In this section, we are presenting our readers/aspirants compilation of selected editorials of national daily viz. The Hindu, The live mint,The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Economic Times, PIB etc. This section caters the requirement of Civil Services Mains (GS + Essay) , PCS, HAS Mains (GS + Essay) & others essay writing competition.
1.Legally raped? Marriage mustn’t dissolve woman’s right over her body
When the Chhattisgarh high court discharged a man accused of sexual assault of his wife, the judge went strictly by the book – yet again highlighting a disturbing flaw in India’s rape law that has survived scrutiny since 1860. Exception 2 in Section 375 IPC grants immunity to a husband for sex with an unwilling wife. In 1860, the exemption may have been based on the premise that a woman upon marriage became her husband’s “property”. That it continues today is outrageous.
In 2013, the Justice JS Verma committee recommended its removal, saying relationship with a victim cannot justify sexual assault. The Supreme Court and HCs have called out the flaw, not infrequently prioritising a woman’s agency over her body, choosing to sidestep the archaic premise that a husband “owns” a wife. Earlier this month, Kerala HC observed: “Spouses in marriage are treated as equal partners … Treating wife’s body as something owing to husband and committing sexual act against her will is … marital rape.”
Legal systems are works in progress, amended continually in keeping with the times. SC and HCs have done stellar work in reading down laws that have no place in the modern society India strives to be – such as decriminalising adultery or homosexuality. The judiciary should not wait for the legislature to bring about the amendment that will remove the damaging immunity to sexual abusers, but should simply outlaw the exemption.
2.Kabuli questions: After bombing, possibilities of civil war, global terror
The suicide bombings at the Kabul airport that have killed at least 110 people, including 13 US soldiers, have horribly complicated the situation in Afghanistan. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, the local branch of the Islamic State terror group. Although evacuation operations at the airport have resumed, airlifting all foreign nationals by the August 31 deadline seems difficult now. This in turn raises the prospect of a hostage situation where Taliban or other militant outfits could detain the remaining foreigners after foreign military personnel leave.
However, extending the departure deadline also seems infeasible at this point and could invite more attacks on evacuees. US President Joe Biden has vowed to hunt down those behind the airport bombings and talked about shoring up beyond-the-horizon capabilities in Afghanistan. But there’s no denying that his administration royally messed up the evacuation process. Pulling troops out before completing civilian evacuation was a huge mistake. As was prematurely leaving the Bagram airbase, which Taliban later took over, releasing 5,000 prisoners housed there. Many of those prisoners were Al Qaeda and ISIS supporters. And if ISIS is truly behind the airport attack, the fear of Afghanistan once again becoming a launchpad for international terror groups appears to be coming true.
After all, even Taliban is not a monolith and comprises a plethora of local commanders susceptible to changing loyalties. Add to this the influence of neighbouring countries like Pakistan in Afghan affairs. With such a large number of fighters and weapons, Afghanistan descending into another civil war also remains a possibility. This puts India in a tough spot. New Delhi is now rightly focussing on evacuating all citizens and willing Afghan minorities. But it would soon need to have contingencies in place if Afghanistan becomes a terror haven. Strengthening security and restoring normalcy in Kashmir would be prudent.
3.The Islamic State strikes terror
The brutal suicide attack outside the airport in Kabul that killed nearly 100 people and injured many more on Thursday has dispelled the impression that the Taliban was firmly in control of Afghanistan. It has also sparked renewed concerns about the war-torn country again becoming a staging ground for jihadi elements of various hues. The attack, for which the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) has claimed responsibility, was not entirely unexpected. It came after repeated warnings over the past few days from countries such as the United States (US) and the United Kingdom about a possible terrorist assault on the airport by the very same group.
With one devastating attack, the IS-K has signalled that it is still in the game in Afghanistan and retains the capability to strike, almost at will, in urban centres. Soon after the Taliban’s triumphant march into Kabul on August 15 was celebrated by al-Qaeda and sundry terrorist groups around the world, the IS had dismissed the victory as a takeover coordinated by the US in line with the controversial peace deal that was signed by the Taliban and the Donald Trump administration in February 2020. The IS’s newsletter even derisively referred to the Taliban as “Mullah Bradley” or an American proxy.Western powers had wrongly conflated the IS-K’s inability to hold territory in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces in eastern Afghanistan, and the surrender of hundreds of its fighters in late 2019, as a reflection of its diminished capabilities. The group continued carrying out deadly terror attacks in Afghanistan’s cities, including a daring jailbreak in Jalalabad in August last year and a suicide bombing outside a girls’ school in a Shia neighbourhood of Kabul in May. Afghan experts believe the IS-K recruited more fighters for an urban terrorism campaign after it became convinced last year that it would only be a matter of time before the Taliban came to power. Its latest assault poses significant challenges for the Taliban, especially at a time when the group is attempting to prove that it is the genuine purveyor of an Islamic system based on Shariah, while attempting to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the world community by providing governance to the Afghan people. There is little evidence to suggest the current crop of Taliban leaders can govern effectively, and a running battle with the IS-K will only add to the misery of the Afghan people struggling to emerge from a tragic 20-year war.
4.Filled to the nines: On Supreme Court’s appointment spree
Appointment spree in SC is welcome, and augurs well for diversity and representation
It is not often that nine judges are appointed to the Supreme Court at one go. In a welcome sign of cooperation between the judiciary and the executive, the President of India has signed warrants of appointment within days of the five-member Collegium recommending eight High Court judges, including three women, and a lawyer for elevation. It is nearly two years since Supreme Court appointments were made, and some vacancies have been around for quite some time now. The latest round of appointments possibly signifies the onset of an era in which the two branches agree more and agree faster on the Collegium’s recommendations. The strength of the Bench goes up to 33, in a court that has a sanctioned complement of 34 judges. The presence of three women and the fact that different High Courts are getting representation are positive features and augur well for increasing diversity on the Bench. In particular, Justice B.V. Nagarathna’s elevation at this point of time means that she may become the first woman Chief Justice of India (CJI). The trend of appointing members of the Bar directly to the Supreme Court continues with the honour going this time to former Additional Solicitor-General, P.S. Narasimha, who is also in line to be Chief Justice by efflux of time.
A notable candidate whose name does not figure in the list is Justice Akil Kureshi, Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court, who is fairly high in the all-India seniority list of High Court judges. That the finalisation of the recommendations came about after the retirement of Justice Rohinton Nariman — and a change in the composition of the Collegium with it — may indicate that the names were the outcome of a compromise. It is not idle speculation to say that Justice Kureshi’s candidature may have been behind stagnation in the appointment process for a long time. Two years ago, a proposal by the Collegium to name Justice Kureshi as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court was recalled for accommodating the Centre’s sensitivities. He was later assigned to the Tripura High Court. In the larger scheme of things, the omission of individuals may not matter much, but it must not become a practice to sidestep suitable candidates without sufficient cause solely to accommodate the executive’s reservations. After all, the opaque collegium system is sustained only by the belief that it is a bulwark against executive intervention. This raison d’être should not be lost sight of. Going forward, one would wish for fewer spells of impasse in judicial appointments, quicker processing of names, and greater consideration to social and regional representation.
5.Near and present: On the Afghan crisis and India
India does not have the luxury of distance from the ticking bomb in its neighbourhood
The suicide bombing at Kabul airport which claimed close to 100 lives has shattered any residual optimism the world had that the West pulling out forces and handing the country over to the Taliban, as part of negotiations in Doha, would result in a more peaceful Afghanistan. Instead, what the complex attack claimed by the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) has proven is that no matter what assurances the Taliban’s new regime or its benefactors in Pakistan may provide, they are unable or unwilling to stem the terror threat emanating from the country, despite being provided key intelligence inputs about the attack. There are also suspicions of some collusion within the Taliban regime, as the Haqqani group that is securing Kabul and the airport periphery, is a UN designated terror entity that has carried out attacks with the IS-K in the past. That the U.S. maintains that it continues to “coordinate” with the Taliban on security should further set the seal on any idea of investigations or operations against the Taliban. As this is an alarming scenario, the Government must now acknowledge and prepare for the threats to India. The situation will further enhance India’s already hostile continental flanks, in consonance with threats from Pakistan at the LoC and support to cross-border terrorism, as well China’s LAC aggressions.
New Delhi must also focus on diplomacy to highlight its concerns, beginning with the UN where India will have a salient role. As a UNSC member, and President, India must ensure that the UN’s most powerful body does not appear helpless in the face of the Taliban’s challenge, and must make the red lines clear for the kind of government it must guarantee — including one that recognises human rights, adopts some form of representation for its people, and distances itself from terror groups. Chief among these will be the need to ensure that the Haqqani group, including its chief Sirajuddin Haqqani who is the Deputy to Taliban chief Haibatullah Akhundzada, is not included in the official power structure. The group has been responsible for terror and suicide attacks on Indian consulates and the Embassy in particular in 2008-09. As Chairman of the 1988 Sanctions Committee that lists 135 Taliban members as designated terrorists, India must stand firm on any move to ease sanctions on them, including travel, funds access and weaponry. The UN General Assembly (UNGA)’s accreditation committee must also decide on whether to allow a future Taliban-led government to occupy Afghanistan’s seat. Given Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. later in September, where he is expected to address the UNGA, and then the Quad summit, it is important that India’s position on the Afghan situation and its impact on Indian security are articulated strongly. While briefing MPs, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the Government is pursuing a “wait and watch” policy, but that assumes the luxury of distance from the ticking time bomb in India’s neighbourhood, which New Delhi does not have.