According to top-secret documents provided by NSA whistleblower Edward
Snowden, the American agency carried out intelligence gathering activities in
India using at least two major programs: the first one is Boundless Informant,
a data-mining system which keeps track of how many calls and emails are
collected by the security agency; and the second one is PRISM, a program which
intercepts and collects actual content from the networks. While Boundless
Informant was used for monitoring telephone calls and access to the internet in
India, PRISM collected information about certain specific issues — not related
to terrorism — through Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, Apple, YouTube and
several other web-based services.
Film tracing Buddhism’s journey
Noted art historian Benoy K. Behl will screen a
documentary titled Culture of
Compassion: Buddhism in India and ASEAN countries. The film shows the
spread of Buddhism from India to other South Asian countries.
Key issue before NAC: should
projects displacing tribals be resisted?
NAC
Working Group (WG) headed by tribal expert professor Virginius Xaxa —
who also heads the Prime Minister’s high-level committee that is to produce a
report on the socio-economic condition of tribals — will examine whether
developmental interventions and constitutional safeguards including Fifth Schedule provisions have come to the aid of tribal people in Left
Wing Extremism-affected districts in central India. It is expected to zero in
on the issues of displacement arising from the various development and mining
projects and wildlife sanctuaries, and atrocities and redress of grievances of
undertrials.
The key question the agenda papers pose is whether “industry,
mineral exploitation and other infrastructure development projects that displace
tribal communities are to be invariably resisted. Or to be worked out, ensuring
overall interest of the tribal communities [livelihood security, environment,
culture, improved quality of life, etc].”
UPA’s emphasis
In recent months, the UPA government — and
now the NAC — has once again begun to lay a special emphasis on the condition
of tribals: the PM’s high-level committee is expected to come out with a report
similar to the one the Sachar Committee produced on Muslims in 2006,
ahead of the general election in 2014.
The background note for the September 23
meeting admits that
tribals “have veered in some areas to left radicalism either as cadres
or sympathisers and supporters due to their exploitation and oppression by
traders, moneylenders, land-grabbers…and [in the] absence of effective and
sensitive civil administration.” The large-scale displacement of tribals in
recent years, it says, “has reinforced the discontent… widespread in these
areas for decades.” This has happened “despite the special constitutional
and legal provisions for the protection of the tribal people in the Fifth
Schedule,” as well as a slew of other laws.
The note asks the WG to “assess the impact of
special programmes for the LWE areas, being implemented over the past 5-6
years” and “review implementation of provisions under the Fifth Schedule and
PESA, 1996, the Scheduled Tribe and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act 2006, and the Prevention of Atrocities Act.”
The sad story of a good vaccine
The Pentavalent vaccine, the Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare’s latest addition to the immunisation programme, has run
into a storm. The vaccine is no
stranger to controversy. A mix of five vaccines to fight childhood diseases
like diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, Hepatitis B, pneumonia and meningitis
caused by Haemophilus influenzae Type B, its roll-out in nine States has been
opposed after infant deaths were reported post vaccination. The Supreme Court
has sent a notice to the Ministry asking why the vaccine should not be banned
in the country.
Vaccines
are known to be safe and one of the best preventive tools to protect children
from disease. In India, nearly three-and-a-half lakh children die of pneumonia
and meningitis every year and the best way to save these lives is a vaccine.
Model worth considering
Immunisation is done by health-care providers
like auxiliary nurse midwives, who are often not trained enough to recognise
clinical symptoms prior to administering the vaccine and the ability to provide
support in case of adverse events. Vaccinators need to be well trained in the
importance of identifying underlying conditions of the child before
vaccinating, make parents understand the risks of vaccinating in case of any
underlying condition and ensure post-vaccination care if there is any event of
crying, fever and convulsions.
So far, 82.72 lakh doses have been administered
in the country and 29 serious cases of Adverse Events Following Immunization
(AEFI) have occurred following immunisation. Kerala reported 15 deaths; of
these, six children had co-morbidity such as congenital heart disease, eight
were Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SID), where the cause of death is unknown,
and one infant probably died due to the vaccine. Haryana reported five deaths,
Tamil Nadu four, Karnataka three and Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir one each. If
the public health system provides quality immunisation services and ideal case
management AEFI, cases can be minimised.
