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Embed: 14-11-16 -- Jayati Ghosh / Faizur Rahman / Mujibur Rehman / Event: Background Note

The Political Economy of Demonetising High Value Notes

Jayati Ghosh

The government’s high profile war on black money has generated mixed responses. However, both supporters and opponents of the 2016 demonetisation agree that the move has caused immense hardship to people, especially those outside the banking system and without alternative means to access goods and services in a largely cash economy. Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, discusses the conceptual, practical, and implementation issues arising from the November 8 announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A more effective way to flush out black money without disrupting normal economic activities, she says, would have been to announce a specific date for demonetisation of old notes followed up by an efficient tracking system.

Secularism

Muslim Personal Law in the Present Context

A. Faizur Rahman

Demands for a common civil code by sections of the polity have brought into focus some features of the Muslim personal law in India. However, a better understanding of rulings by the Supreme Court of India, the conceptual foundations of Muslim laws relating to marriage and divorce, and Muslim laws in other countries will lead to a healthier discussion, create a better appreciation of the issues, and result in an improved legal system, says A. Faizur Rahman, secretary general of the Islamic Forum for the Promotion of Moderate Thought.

Secularism

The Consequences of Playing with Fire in Uttar Pradesh

Mujibur Rehman

The 2013 violence in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh was unique in that the so-called secular forces were not averse to fanning the fires started by Hindutva communal elements. Though this underhand collaboration was aimed at harvesting votes for both sides through a Hindu-Muslim polarisation, it was the BJP that benefited from it. The Samajwadi Party, which might have calculated that Muslims would flock to it in fear and distress, looks set instead to lose the community’s trust and its votes, says Mujibur Rehman, who teaches at Jamia Millia Islamia Central University, New Delhi, and is the editor of the recently published book, Communalism in Postcolonial India: Changing Contours.

Background Note No.3

How India’s Economy Changed Track: A Retrospective of Politics and Public Policy

The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy is organising a public discussion with Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Former Union Minister, Senior Visiting Fellow, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, and author of To the Brink and Back: India’s 1991 Story (2015), on July 29, 2016 (Friday), at 5.30 p.m. at Kasturi Srinivasan Hall, The Music Academy, Royapettah, Chennai.

Jairam Ramesh will be in conversation with Mukund Padmanabhan, Editor, The Hindu, on 25th Year of Reforms: A Retrospective of What Happened in June-July 1991, followed by interaction with the audience.

This Background Note is prepared by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy to set the issue in context.

The Arena

Journalist Avirook Sen (centre) and advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir in conversation with lawyer Geeta Ramaseshan, at the Hindu Lit For Life in Chennai on January 15, 2016. Photo: R. Ravindran
How effectively does the criminal justice system in India work? Vasundhara Sirnate and Saptarshi Bhattacharya gleaned an insight into India’s investigative agencies and the court system by speaking to two people affiliated with one of India’s most high profile criminal cases — the double murder of Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj. The following is the interview with Talwars’ defence counsel, Tanveer Ahmed Mir, and Avirook Sen, a journalist and the author of Aarushi – Anatomy of a Murder.

Publications

Policy Report No. 18

Modern Day Slavery: A Study of Tribals and Dalits as Bonded Labour in Brick Kilns

Ajita Banerjie

The action taken by the state to end the labour bondage is ineffective, while the efforts of non-government organisations have been more on release than rehabilitation. The Report, authored by Ajita Banerjie suggests the manner in which bonded labour should be contextualised in the discussion to improve labour standards.

Resources

Withdrawal of Legal Tender of ₹500 and ₹1000: Gazette Notification and RBI Statement

Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs), Notification in the Gazzette of India (November 8, 2016)

Events

Panellist (left to right) R. Geetha, Advisor, Unorganised Workers' Federation-Tamil Nadu; Prof. A Vaidyanathan, Economist; Dr. S. Narayan, former Union Finance Secretary; G. Viswanathan, Chancellor, VIT University; and N. Ravi, Director, Kasturi and Sons Ltd., share a lighter moment during the audience interaction at a Briefing on The Politics on Welfare in Tamil Nadu organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy on April 30, 2016. Photo: R. Ravindran

Event report: Public Briefing on The Politics of Welfare in Tamil Nadu (includes audio)

The fiscal sustainability of welfare schemes and their impact on the development of physical and social infrastructure of the State formed the primary talking points at The Hindu Centre’s first Briefing on ‘The Politics of Welfare in Tamil Nadu’(...)

Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees in India

"Refugees complement the population, they do not compete with it"

"All major migrations are a great human tragedy," said M.K. Narayanan, former Governor of West Bengal, former National Security Advisor to the Indian government and erstwhile director of the Intelligence Bureau, at a public conversation on the ‘Future of Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees in India’, held at the Music Academy in Chennai on November 4. Recalling his days in Calcutta (now Kolkata) when Mujib Nagar (the provisional government of Bangladesh during its liberation struggle) was being run from there, he said that he was privy to the great human crisis of over a million refugees coming in and living in abysmal conditions. "Fortunately, there was a change in government and it was possible for them to go back very soon thereafter. The problem or the tragedy of the Sri Lankan refugees is that they have now been refugees – at least many of them have been refugees – for 30 years," he said.

While most of them would like to go back provided they have security, a few problems could arise on the question of providing across the border citizenship to those who would want to stay back. He said that there were people in many countries who wanted to be Indian citizens. It was not easy but in the case of the Sri Lankan Tamils, "it should be possible to think of this".

This event, organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, a policy resource centre from the publishers of The Hindu, was held to glean greater insights into the state of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees currently residing in India and what lies ahead for them. The speakers at the event included S.C. Chandrahasan, Chief Functionary of the Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation (OfERR), N. Ram, Chairman, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., and R.K. Radhakrishnan, Senior Deputy Editor of Frontline.


    OPINION » LEAD

    Donald Trump might have been the wrong man, but he was at the right place at the right time. His victory has a message for democracies elsewhere and for Indian foreign policy



    Vijay Mahajan explains in a new book how, thanks to mobiles, the internet and TV, their aspirations have turned urban



    MEDIA

    R. ILANGOVAN, Associate Editor, Frontline, is the recipient of this year’s Justice Shivaraj V. Patil Award for "social justice and human rights crusade".


    Audio: How India’s Economy Changed Track: A Retrospective of Politics and Public Policy

    The audio recording of Jairam Ramesh in conversation with Mukund Padmanabhan on "How India’s Economy Changed Track: A Retrospective of Politics and Public Policy" is now available.

    Audio: Public Briefing on The Politics of Welfare in Tamil Nadu

    The audio recording of The Hindu Centre's Public Briefing on The Politics of Welfare in Tamil Nadu is now available.

    This is the first edition of the Handbook of Statistics on Indian States published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). According to RBI, the Handbook "provides State-wise statistics on a wide range of features of the regional economy of India".

    BBC Radio 4 series

    Incarnations - a BBC Radio 4 series by Prof. Sunil Khilnani - which examines the lives and afterlives of 50 incredible Indian people and embarks on whirlwind journey from ancient India to the 21st century.


    EU-THC Essay Contest

    Seven winners of the #MyClimateMyFuture essay and photo competition were felicitated in a ceremony held today at New Delhi. The winners 'voiced out' their impressions about the dramatic effects of climate change in India, need for clean development agenda and measures that are being or could be taken to tackle the impact in words as well as photographs.