[“Yes, we are concerned. We have already shared
this information as a leading agency in this regard,” said Sahay, answering a
query of an Indian journalist whether India was concerned with the alleged
increasing number of Chinese study centres in southern Nepal.]
By Mahesh Acharya
NEW
DELHI, DEC 03 - Claiming that Chinese activities in the
southern part of Nepal have surged, India has, in a rare public statement,
expressed its concern on the issue.
Addressing a press meet
after a crucial border meeting with the Nepali delegation in New Delhi on
Monday, the head of the Indian team, Pranay Sahay, who is the director general
of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), voiced such concerns.
This is the first time
a top Indian official made such a public statement on the alleged Chinese
influence in Nepal.
“Yes, we are concerned.
We have already shared this information as a leading agency in this regard,”
said Sahay, answering a query of an Indian journalist whether India was
concerned with the alleged increasing number of Chinese study centres in
southern Nepal.
“This [information on
Chinese activities] has reached all appropriate mechanisms. Also, a mechanism
has been worked out at a higher level to implement this,” he added.
Sahay, however, did not
elaborate why the alleged Chinese activities were worrisome for India. He
claimed that this particular issue was not raised during Monday’s talks with
the Nepali team. Nepali officials confirmed that the issue did not emerge.
The talks, however, saw
the discussion on a string of border related issues, including greater
cooperation in combating terrorism, arms smuggling, insurgency, smuggling of
fake currency and human trafficking.
“The talks were
fruitful. We agreed to further enhance our cooperation and coordination in
border related thorny issues,” said Koshraj Onta, leader of the Nepali team and
chief of the Armed Police Force.
Meanwhile, in his solo
press meet after the talks, SSB head Sahay commended Nepali security personnel
on a “fairly high seizure and recovery of fake Indian currency in comparison to
the previous years”.
Asked about the
harassment Nepalis are facing at the hands of the SSB personnel, Sahay said
that he had considered the issue “very seriously” and had even taken stern
action against the perpetrators.
Border pillar data
differ in the meeting, both sides put forward their own claims about the number
of border pillars. According to a source privy to the meeting, the Indian side
put the figure at 6,800 plus while the Nepali side rebutted with a 5,000 plus
figure. Both sides, however, have agreed to sort out the problem after conducting
a joint study on the ground.
‘Indian
insurgents in Nepal’
Sahay claimed the
possibility of insurgents active in north-eastern Indian states residing in
Nepal. “In the past, we even brought some NorthEast militants to India from
Nepal,” he said.
Rise
in SSB strength
India has already moved
ahead with its plan to increase the number of SSB personnel stationed along the
border with Nepal. “Within a few years, this number will go up to 35,000 from
the current 30,000,” he said. This means the battalion number will rise to more
than 35 from the current 29.
The plan to construct
89 new border outposts is also under way.
“Till now, 25 have been
constructed. The whole process will complete by 2015,” said Sahay.
Next
meeting in 2013
Both the sides have
agreed to hold the next meeting in Nepal next year. However, the specific date
and venue will be decided later. Monday’s meeting is the first of its kind at
the level of the chief of border guarding forces of the two immediate neighbours.
Though core talks wrapped up on Monday, other crucial meetings will continue on
Tuesday and Wednesday.
@ The Kathmandu Post
@ The Kathmandu Post
[The
ban was immediately decried by women's rights activists, who said it would
isolate women. Jagmati Sangwan, vice president of the All India Democratic
Women's Association, said that the men who head such village councils
"want women to get cut off from the processes of modernization, education
and employment." She said they knew full well that such laws,
targeting only one segment of society, are not legal.]
PATNA, Bihar --
A village council in the state of Bihar this week prohibited unmarried women
and girls from using mobile phones, saying that they promote extramarital
affairs and unsanctioned marriages and erode the moral fabric of society.
Married women will be allowed to use them only indoors and in the presence of a
relative.
The
decree was issued Sunday by a panchayat -- an informal, unelected council -- in
Sunderbari, a village of 8,000 in the Purnia district of eastern Bihar.
"Girls," as the council calls them, which are defined as all
unmarried females, face a fine of 10,000 rupees, or $180, if they violate the
order, the council said, or the equivalent of months of income for most families
in the area; the fine for married women is 2,000 rupees.
"With
the use of mobile phones by the girls and women, incidents of love affairs,
elopement and extramarital affairs have increased in our village,"
Mohammed Manwar Alam, a panchayat member, said by telephone Tuesday.
"It is intolerable and eroding the moral fabric in our society," he
said.
Many
villagers, male and female, attended a village meeting Sunday about the ban,
and most favored it, particularly older people, Mr. Alam said. He presided over
the meeting. The panchayat, which is made up entirely of men, also barred women
from bathing outdoors, at water pumps or in ponds or canals.
Sunderbari
is an impoverished, predominantly Muslim village about 300 kilometers, or 190
miles, from the state capital, Patna. About 60 percent of district residents
live below the poverty line.
Another
member of the panchayat, Mohammed Javed Iqbal, said that at least six women
from the village had eloped in the past five months, which he said has hurt the
village's reputation. "Even the married women have eloped with
their lovers, dumping their husbands," Mr. Iqbal said. "The easy use
of mobile phones has been the real game changer in all the incidents," he
said.
The
panchayat formed a social advisory committee to implement the ruling; a
10-member executive body within the committee will be in charge of enforcing
it.
The
ban was immediately decried by women's rights activists, who said it would
isolate women. Jagmati Sangwan, vice president of the All India Democratic
Women's Association, said that the men who head such village councils
"want women to get cut off from the processes of modernization, education
and employment." She said they knew full well that such laws,
targeting only one segment of society, are not legal.
Similar
rules made by self-appointed village councils have become commonplace in some parts of rural
India, notably, of late, in the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. In
July, a village council in Bagpat district of Uttar Pradesh issued a decree banning "love
marriage," or a marriage that was not arranged, saying that those who did
so would not be allowed to live in the village. They also said that women below
the age of 40 could not go to the market, and unmarried women and girls would
not be allowed to use mobile phones on the streets.
In
October, a village council member in Haryana, reacting to a series of rapes in
the state, blamed the influence of movies and television and suggested that the
marriage age be lowered to 16 to keep women sexually satisfied. Ms. Sangwan said
she believed such statements in Haryana had emboldened panchayats in places
like Bihar.
These
all-male panchayats, while not legally part of the governing structure of
India, have deep historical roots, and their decrees are often followed
faithfully by village communities. Politicians often rely on them to mobilize
voters, which means their power increases around elections, experts say.
Sandeep
Kumar R Pudakalkatti, the Purnia district magistrate, has opened an
investigation into the Sunderbari panchayat's move; he told the BBC that if the
edict is unlawful, "necessary action will be taken against those
guilty."
Another
district official, Sanjay Kumar, a block development officer, said in an
interview that he planned to visit the village himself to ensure that the
reports are true. "Such a diktat cannot be allowed in a democratic
society," he said. "It is unlawful."
The
village's top elected official, Shamina Khatoon, a woman, was not invited to
the panchayat's meeting on Sunday.
Neha
Thirani contributed reporting to this article from Mumbai.
