UPSC Essentials | Key terms of past week with MCQs

— Article 356 of the Indian Constitution contains provisions for the imposition of “President’s Rule” in a state, removing an elected government. While the Constitution intended Article 356 to be used only under extraordinary circumstances, central governments, including the Janata government of which members of the BJP’s predecessor Jana Sangh were part, repeatedly used the provision to settle political scores.

—  Modi’s barb against the Congress came at a time when the Opposition has been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Hindenburg Research allegations, and Rahul Gandhi has accused industrialist Gautam Adani and his companies of having benefited greatly from Adani’s long-standing proximity to the Prime Minister.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

What does Article 356 say?

— Article 356 empowers the President to withdraw to the Union the executive and legislative powers of any state “if he is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution”.

— Whether the constitutional machinery has broken down may be determined by the President at any time, either upon receipt of a report from the Governor, or suo motu.

— According to the provisions of Article 356, President’s Rule in a state can be imposed for six months at a time for a maximum duration of three years. Every six months, Parliamentary approval to impose President’s Rule will be required again.

— However, in the past, President’s Rule has been extended for significantly longer periods under specific circumstances. For instance, Punjab was under President’s Rule from 1987-1992 due to the growing militancy.

What are the origins of Article 356?

— Article 356 was inspired by Section 93 of the Government of India Act, 1935. This provided that if a Governor of a province was satisfied that a situation had arisen in which the government of the province cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the said Act, he could assume to himself all or any of the powers of the government and discharge those functions in his discretion. The Governor, however, could not encroach upon the powers of the high court.

— For the British, this provision allowed for a ‘controlled democracy’ – while providing some autonomy to provincial governments, Section 93 allowed the British authorities to exercise ultimate power when they deemed necessary.

How was the provision used as a political weapon in independent India?

— During the decades of Congress’s dominance at the Centre, Article 356 was used against governments of the Left and regional parties in the states.

— Until 1959, Jawaharlal Nehru’s government had used the article six times, including to dislodge the first-ever elected communist government in the world, in Kerala in 1959. In the 1960s, it was used 11 times. After Indira came to power in 1966, Article 356 was used seven times between 1967 and 1969 alone.

— The 1970s were more politically turbulent. Between 1970 and 1974, President’s Rule was imposed 19 times. Post Emergency, the Janata Party government used it in 1977 to summarily dismiss nine Congress state governments. When Indira returned to power in 1980, her government too imposed President’s Rule in nine states.

— In 1992-93, Prime Minister Narasimha Rao dismissed three BJP governments in the wake of the demolition of Babri Masjid, besides Kalyan Singh’s government in UP.

How was this political misuse of Article 356 curbed?

— In 1989, the Centre dismissed the S R Bommai government in Karnataka. In its judgment in the landmark S. R. Bommai v. Union of India case, the Supreme Court discussed the provisions of Article 356 at length.

— A nine-judge Bench in its decision in 1994 noted the specific instances when President’s Rule can be imposed and when it cannot.

— The court held that Article 356 can be invoked in situations of the physical breakdown of the government or when there is a ‘hung assembly’, but that it cannot be used without giving the state government a chance to either prove its majority in the House or without instances of a violent breakdown of the constitutional machinery.

— Since the judgment, the arbitrary use of Article 356 has been largely controlled.

(Source: What is Article 356, which Prime Minister Modi says Indira Gandhi misused 50 times? )

Point to ponder: The origins of Article 356 are in the Government of India Act 1935 and reflect the superior powers of the governor general over the elected provincial governments. Discuss in present day light.

4. MCQ: 

If the President of India exercises his power as provided under Article 356 of the Constitution in respect of a particular State, then (2018)

(a) the Assembly of the State is automatically dissolved.

(b) the powers of the Legislature of that State shall be exercisable by or under the authority of the Parliament.

(c) Article 19 is suspended in that State.

(d) the President can make laws relating to that State.

Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy

Why in news?

— Ahead of her scheduled participation in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in March in New Delhi, Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly made a quiet bilateral visit to the capital this week. Both sides appear keen to draw a line under the bitterness that has dogged their relationship over the last few years — and Canada’s freshly minted Indo-Pacific strategy, which has attracted notice for its unusually blunt language against China, seems to have provided an appropriate opening.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Nirupama Subramanian Explains:

— After an interaction with Canada watchers in India at the New Delhi-based think tank Ananta Aspen, Joly tweeted: “India’s growing strategic, economic, and demographic importance makes it a critical partner for Canada in the Indo-Pacific. In return, Canada can be a reliable supplier of critical minerals, a strong partner in the green transition and a major investor.”

— None of the issues that have strained ties, such as Khalistani activities in Canada, found mention in the official statements

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Canada Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly during a meeting at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. (PTI Photo)

Embrace of Indo-Pacific

— Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy was released last November, amid domestic and international calls for Ottawa to join the US-led alliance against China and stand for the “shared interests and values” of Western democracies. Canada, 20 per cent of whose population originates in the Indo-Pacific region, is the last G7 nation to embrace the concept of the Indo-Pacific — it has been more comfortable earlier with “Asia Pacific”.

— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has been in office since 2015, found Canada’s historically soft policy on China upended in December 2018, when Canadian authorities arrested Meng Wanzhou, a top executive of the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, for extradition to the United States. Days later, China detained two Canadians in apparent retaliation. Three years later, after a three way deal between China, Canada and the US, both countries returned each other’s nationals.

— With a lot of economic interests at stake, Ottawa continued to make efforts to repair ties with Beijing. But the ruling Liberal Party found itself increasingly out of step on this with the anti-China mood at home as well as with its allies, especially the US. Critics said Canada, which carved out a post-War role as a “middle power”, was living in “strategic la-la land”. One Canadian analyst told the Voice of America that the country’s leadership lacked the skills to navigate the new geopolitics: “It’s like entering the ring with Muhammad Ali. [The Chinese] are playing chess, we’re playing checkers.”

— From last year, a series of steps signalled a change in Canada’s China policy, including a sudden tightening of investment rules to prevent Chinese state companies from taking control of its critical minerals and mines industry. The Trudeau government suggested the basis for this decision was an assessment of threats to national security. It also banned Huawei 5G. Canada’s Parliament passed a resolution to declare China’s treatment of its Uighur minority as “genocide”.

— Against this fast evolving background, Canada announced its Indo-Pacific strategy — reportedly three years in the making — in end 2022. Joly described it as a response to a “generational geopolitical shift”; China’s state run Global Times said Canada’s “hostility” was “absurd and dangerous”.

Features of the strategy

— “China is an increasingly disruptive global power. Key regional actors have complex and deeply intertwined relationships with China. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy is informed by its clear-eyed understanding of this global China, and Canada’s approach is aligned with those of our partners in the region and around the world,” the document says.

— Beijing “increasingly disregards” the same international rules and norms that have helped China’s rise, it says.

— The document is also “clear-eyed” — a term that appears several times — about its dependence on China: Canada cannot ignore China’s “sheer size” — China remains Canada’s main export destination. So cooperation is necessary to address issues such as climate change and health. Plus, the Chinese economy “offers significant opportunities for Canadian exporters”.

— In short Canada is saying it will both “unapologetically” defend its national interest and cooperate with China when required.

— The strategy contains a funding commitment of US $1.7 billion over five years, spread over infrastructure projects through the US-led G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, US $403 million for an enhanced military presence including a third frigate in the Indian Ocean, and expanded participation in regional military exercises.

— Five objectives are outlined: promote peace, resilience and security; expand trade, investment and supply chain resilience; invest in and connect people; build a sustainable and green future; be an active and engaged partner to the Indo-Pacific. Engagement with India is seen as critical to the strategy.

Canada-India relations

— Despite a bilateral relationship “underpinned”, according to an MEA brief, “by shared values of democracy, pluralism, expanding economic engagement, regular high level interactions and long-standing people-to-people ties”, ties have been in the sick bay for several years.

— The big issue for India is the safe haven that Canada has been for separatist Khalistani groups, and what New Delhi sees as the Liberal Party’s pandering to these groups for votes.

— Diaspora Sikhs are well represented in the Trudeau government. Some of them are politically supported by pro-Khalistan groups. Jagmeet ‘Jimmy’ Dhaliwal, whose New Democratic Party supports Trudeau’s minority government in Parliament, is viewed with suspicion by the Indian establishment.

— Trudeau’s visit to India in 2017 was a diplomatic disaster over the Khalistan issue. Last year, New Delhi objected to Canada permitting a Khalistani secessionist “referendum” in the Sikh diaspora, and hit back with an advisory against travel in Canada that warned against hate crimes. Last month, a Hindu temple near Toronto was vandalised and defaced with anti-India graffiti. Concerns that Canada is slow to act against anti-India elements on its soil have been a constant irritant in the relationship.

— Still, both countries seem to realise that any attempt to reset bilateral ties will need to surmount Canada’s vote-bank restraints and India’s security concerns. Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy, which says India’s strategic importance can only increase as its economy grows and it becomes the world’s most populous country, offers a wider staging ground for the two to come together, based on a shared suspicion of China, and seeking to expand trade ties, invest in supply chain resilience, and greater people-to-people exchanges.

— Though not spelled out, there could also be a defence and security component with Canada’s resolve to participate more in maritime security and exercises in the Indo-Pacific, and deeper counter-terrorism cooperation than exists now.

— The under-negotiation EPTA is seen as a stepping stone to a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, and may pave the way for a wider reset of ties. Whether this will help to “decouple” from China is another question.

(Source: Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy: Wary eye on China, bid to reset India ties by  Nirupama Subramanian)

Point to ponder: Why had the MEA asked Indians in Canada, last year,  to be ‘cautious and vigilant’?

5. MCQ:

In which one of the following groups are all the four countries members of G20?

(a) Argentina, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey

(b) Australia, Canada, Malaysia and New Zealand

(c) Brazil, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam

(d) Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea

ANSWERS TO MCQs: 1 (b), 2 (a), 3 (c), 4 (b), 5 (a)

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