1.In a first, laughing gull spotted in India
The migratory bird travelled thousands of kilometres from North America to the Chittari estuary in Kasaragod district of Kerala; experts confirm the finding by birdwatcher C. Sreekanth
Laughing gull, a migratory bird from North America, has been sighted for the first time in the country at the Chittari estuary in Kasaragod district.
C. Sreekanth, a birdwatcher and schoolteacher, spotted the bird and photographed it. The bird, known for its unique laughter-like calls, has travelled thousands of kilometres from North America to the coastal region of the State.
Amidst a multitude of birds in the estuary, including lesser black-backed gull, slender-billed gull, brown-headed gull, great crested, lesser crested tern, Caspian tern and others, he noticed a smaller bird with black beak. It was smaller than the brown-headed gull.
“Upon closer examination, it was found that the bird has a dark upper part, black legs, long drooping bill, and a dark smudge on the back of the head, confirming it to be a laughing gull,” he said. He then reached out to J. Praveen, Chief Editor, Indian Birds, Journal of South Asian Ornithology, and birding experts G. Jinu, John Garret, Aident Kiley, and Hans Larsson, who confirmed this finding. The e-Bird application, dedicated to collecting scientific bird information, played a vital role in disseminating this finding. This discovery elevates the total number of bird species found in India to 1,367, with Kasaragod district contributing 400 species to the State’s count of 554.
Mr. Sreekanth has 20 years of birdwatching experience. He has previously spotted the Asian house martin at Paithalmala in Kannur.
The laughing gull’s presence in Kasaragod adds a new chapter to the region’s rich biodiversity.
2.A closer look at Myanmar’s discontent
In February, it will be three years since the army seized power in Myanmar, overthrowing a democratically elected government headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup prompted a massive civil disobedience movement. The deposed members of parliament formed a National Unity Government that constituted the People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) and called for an armed uprising. The fragile peace between major ethnic armed organisations and the military collapsed, as the former’s objective of establishing federal democracy was no longer feasible under army dictatorship.
Last October, an alliance of the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and Ta’ang National Liberation Army launched coordinated attacks on the military, and inflicted massive losses on the military in the Shan State. Paletwa town on the country’s western borders, and a critical node in India’s Kaladan project, is currently under the control of the Arakan Army. At the same time, the regions inhabited by the majority Bamar ethnic community, such as Sagaing, Bago and Magwe, also witnessed a significant spike in resistance, and the PDFs gained ground against the military.
Discontent and territorial loss
If one objective of the coup was to strengthen national unity, the Myanmar military has failed spectacularly. In fact, the military has conceded large tracts of territory to the ethnic armed organisations and PDFs. But losing control of territory to armed groups is not new for the army; the military has frequently lost ground to ethnic armed groups and the now defunct Communist Party of Burma, but subsequently recovered some of the losses.
It should be noted that when international sanctions were substantially diluted between 2010 and 2020, the military acquired air and army equipment. Numerous reports indicate that the coup leaders have used firepower even on unarmed civilians, resulting in significant internal displacement and neighbouring countries facing refugee crises. The reasons for losing territory now have less to do with military incapacity and more to do with growing popular discontent. Reports suggest that the military finds it difficult to recruit even from the regions dominated by Bamars, who constitute the bulk of army personnel. Since the coup, there have been sporadic reports of government officials, doctors, and police personnel assisting the resistance movement. In the past year, a fairly large number of military personnel have surrendered to the ethnic armed organisations and PDFs. A month ago, to evade an attack by the resistance groups, over 150 Myanmar soldiers moved into India and surrendered. There are reports of army officers served with severe punishment for failure to stop desertions, suggesting that military cohesion is coming under increasing stress.
China and its interests
Given these circumstances, China has a multi-layered strategy to protect its interests. On international platforms, China robustly defends the Myanmar military from international censure. Simultaneously, various ethnic armed organisations on Myanmar’s northern border have close relations with China, and it is unlikely that the uprising in Shan State, given its scale, could have happened without Chinese consent. It is rumoured that Beijing used the ethnic alliance to stamp out online scams and criminal syndicates that were fleecing millions from Chinese citizens. Having achieved its objectives, Beijing was able to get the rebels and the Myanmar army to agree to a ceasefire. With the momentum of the ethnic offensive stalled and the army not recovering lost territory, it is not certain how long this truce will last. Neither ethnic armed organisations nor the coup leaders will be comfortable with Beijing’s ability to influence their operations.
The principal regional actor, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has articulated a five-point consensus and denied the Myanmar military a place at its summits. Despite repeated efforts, the ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar was prevented from having meaningful interactions with all the relevant stakeholders. Therefore ASEAN has not been able to alter the trajectory of Myanmar’s politics, but some ASEAN members are shunning their customary reticence and are now sharply critical of the Myanmar coup.
With a shared border of about 2,416 km, Thailand wields significant influence in Myanmar. Last year, Thailand’s Foreign Minister not only interacted with Myanmar’s military leadership but also with the imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Thailand hosts and engages with Myanmar’s exile organisations and, in the recent past, has made efforts to scale up its humanitarian assistance.
New Delhi’s outreach
India could also consider a more proactive humanitarian approach to provide succour to displaced communities in Myanmar. Such an initiative could also reduce the inflow of refugees into India. In its engagement with Myanmar, India should factor in the three political realities.
First, discontent against the coup shows no signs of abating. The military often hinted at the possibility of conducting elections under proportional representation, but has failed to do so because of inability to ensure sufficient stability in the country.
Second, despite the absence of a charismatic leader and meaningful international support, resistance to the coup has demonstrated considerable resilience over the past years.
Third, Myanmar today is politically fragmented, with the military, ethnic armed organisations and PDFs having varying degrees of control in different parts of the country. The military seems to be losing more ground than gaining it. Perhaps it is time for India to re-calibrate its Myanmar policy after consultations with all the relevant stakeholders.
3.Only 1% women screened for cervical cancer in India
Share of women screened for cervical cancer crosses 50% mark in many BRICS nations
Only 1% of women are being screened for cervical cancer in India, despite the World Health Organization’s recommendation that at least 70% of women should get tested. The share of women screened remains around the 1% mark for oral and breast cancer too.
Table 1 shows the share of women aged 15-49 who underwent specific screening tests for cancer in 2019-21, across States. The table shows that cancer screening did not cross the 10% mark for any type of cancer in any State.
However, many southern States and select States in the Northeast have shown initiative in testing more women. In Tamil Nadu, for instance, 7% of women said that they were screened for cervical cancer and 3.8% for breast cancer — the highest among the two types across States. Kerala, Mizoram, Manipur and Maharashtra also crossed the 1% mark under these two types. In Andhra Pradesh, 5% of women said that they were screened for oral cancer, the highest for this type of cancer across States. On the other hand, only 0.1% of women were screened for any type of cancer in West Bengal, the lowest in India. Gujarat too performed poorly with 0.2%.
Altogether in India, the share of women screened for cervical, breast, and oral cancer stood at 1.2%, 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively, as of 2019-21. In contrast, the share of women screened for cervical cancer in advanced economies such as Sweden, Ireland, the U.S. and the U.K. was more than 70%.
Even if only comparable economies were considered, India lagged far behind. Chart 2 shows the share of women aged 30-49 who were screened for cervical cancer as of 2019 in BRICS nations. Russia led the list with 93%, followed by 58% in Brazil, and 52% in South Africa. In India, Egypt and Ethiopia, coverage was less than 5%.
A look at Tamil Nadu’s data throws light on the way forward and some potential pain points. Chart 3 shows that even in the State with the highest screening share, most tests were conducted among older women.
A recent survey published by Apollo Hospitals, which analysed 1.5 lakh of its health screenings in five years, found that 25% of breast cancer incidence occurred in women aged under 40 years in India. This stresses the importance of casting the net wide and encouraging younger women to get screened too.
Chart 4 shows the share of women screened for cervical cancer in Tamil Nadu, across various levels of schooling. Over 10% of women who completed less than five years and between five and seven years of schooling in Tamil Nadu were screened for cervical cancer. The share reduced considerably as the years of school education increased.
Chart 5 shows the share of women screened for cervical and breast cancer in Tamil Nadu, across social groups. The share of women screened from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes communities was higher compared to other communities.
Data from Charts 4 and 5 show how state intervention helped Tamil Nadu achieve respectable levels of screening. It shows that State-sponsored screening drives at government health centres makes cancer testing accessible to low income groups as well. It also shows that lack of awareness is not the only factor behind poor cancer detection, as higher education levels have not led to more screenings.
Elsa Sunny is a student at the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai
4.Ease of justice is the right of every citizen, SC its medium: Modi
PM says ₹800 crore approved for expansion of Supreme Court building complex at event marking top court’s diamond jubilee year celebrations
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said ₹800 crore had been approved for the expansion of the Supreme Court building complex, while underlining that “ease of justice is the right of every Indian citizen and the Supreme Court is its medium”.
The Prime Minister was speaking at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Supreme Court.
Complimenting Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud for his efforts to improve ease of justice in the country, Mr. Modi said over ₹7,000 crore had been disbursed since 2014 to upgrade the physical infrastructure of the courts.
Mr. Modi highlighted the importance of using technology for ease of justice.
He said the entire legal system rests on the advice and direction given by the Supreme Court.
Accessibility to the top court should be available to those in the farthest corners of the country, the Prime Minister said.
Chief Justice Chandrachud said the diamond jubilee year of the top court should be the time to recognise challenges threatening the relevancy of the court as an institution.
“Let us begin the conversation on long vacations and whether alternatives such as flexible time for lawyers and judges are possible,” the CJI said, adding the “adjournment culture” should give way to a “culture of professionalism”.
Speaking on the role played by technology, the Chief Justice said, “We have dealt with over five lakh cases through hybrid hearings.
The live proceedings of the Supreme Court Constitutional Benches are popular and speak to the genuine curiosity that people have towards our courts and procedures.”
The Prime Minister launched citizen-centric information and technology initiatives such as the Digital Supreme Court Reports (Digi SCR), which has 36,308 cases of the top court, dating back from 1950, accessible to the public in a digital format. He also inaugurated the launch of a new bilingual website of the top court.
