Editorial 1: The other monsoon
Context
India’s monsoon season plays a crucial role in agriculture, with both the southwest and northeast monsoons affecting rainfall patterns, productivity, and climate change implications for the region. This, better modelling of the impact of northeast monsoon is essential.
Introduction
India’s southwest monsoon has ended on an optimistic note, with 8% more rain than anticipated. Reassuringly, the rainfall forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), particularly since July, was accurate.
A shift in the focus to Northeast Monsoon
- Monsoons and Economy: Monsoon clouds continue to prevail over the country but given the centrality of rainfall to the Indian economy, focus has already shifted to the ‘other monsoon’, the northeast monsoon.
- Role of the wind direction: It is named so because of the direction in which the winds exit from the land mass into the sea.
Characteristics of the Northeast Monsoon
- Following the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon in mid-October,
- the northeast monsoon is characterised by a reversal of winds that brings rain to parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and parts of southern Karnataka.
- For Tamil Nadu, the northeast monsoon is the main source of rainfall.
- The northeast monsoon brings in only about 11% of India’s annual rainfall.
What is the forecast for post-monsoon Rainfall?
- The IMD has forecast that this year’s post-monsoon rainfall is likely to be ‘above normal’ or about 12% over the historical average.
- Because of its limited spread and quantity, the northeast monsoon does not get as much attention as the southwest monsoon.
- However, it significantly affects the productivity of rice and maize in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Records show that in years of deficiency, there was a considerable decrease in agricultural production in the region.
What is the impact of rainfall variability?
- Strong variation across the country: The northeast monsoon rainfall, averaged over the five subdivisions where it is predominant,
- has a variation of almost 25%,
- exceeding that of the southwest monsoon rainfall (10%).
- This translates into years of massive deluge followed by dry spells.
- Monsoonal changes and its impact on socio-economic: In 2015, Chennai experienced a deluge during the northeast monsoon, resulting in significant loss of life and property.
- In 2019, the city faced severe water shortage.
- If this year’s forecast holds, it will be the second consecutive year of a normal northeast monsoon.
What are the current expectations and challenges?
- Impact of La-Nina: Expectations are high that a La Nina, or cooling of the equatorial central Pacific, will support this.
- Difficulty in forecasting: Most global models have struggled to forecast the timing of La Nina this year.
- Help from better improved forecast systems: Due to better systems the northeast monsoon is less neglected than before.
Conclusion
Nevertheless, more focus is needed on modelling its impact regarding urban flooding. Climate change uncertainty makes such prognosis essential, and disaster management agencies in States must develop credible strategies to incorporate these buffers into budgets. Thus, while the northeast monsoon significantly impacts agriculture, enhanced forecasting and effective disaster management strategies are essential to mitigate risks associated with climate change and rainfall variability.
Editorial 2 : Caste in jail
Context
The Court’s decision arose in response to a writ petition highlighting the unconstitutional nature of certain rules and practices in jails. It is time for State governments to end systemic discrimination in prisons.
Introduction
The most notable aspect of the Supreme Court ruling prohibiting caste-based discrimination in the treatment of prisoners is that it required a judgment from the highest court to end colonial practices and systems in prisons.
Lack of action since Independence
- Revisiting the jail manual: While the Court has dealt elaborately with specific rules in the jail manuals of various States and the way in which caste-based hierarchy plays a role in allocation of duties, classification of prisoners, and the treatment of certain social groups as “habitual offenders”,
- No action from centre and states: it is quite remarkable that prison authorities and State governments had done so little about these aspects since independence.
- Philosophy of constitution: It is as if the prison system has been out of the reach of the core philosophy of the Constitution:
- the ushering in of an equal society,
- the ending of all forms of discrimination,
- the prohibition of untouchability in any form, and
- the abolition of forced labour and exploitation.
Responding to the writ petition
- The judicial lens: The Court has analysed the controversial rules and practices in jails in the backdrop of these constitutional objectives.
- Doubts of constitutionality: It has ruled such provisions unconstitutional, and directed the revision of prison manuals within three months.
- Tracing the history of such rules and practices: the Court has noted, with much justification: “In line with their overall approach, the colonial administrators linked caste with prison administration of labour, food, and treatment of prisoners.”
The historical context of Prison Administration
- Allocation of the menial work: Not only were menial work and supposedly polluting occupations allocated to prisoners from communities placed lower in the caste hierarchy,
- some were expected to carry out their “hereditary trades” within prisons, the Court found.
- The Caste privileges: On the other hand, the caste privileges of a few placed higher were preserved.
- Few can disagree with the observation that “the notion that an occupation is considered as ‘degrading or menial’ is an aspect of the caste system and untouchability.”
- Divisions of the classes and castes: The provision that food must be cooked by prisoners from a “suitable caste” and rules that referred to those from the “scavenger class” being assigned tasks such as manual scavenging, sweeping, and cleaning violated the constitutional prohibition against untouchability.
A question on the rights
- Distribution of labour cannot be solely based on birth.
- Violation the right to dignity and the right against forced labour and exploitation.
- The vague definitions: Court has also favoured doing away with vague definitions of ‘habitual offenders’, as they seem to ascribe criminal tendencies to whole tribes, even though the idea of notifying ‘criminal tribes’ has long been given up.
Conclusion
It is time for State governments to respond to the verdict and revisit their laws and regulations related to prison administration and put an end to systemic discrimination in an institution that may treat any form of resistance as indiscipline. This is a crucial opportunity to dismantle discriminatory practices, ensuring that prisons uphold the ideals of an equal society and genuinely reflect the constitutional commitment to end all forms of discrimination.
