9th June 2021
- BRICS Against Exceptionlism
- China vaccine diplomacy with ASEAN
Demand for autonomous district by Rengma Nagas
Global Economic Prospects Report 2021
Demand for autonomous district by Rengma Nagas
News: The Rengma Nagas of Assam have put forward their demand of autonomous district councils in front of the Union home minister, an autonomous district council amid a decision by the Central and the State governments to upgrade the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) into a territorial council.
Background of Rengma Nagas:
As per the memorandum submitted by the Rengma Naga Peoples’ Council (RNPC), a registered body, Rengmas were the first tribal people in Assam to have encountered the British in 1839.
It further added during the Burmese invasions of Assam in 1816 and 1819, it was the Rengmas who gave shelter to the Ahom refugees
However the Mikir hills replaced the existing Rengma Hills from the political map of Assam in 1951. Thus rengma and mikir hills were two separate geographical entities till 1951.
However in 1963, the Rengma hills were partitioned between Assam and Nagaland at time of Creation of Nagaland.
The karbi tribe have no history in Rengma hills.
The tribes living in Rengma hills belong to Assam, Arunachal and Meghalaya and don’t belong to karbis and speak a different dialect than karbis.
Who are karbis?
Karbis belong to tibeto-burman linguistic group and originally hail from western China near the Yang-Tse-Kiang and the Huang-ho rivers.
The Karbis, along with others entered Assam from Central Asia in one of the waves of migration.
The Karbis, known as Mikirs till 1976, were the indigeneous tribal people of Mikir Hills.
Concerns:
As rengma hills make a part of the proposed karbi anglong territorial autonomous council, there is a fear among the rengmas that it might override the interest of Rengmas.
It should not prove as a threat to the ethnicity of the Rengmas.
NSCN-IM said to the government that any agreement that victimizes the Rengma Nagas would not be acceptable to the nagas in general and to the NSCN in particular.
BRICS Against exceptionalism
News: BRICS after a virtual meeting last week released a joint statement opposing exceptionalism and campaigning for multilateralism.
The statement aimed at Strengthening and Reforming the Multilateral System laid out the following principles. China in a press statement said that the aim of this statement was to lay down the definite standards of multilateralism.
Characteristic of Multilateral system:
It should make global governance more inclusive, representative and participatory to facilitate greater and more meaningful participation of developing and least developed countries
The multilateral alliance should be based on inclusive consultation and collaboration for the benefit of all
Further, it should make multilateral organisations more responsive, action-oriented and solution-oriented based on the norms and principles of international law and the spirit of mutual respect, justice, equality, mutually beneficial cooperation
It should use innovative and inclusive solutions, including digital and technological tools
It should strengthen the capacities of individual States and international organizations.
It should promote people-centered international cooperation at the core.
Concerns for India:
This year India is holding the chair of BRICS.
And the agenda of this multilateralism is also targeted at QUAD grouping, which china called as based on selective multilateralism.
China's Vaccine Diplomacy with ASEAN
News: As China hosted the ten ASEAN countries it offered ASEAN countries its vaccines as well as closer cooperation on joint vaccine development and production.
Significance: As per experts it is an attempt to balance the regional vaccine initiative by the QUAD.
Meeting outcome:
Carrying forward the idea of President Xi Jinping of Asian people to uphold Asia’s security which was proposed in 2021, China proposed to “jointly carry forward Asian values.”
It further proposed to embrace the ‘Asian Way’ of consensus building and accommodating.
To adhere to independence, self-reliance and self-strengthening to support the ASEAN integration, and forge a closer community with a shared future.
The meeting also reiterated the need to “advance consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.
Global Prospects Report 2021
News: the 2021 Global economic prospects report have been released by the World Bank.
Findings of the report:
It pegged India’s economy's expected growth rate at 8.3% in the financial year 2021-22.
The world economy is expected to expand at 5.6% in 2021, the fastest post-recession growth rate in 80 years as a result of U.S. stimulus spending and faster growth in China.
It says “highly unequal” access to COVID-19 vaccines was a factor in the uneven recovery.
Further indian economy will witness collapse and recovery trend
Growth in Financial Year 2022-23 is expected to slow to 7.5% reflecting.
This low growth rate is the impact of lingering impacts of COVID-19 on household, corporate and bank balance sheets; possibly low levels of consumer confidence; and heightened uncertainty on job and income prospects in India.