LIVE QUIZ - 3 | SBI | S W A G

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THE HINDU | Article | The language of violence | APRIL 07

The recent prevalence of debates on non-issues such as whether citizens must chant the slogan ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ is troubling in itself. When influential public figures inject the language of violence and intimidation into this discourse, they are but attempting to ignite a spark in an already overheated atmosphere. Yoga guru and businessman Baba Ramdev’s remark that but for his respect for the law of the land and the Constitution, lakhs of people would be beheaded for their refusal to chant the slogan can be construed as sheer incitement to violence. That this was a response to All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Asaduddin Owaisi, who had said he would not utter the words in question “even if a knife were held to my throat”, is hardly a defence. 

LIVE QUIZ - 2 | SBI | S W A G

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THE HINDU | Article | The Panama paper trail | APRIL 07

As the ramifications of the leak of about 11 million secret documents from the Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonseca, play themselves out, a clear articulation of what the “Panama Papers” hold for the state of global finance today came from U.S. President Barack Obama. Following the joint investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung into the leaked papers, Mr. Obama described global tax avoidance as a huge problem. Today, it is perfectly legal in many countries to park money in various kinds of shadowy companies in tax havens. This holds true in India as well, where a lack of clarity persists about the legality of buying offshore companies, a service that is expressly provided by Mossack Fonseca. The lack of clarity exists despite the Reserve Bank of India’s evolving guidelines on offshore remittances and investments since 2004. 

LIVE QUIZ - 1 | SBI | S W A G

WELCOME

NOTE:-  NO WARNING | DIRECT ACTION | SO TAKE CARE OF YOUR WORDS | ENJOY !!

THE HINDU | Article | Lessons from a massacre | APRIL 06

It is difficult to equate delayed justice with ‘justice denied’ in all cases. There may be occasions when even a delayed conviction can send out a message that there is no such thing as permanent impunity. The verdict of a Special CBI Court in Lucknow sentencing 47 police personnel to life imprisonment for participating in one of the most heinous massacres perpetrated in the name of an ‘encounter’ with armed terrorists, is one such instance in which some sort of accountability has been established, and the law has caught up with the perpetrators. On July 12, 1991, a bus carrying Sikh pilgrims was intercepted by the police about 125 km from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, and all the men among them were taken away in a van. The police later claimed that the men were terrorists and that 10 of them were killed in three different ‘encounters’ in the forests that night. A Central Bureau of Investigation probe ordered by the Supreme Court later revealed that the victims were killed in fake encounters. The agency charge-sheeted 57 personnel, but 10 of them died during the course of the trial. It is worth recalling that militancy was at its peak in Punjab at the time. There were fears that it had spilled over from Punjab to the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh. The police in both States suspected that some Punjab militants were active in the Terai too, and Pilibhit, a district with a significant Sikh population, was under watch. It was also a phase in which the state was seen to be using questionable tactics to eliminate suspected terrorists.

THE HINDU | Article | Staying accommodative | APRIL 06

The Reserve Bank of India’s reiteration of an accommodative stance after it cut the repo rate by 25 basis points on Tuesday is a clear and unequivocal message that the monetary authorities stand ready to spur economic growth. Indeed, Governor Raghuram Rajan has gone a step further by explicitly stating that going forward, policymakers will be looking for greater elbow room, including in additional readings of low headline inflation, indications of softening core inflation, and evidence of transmission of its previous interest rate reductions. Explaining the rationale for his policy action, Dr. Rajan said the RBI’s aim is to help give a monetary fillip to private investment, which is currently becalmed by low capacity utilisation.