1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,840 Speaker 1: Time now for emerging economies with a focus on India. 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 1: Professor Development in his professor of History and International relations. 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:10,000 Speaker 2: That that's good morning. I hope you will. 4 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 3: I am very well, thank you and yourself very good. 5 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:18,320 Speaker 1: Let's start with state elections in India. West Bengal, Tamil, 6 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:21,680 Speaker 1: Nadu and my favorite province, Kerala province. 7 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:24,599 Speaker 3: Very good. I mean, you're on the right side of 8 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 3: history here. So there's four states. Actually I left out 9 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 3: the Assam, so that's West Bengal, Tamil, nad Kerala and 10 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 3: Assam which are going in for state elections. None of 11 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:41,240 Speaker 3: these are JP regions in that sense, the Parata Party 12 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 3: does not exercise hegemony here. In Kerala, the Communist Party 13 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 3: has won two terms in succession and I was hoping 14 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:52,239 Speaker 3: to win a third term. The BJP has yet to 15 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 3: open an innings. It hasn't won a seat as yet 16 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 3: in all these years. In Bengal, which was formerly ruled 17 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 3: by the Communis and now by the Star Mul Party, 18 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 3: the BJP is slowly making in roads. And this is 19 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 3: something that I shall discuss briefly here because this is 20 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 3: crucial because in Assam and in Bengal, the proportion or 21 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 3: the size is the Muslim electorate is very large, so 22 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 3: it's thirty percent in Bengal, thirty four percent in Isam. 23 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 3: So it has become imperative for the Vita Party to 24 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 3: win in these regions. And while in Kerala and Tamil 25 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 3: NAT the reason why the party's local parties, the Rivitian 26 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 3: Party or the Communist Party has remained in power for 27 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 3: so long as that they've provided education, their demand social 28 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 3: justice has been ensured. The economies are doing well. In 29 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 3: most of the states that the BGP has been ruling, 30 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:51,880 Speaker 3: the Muslims have been discriminated against. Levels of literacy are low, 31 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 3: economic advancement is at a lower level, and so on. 32 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 3: So what is happening in Bengal is a huge concern. 33 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 3: Under something called special Intensive revision of electoral roles, over 34 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 3: eight point nine million voters have been removed, in most 35 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 3: of them a majority of Muslims. In Gujara, thirteen point 36 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 3: four million Muslims have been removed. So in that sense, 37 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 3: there are two options before a government seeking to ensure 38 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 3: that it remains in power. One is gerrymandering or managing 39 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,360 Speaker 3: the borders of electoral district. The others to remove large 40 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 3: Suedes of the electorate. So the electorate in Bengal is 41 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,519 Speaker 3: actually shrunk by twelve percent as a result of the 42 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 3: electoral roles that exclude Muslims. So this is a cost 43 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 3: to considerable alarm. 44 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:45,919 Speaker 1: And then Pakistan, India and the Iran crisis. A new 45 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: world has blurred allnes of alliances, allyship packs. Pakistan playing 46 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 1: a very critical point in negotiations between the United States 47 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: and Iran. But where does that leave India. 48 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 3: Yes, this is an interesting recalibration. As you said, which 49 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 3: is happening. I mean in this illegal war that Iran 50 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 3: and Israel. I mean USA and Israel are waging against Iran. 51 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 3: There's a huge fog of war. We really are not 52 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:18,239 Speaker 3: clear about what exactly is happening. Trumps in temperate language, 53 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 3: Iran's delicious memes and videos, Israel continuing its brutal attack 54 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 3: on Lebanon. So in the middle of all of this, 55 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 3: Pakistan has been attempting to play a mediatory role, particularly 56 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 3: because it is close to Iran and the Gulf monarchy, 57 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 3: so it has a unique role to play there. It 58 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 3: initially came up with a fifteen point plan for peace, 59 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 3: which is rejected by Iran. The Foreign Minister has flown 60 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:48,720 Speaker 3: to China with a five point plan and we shall 61 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 3: see whether this. You know, there's some consensus about this 62 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 3: which can be reached. India has not attempted mediation so far, 63 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 3: and India's role ever since the beginning of the war 64 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:06,120 Speaker 3: has been fairly wealth can be characterized as sitting on 65 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 3: the fence. It has not wanted to offend the United 66 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 3: States for fear of further tariffs. So Pakistan has entered 67 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 3: the gap as it were, It's playing a limited role. 68 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,040 Speaker 3: The Indian government says, well, India will not work to 69 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 3: Washington's directions, which is why it's not mediating. But certainly 70 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 3: Pakistan is making hay while the sun shines. 71 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:34,239 Speaker 2: And then finally, Amnesty International has described a new transgraendable 72 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:38,039 Speaker 2: in India as regressive and a step backward when it 73 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 2: comes to human rights. 74 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:45,360 Speaker 3: Well, generally with regard to the Hindu nationalist government and power, 75 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 3: they've been very conservative on matters of elevant reactionary on 76 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:54,480 Speaker 3: matters of family and gender and sexual relations. So one 77 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 3: issue which has come up again is that the Supreme 78 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 3: Court had sanctioned same se relationships and has had decriminalized adultery. 79 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 3: The government has said that this is not good law. 80 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:10,719 Speaker 3: Now there is a new bill that seeks to change 81 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 3: how transgender people are legally recognized. So this might exclude 82 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:19,279 Speaker 3: many transgender, non binary and gender fluid people. It's important 83 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:23,480 Speaker 3: to recognize that there are two million transgender people and 84 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:27,799 Speaker 3: in twenty fourteen the Supreme Court had recognized transgender people 85 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 3: as the third gender. The government now is arguing for 86 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 3: a narrower definition. It removes and this is crucial. It 87 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:41,159 Speaker 3: removes rights to self identity. It limits recognition to those 88 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 3: who are defined by biological and physiological traits. And what's verse, 89 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:50,480 Speaker 3: it are asked for a degree of governance where certification 90 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 3: is needed from medical boards and district authorities. This is 91 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 3: mandatory for gender affirming surgeries. So there's a tremendous backsliding 92 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:04,880 Speaker 3: happening here and we really will have to see how 93 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 3: this goes. And there's a huge opposition obviously to this 94 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 3: going on. And the Supreme Court has emerged as a 95 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 3: kind of mediator in all of this, as a kind 96 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 3: of bulbark against the conservatism of the Hindi nationalists. 97 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:25,200 Speaker 1: Can Professor Delip Menen fascinating, interesting and newsworthy as always 98 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 1: live from Joeburg with emerging economies and a focus on India.