament. Their leaders spoke against the Jam...

The new Education Policy for India Asad Mirza The Draft National Education Policy (NEP) 2019 prepared by a committee chaired by Dr K. Kasturirangan was shared by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development for public comments in June earlier. The policy aims at making India a knowledge superpower by equipping students with the necessary skills and knowledge. It also focuses on eliminating the shortage of manpower in Science and Technology, academics and industry. The Draft Policy is built on foundational pillars of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability. The NEP 2019 found it drawn into a high-profile controversy soon after the ministry of human resources development posted it online for soliciting feedback. The point of contention: the NEP’s recommendation that Hindi be mandated as one of the three languages of study in school. The opposition in south India, especially in the state of Tamil Nadu, was so strong that the NEP committee swiftly with...

Guns and America Asad Mirza Recent mass shootings in the US have been attributed to a variety of causes - disaffected youth, mental illness, workplace conflict and family discord. According to the BBC the nature of the attack could also prompt a rethinking of the domestic threat presented by militant white nationalists and ways to stop it, including new gun control measures. The attacks have once again brought into focus two crucial acts, which are related to America. First, is the Gun Control Laws in the US. Many Americans and the Republican Party included, oppose restriction of arms possession by the American public. Second, is the international law known as Arms Trade Treaty, which aims to restrict sale of arms to those countries which are in a state of turmoil or internal dissidence, in this case too, the US is not a signatory to the ATT, which was adopted by the United Nations on 24 December 2014, and so far 104 states have ratified the treaty. Among gun cont...

Boris Johnson: a maverick Asad Mirza Former London Mayor Boris Johnson led the campaign for Britain to leave the EU, and after a dramatic prime minister race, he'll be serving in one of the country's top positions. Johnson is a clownish character, but he's got enviable popularity levels and is known by his first name across the UK. He's even affectionately referred to as "BoJo" over social media. While at Oxford University, Boris was president of the Oxford Union, a position held by former Conservative leader William Hague and ex-Prime Minister Edward Heath. Johnson went to Eton College and university with Prime Minister David Cameron, but Boris was much more obviously political at the time. Johnson, who also worked as a journalist was sacked after a brief career at London-based newspaper The Times , and then worked for The Daily Telegraph as the paper's Brussels correspondent, gaining a name for himself in the center-right p...