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This episode of India Today Explains delves into the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which has sparked controversy ahead of the Bihar elections. The programme breaks down the process, its implications, and the opposition's concerns.
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00:00Hello and welcome. You're watching India Today Explains. I'm Akshita Nandakopal and here's a
00:13look at what to expect over the next 30 minutes. First, the big talking point of the week. The
00:18election commission's voter roll revision. It's become a huge controversy. But what exactly is
00:24this review? Why is the EC doing it now? Why is the opposition up in arms? I'll break that
00:29all down for you. We'll also recap for you the history of the Marathi language, Rave Maharashtra
00:35and why it's always been a big political talking point. Also on the show, Elon Musk has announced
00:42he's launching the America Party. If you've ever wondered why America, unlike India, seems to have
00:48only two parties, we'll explain and break down why. And also in international news, Germany's claims
00:54of their plane being targeted by a laser by the Chinese has got everyone talking. Sandeep
00:59Kunitan will be joining us in this edition explaining what really a laser attack looks
01:04like. Finally, with another tremor rocking Delhi this week, I explain why Delhi is so quake
01:11prone. Let's get started.
01:17Ahead of the Bihar elections, the election commission has kicked off a review of electoral rules. It's
01:23called a special intensive revision, SIR, sir. And it's over this move that there have been
01:29multiple petitions in the top court and a big political fight. But if you're confused about
01:34what all this means, let me break it down for you. Let's begin from the very basics. What is an
01:40electoral rule? Quite simply, the electoral rule is the list of voters registered by the election
01:46commission recognized by the EC in a particular region. It's article 324 of the constitution that
01:52provides that the electoral rule will be prepared by the EC for all assembly elections and general
01:58elections too. So now there's a revision of these rules being done by the election commission,
02:04a review essentially to ensure there's no duplication of names in the voter list.
02:09The election commission has noted that there have been large scale additions and deletions to the
02:14electoral rules over the last 20 years and hence the SIR, the special intensive revision now.
02:19But this isn't just happening in Bihar. It will be happening across the country,
02:24starting with Bihar, which goes to polls in a few months from now. During the last SIR in Bihar,
02:30which was in 2003, there was door-to-door verification with a copy of the details of
02:36the existing voters. But this time around, voters will have to submit a form with additional details.
02:42This is for voters who are registered in the electoral rule after January 2003. Because as I told you,
02:48earlier, the last revision took place in 2003. So in 2003, when the last review happened,
02:55the number of voters in Bihar was 49 million voters. Now, it's about 79 million. So that's a
03:01big jump in voter numbers. Now, while the enumeration forms are being distributed already by the EC,
03:08the publication of the final rule will happen on September 30, 2025. That's the deadline the EC has put.
03:14Now, under the SIR being done, the Election Commission has listed caste certificates,
03:19family registers and land allotment certificates as some of the valid documents. Now, I'm sure you're
03:25wondering what about Aadhaar? Interestingly, the EC has refused to accept Aadhaar in their revision
03:29exercise because the Aadhaar card itself carries a disclaimer stating it can't be used as proof of
03:35citizenship. But here's the catch. When a new voter is registered with the EC, the Aadhaar then is a must.
03:41Form 6 for the inclusion of new voters as per the registration of Elector's Rules 1960 requires
03:48that the Aadhaar actually be provided compulsorily unless the person doesn't have one. It's mentioned
03:53as a proof of date of birth and place of residence as per Form 6. And so there's a clear contradiction
03:59there that the EC doesn't accept Aadhaar for the review, but accepts it when someone registers as a
04:04new voter. Opposition parties hence are up in arms saying most people now have only Aadhaars as proof of
04:10identity and no other document.
04:12The other big flashpoint is over the revision
04:17confirming citizenship. As per the EC only citizens who are what's referred to as
04:22ordinarily resident should be included in the electoral role of a constituency. The other big flashpoint is over the revision confirming citizenship. As per the EC only citizens who are what's referred to as ordinarily resident should be included in the electoral role of a constituency.
04:29Migrants who have moved away for long periods of time on account of education or employment.
04:36would be included in the electoral role of the current residents. This is as per provisions of the representation of People's Act or the RP Act.
04:43The other big flashpoint is over the revision confirming citizenship. As per the EC only citizens who are what's referred to as ordinarily resident should be included in the electoral role of a constituency.
04:51Migrants who have moved away for long periods of time on account of education or employment would be included in the electoral role of the constituency of the current residents. This is as per provisions of the representation of People's Act or the RP Act.
05:06But the RP Act also provides that persons temporarily absent do not cease to be ordinarily resident. Many migrant workers shift to other places within the state or outside the state.
05:18But then they return to their place of birth, to where the upbringing happened, their families, their properties may continue to be in the same location.
05:27And so they choose to retain their right to vote in that very location. And that's where again, there's a confusion. But because of this, the opposition has called the EC's exercise as an NRC of sorts, the National Register of Citizenship.
05:41You will be able to do so little exercise. You will be able to do so little time.
05:47The SIR, the people who changed their address, why do you ask birth certificate, migration, what do you do?
05:59They are gone, so they don't have anything in Bihar. Some government has not done their rights.
06:04They are required to sit outside. These are all the problems that we have kept in front of the EC's.
06:11The Election Commission, meanwhile, has defended the exercise, highlighting that it was the opposition that repeatedly sought review of electoral rules.
06:18What we're seeing right now is a three-month exercise. And in all likelihood, there will be a similar exercise ahead of next year's state elections in Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and other states.
06:29The central government's three-language formula under the 2020 national education policy has become a potent political issue in Maharashtra.
06:42A rising chorus against it forced the Devendra Fadnavis-led state government to backpedal on making Hindi the compulsory third language after Marathi and English in classes one to five.
06:54The objectives ranged across the ideological spectrum and resulted in a rather rare reunion of cousins and political rivals Udav Thakere and Raj Thakere.
07:05But let's go back in time and talk about what role Marathi's played in the political dynamics of Maharashtra and how language has been used as a political symbol over the decades.
07:17The roots of linguistic assertion in Maharashtra trace back to the Samyukta Maharashtra movement of the 1950s.
07:24This movement demanded a separate state for Marathi speakers, distinct from the multilingual Bombay state.
07:31On November 21st, 1955, one of the movement's bloodiest chapters unfolded.
07:37Around four lakh workers from Mumbai's mills, then Bombay.
07:41The mills, ports and municipal bodies marched to the Oval Maidan.
07:45Police opened fire on the protesters.
07:4815 were killed, 300 injured.
07:51They became the first martyrs of the Samyukta Maharashtra struggle.
07:56This agitation culminated in the creation, the carving of Maharashtra on May 1st, 1960, a day still celebrated as Maharashtra Day.
08:05So a new state was carved out that affirmed Marathi, not just as a language, but as a political and cultural identity.
08:13Six years after the creation of Maharashtra, Bal Thakere laid the foundation for the Shiv Sena, a party that claimed to fight for the rights of the Marathi Manus.
08:23Now Thakere believed that injustice had been mated out against the sons of the soil, especially in employment,
08:30and questioned the large number of South Indians in public sectors and banks through his fiery and very often divisive rhetoric.
08:38The idea caught the imagination of unemployed young people in the state.
08:42So the Shiv Sena became influential, perhaps the most influential political force advocating the interests of Marathi-speaking people in Mumbai.
08:51By the 1980s, a demographic shift in migration patterns saw the Sena turn its eye towards North Indian migrants, particularly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,
09:01who were now seen as outsiders, cornering jobs and political influence.
09:06Of course, then there is the internal rift in the early 2000s in the Shiv Sena.
09:12Bal Thakere bypassed his nephew.
09:14Raj Thakere anoint his son Uddhav as his political heir.
09:17And so in 2005, Raj Thakere quit the Sena.
09:20Next year, he went on to launch his own outfit, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, the MNS, which inherited the Sena's core ideology.
09:30One of MNS's earliest and most controversial campaigns was against non-Marathi signboards in Mumbai's shops.
09:38We saw a series of violent protests targeting establishments that failed to put up Marathi signage, asserting the language's primacy in the city's cultural identity.
09:47The MNS focused on migration, particularly the over-representation of non-Marathi speakers in Mumbai's economy.
09:54In 2012, activist stage protests demanding that court proceedings in Maharashtra be conducted in Marathi rather than English or Hindi.
10:02Similar campaigns have been launched for Marathi signboards on national highways, compulsory Marathi films in multiplexes and the use of Marathi in digital governance platforms.
10:13So according to the 2011 census, while Marathi remained the most spoken language in Mumbai, its absolute numbers did fall.
10:212001, 45 lakh to 44 lakh in 2011.
10:26In contrast, you had Hindi speakers growing by nearly 40%.
10:31So the same comparison at 26 lakh in 2001 of Hindi speakers and that grew to 36 lakh.
10:39So 10 lakh growth in a matter of 10 years.
10:41This demographic trend has deepened that sense of cultural displacement among Marathi speakers.
10:47Political parties, as always, have been quick to capitalize.
10:50The recent patch-up of the Thakere cousins comes at a time when both parties are facing an identity crisis.
10:56The tried and tested Marathi Manu's plank could be key to their revival.
11:01Over the years, Marathi has successfully been turned into an emotive political issue of language.
11:07Maharashtra is headed into another electoral season of the local elections.
11:13And Marathi again is taking center stage.
11:15Following Elon Musk's dramatic fallout with Donald Trump, the world's richest man announced the launch of a new political party named the America Party.
11:28He says to give Americans back their freedom.
11:31For much of its history, the political landscape of the United States has seen two dominant forces.
11:37You've heard of them, the Democrats and the Republicans.
11:40Now, Musk has been saying that the US two-party system is essentially a uniparty with similar financial policies.
11:48And so while Musk's announcement has generated widespread interest, it also raises an important and recurring question.
11:55Why does America have a two-party system?
11:58And can any third party realistically succeed?
12:01Let's begin by highlighting first that America doesn't have a two-party system by law.
12:07Contrary to what you believe or common belief, when the US Constitution was established in 1789, it made no mention of political parties.
12:16In fact, dozens of political parties have been formed throughout American history.
12:21The persistence, however, of the two-party system is not a result of law, but of electoral design.
12:27Essentially, in America, in the setup, the candidate who receives the most votes wins, while all other votes effectively count for nothing, for zero.
12:36So there is no second place.
12:38The winner-take-all electoral system creates significant barriers for third parties, as voters often feel compelled to support one of the two major parties,
12:47essentially to ensure they don't waste their vote.
12:50Subsequently, potential voters for third-party candidates choose to align then with either the Democrats or the Republicans.
12:57This structure differs sharply from proportional representation systems used in many parliamentary democracies, including here in India,
13:05where legislative seats are allocated based on the percentage of votes a party receives.
13:10A second place exists, a third place exists.
13:12In such systems, smaller parties therefore gain representation, even without winning a plurality in any one district.
13:19America? Not the case.
13:21So beyond that hurdle, the voting system itself that I told you about, a host of institutional, socialization and logistical barriers also hinder third-party viability.
13:31Ballot access laws vary by state.
13:34They're frequently burdensome for new parties to figure out.
13:38The Democratic and Republican parties also control vast fundraising networks, donor bases, political infrastructure,
13:45and so they are formidable opponents for any outsider, no matter how well-funded.
13:50For even a figure like Elon Musk, with immense personal wealth, with all that public visibility, he would face long odds in actually overcoming these entrenched systems.
14:01And also remember that from a young age, Americans are often taught to identify with only two of these parties.
14:06Identify with one of them through family, education, and media.
14:10You're either a Democrat or a Republican.
14:12And so there's that mindset that emphasizes a binary choice in politics, that one must either choose one of these, of being a Democrat or a Republican, and there's nothing beyond that.
14:22Now, a 2024 Pew poll found that nearly all voters support either the Democrats or the Republicans.
14:28Ballot period data shows over 50 political parties exist, but few have gained much influence.
14:34We have hardly heard of anyone else.
14:36Famous third party efforts include Ross Perot's 1992 Reform Party run, where he actually won 19% of the vote.
14:45The spoiler effect dynamic.
14:47Seen in the 2000 presidential election, you had Ralph Nader's Green Party candidacy, believed by many to have drawn votes away from Democrat Al Gore contributing to George W. Bush's victory.
15:00Jill Stein, in 2016, faced similar criticism after Hillary Clinton's loss to Trump.
15:05Think of them as woodcutters in a way.
15:07Donald Trump himself once ran briefly back in 2000 as a Reform Party candidate.
15:12He also considered then an independent run in 2012, before becoming the Republican nominee in 2016.
15:19So given these realities, the road ahead for Elon Musk, or for that matter any political entrepreneur, seeking to disrupt the two-party order, is tough.
15:28It's steep.
15:29While his wealth, name, recognition and even media access offer significant advantages, history in America suggests that even the most charismatic, most well-funded third party efforts tend to fizzle or get absorbed by one of the dominant parties.
15:45Moreover, questions about whether Musk himself is eligible to run for president under the U.S. Constitution, because remember, he was born in South Africa.
15:53Elon Musk may have disrupted multiple industries, but disrupting the political duopoly, not monopoly, but duopoly, may prove to be his most difficult challenge yet.
16:03Berlin has accused China of targeting their aircraft with lasers.
16:12Germany claims their surveillance aircraft was targeted while on an EU-backed operation in the Red Sea.
16:18So after drones is lasers, the latest warfare tactics.
16:22I'm handing it over to Sandeep Unitan to explain that and more.
16:26China has been accused of lazing one of Germany's aircraft flying off the Red Sea.
16:34What are China's laser attacks?
16:38Let's take a closer look.
16:42One of the German reconnaissance aircraft was flying off the Red Sea on routine patrol when it was lazed, when lasers were fired at this aircraft from a Chinese warship somewhere in the Red Sea.
17:03Fortunately, the aircraft landed safely in Djibouti here.
17:11This aircraft was on a routine military patrol to ensure the safety of EU forces in the region, merchant shipping from the Houthi rebels here in Yemen.
17:23Germany has lodged a very strong protest against this lazing attack.
17:28The attack is supposed to have come from one of these Chinese warships that are in the Gulf of Aden.
17:34China maintains a steady presence of warships here since 2008.
17:40But interestingly, this is not the first laser attack by a Chinese warship against petrol aircraft.
17:48In 2020, a US P-8I long range patrol aircraft was similarly lazed by a Chinese warship in the Pacific.
18:00And two years later in 2022, an Australian Air Force P-8I was similarly lazed by a Chinese warship.
18:14Of course, no damage was caused. The Chinese warships merely fired their lasers at the aircraft, but strong protests were lodged.
18:24Interestingly, both aircraft were the same make, the P-8 Poseidon, which India also operates.
18:32Now, in recent years, China has begun equipping its warships with directed energy weapons or lasers.
18:42Now, one of these warships recently spotted was an LPD called Simingshan that was deployed in the Pacific Ocean.
18:52The laser was spotted on its bridge. The exact qualities, the performance of this laser is not known.
19:02But judging by its appearance, one can infer that this is a weapon or a derivative of a weapon called the LW-30.
19:12Now, the LW-30 is a directed energy weapon. It's a laser weapon that was first demonstrated by China a few years back.
19:23It made its debut in a military exhibition. This laser has a range of something like 25 kilometers.
19:31It can strike at objects, 25 kilometers. It can acquire them. And within six seconds, a laser beam can be shot out at the targets.
19:40It is a 35 kilowatt weapon. That's the kind of power that it consumes.
19:50And it's primarily targeted at low flying, slow moving and small diameter targets.
20:04Now, low flying would mean something like less than a kilometer in altitude.
20:08A small would mean less than one square meter in diameter.
20:13And slow moving would generally be less than 200 kilometers per hour.
20:18These are early days for ship born lasers like the LW-30 and its derivatives that China has been deploying.
20:26And primarily used to disable these small low flying objects like drones and possibly even guided missiles of the kind.
20:35Not enough to destroy aircraft yet. They can only damage them. They can only dazzle them.
20:41But the reason is possibly why is China, but why is China targeting all of these aircraft?
20:49It's interesting the choice of all of these aircraft, the choice of these targets that there was a German early warning aircraft that was on patrol.
20:59And two PA ties, long range maritime patrol aircraft.
21:03China seems to be sending out a message to the West, to the US, to the EU.
21:07And of course, to Australia that we can see your planes. We can target them. We can disable them.
21:15So while China may not have the ability yet to destroy these aircraft, it's possibly sending out a warning to them.
21:23A display of their capabilities. The fact that China now has a technology that is equal to if not better than those demonstrated by the US and its allies.
21:37Delhi was hit by a 4.0 magnitude earthquake and it led to widespread panic among residents of the national capital region.
21:48But let's explain to you why an earthquake occurs and is it normal for a quake to jolt the national capital?
21:54An earthquake is the sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust, which is the outermost layer.
22:01This happens millions of times across the world. It's no unnatural or unknown phenomena.
22:06But most are so small that we never even feel them.
22:10An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the Earth essentially slip past one another.
22:17The surface where they slip, that entire area is called the fault or the fault plane.
22:22The spot on the surface just above where an earthquake starts is called the epicenter.
22:28That's where exactly the shift has taken place.
22:31And so seismic waves spread across from the epicenter based on how intense the quake is at the epicenter.
22:38Now as the crust settles after an earthquake, another tembler called an aftershock can happen.
22:44And usually aftershocks aren't as powerful as the first quake but can still be very, very strong.
22:49So where do earthquakes occur?
22:52Well, there are seven tectonic plates that make up our land.
22:56Essentially what I'm talking about is giant slabs of rock if you will.
23:00And it's when they clash that quakes happen on the surface.
23:04There are seven plates based on the regions they cover.
23:06The African, Antarctic, Eurasian, Indo-Australian, North American, Pacific and South American tectonic plates.
23:15About 80% of earthquakes actually occur along the rim of the Pacific Ocean which is called the Ring of Fire
23:22because of the large number of volcanoes also there.
23:24And that area is a meeting point for many of these tectonic plates.
23:29So does this mean India is also prone to earthquakes?
23:32Well, yes and no.
23:34Only parts of India actually witness quakes and we've unfortunately seen some terrible tragedies
23:39like the Gujarat earthquake of 2001 which occurred in Bhuj.
23:43Over 20,000 people had died in that tragedy.
23:46Geographical statistics of India show that almost 58% of the land of India is vulnerable to earthquakes.
23:55In North India, including the Himalayas, the collision of the Indian tectonic plates with the Eurasian plate
24:01contributes to earthquakes, the frequency of earthquakes there.
24:05There are five identified zones based on risk of zones, Zone 5 being the highest level, so Zone 1 the lowest.
24:12And parts of Kashmir, parts of Bihar, the run of Kutch, parts close to the Himalayas essentially
24:17are in the very high damage risk zone, Zone 5.
24:21Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, North and Northeastern states
24:26fall in the Zone 4 category which is the high damage risk zone.
24:31Delhi's felt tremors, yes, every few months whenever the epicenter is close to the Himalayas.
24:36And since 1720, the city has been rocked by at least five earthquakes above 5.5 magnitude on the Richter scale.
24:44And that's why there is a significant risk in Delhi which experts warn could be a problem for Delhi-eyes
24:50primarily because buildings in the national capital aren't even quake-proof despite being in a risk zone.
24:56But the biggest factor to avoid a disaster, can we predict an earthquake?
25:01Well, that's the biggest challenge.
25:03Unlike natural disasters like a weather pattern which you can predict,
25:06experts cannot tell you when a quake is about to strike, when it could hit.
25:10So the only indicators are quake-prone zones and nothing more.
25:15That's all we have time for in this edition of India Today Explains.
25:19Thanks very much for tuning in.
25:20I'll see you next week when we'll break down all the big stories for you.
25:24Thanks for the moment for tuning in.
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