Call for more Indian research stations in Arctic
New Delhi, May 30: As the world grapples with the challenge of climate change, a top Indian scientist has called for the opening of more Indian research stations in the Arctic.
"India's observer status in the Arctic Council is very important," K. Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Indian government, said at a seminar on "Finland and India: Engaging the Arctic" here on Tuesday.
"I hope India will set up more research stations in the Arctic," Raghavan said.
India's sole Arctic station Himadri is located at the International Arctic Research Base in Ny-Alesund, Norway.
The seminar was jointly organised by the Finland Embassy here, the Carnegie India think tank and the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the government of India.
The Arctic Council is the leading inter-governmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic states, Arctic indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, in particular on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.
Its member nations include Finland, the chair from 2017 to 2019, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the US. India has been an observer nation of the Council since 2013.
Raghavan said the discovery of the hole in the earth's ozone layer completely changed the way people viewed the world.
"That changed our view of Polar science and other eco-systems," he said.
Stating that the earth's climate has changed over seven cycles in the last 650,000 years, he said 16 of the warmest years on record occurred since 2001.
"2016 is the warmest year on record," Raghvan said, adding that human intervention is the dominant cause for climate change.
In her opening remarks, in what she called the first ever Arctic event in India, Finland Ambassador to India Nina Vaskunlahti said that "the Arctic is closer to us than you think".
"Climate change has brought the world world together," she said.
"Arctic Council countries and India face the common challenge of black carbon emission."
Rene Soderman, Senior Arctic Official for Finland, said that the Arctic region is not an isolated and will turn into an important hub in the 21st century with migration happening.
"Four million people live in the Arctic and 10 per cent of them are indigenous people," Soderman said.
"Global warming is changing the lifestyle of the people in the Arctic."
Stating that climate change is happening more rapidly in the Arctic than anywhere else, he said that this can be mitigated only through the full implementation of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
"Finland wants to expand multilateral cooperation on the Arctic," Soderman said.
"Arctic cooperation will continue despite international tensions."
Stuti Banerjee, Research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs think tank, said climate change in the Arctic will affect the Indian coastline.
"As the sea level rises, around 55 million people in India will be affected in terms of relocation of homes," Banerjee said, adding that New Delhi is still at a nascent stage of formulating an Arctic policy.
Giving a geopolitical aspect of the issue, Shekhar Sinha, former Flag Officer Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Navy's Western Naval Command, said that China has linked the Arctic to its own prosperity.
"Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that he wants China to be a Polar power," Sinha said.
Stating that climate change in the Arctic can affect regional systems like the Indian monsoon, M. Rajeevan, Secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said that India is in talks with Canada for opening another Arctic research station.
"We would also like to collaborate with Finland in this regard," he said.
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RSS man's defamation case against Rahul: Key witness unavailable, hearing adjourned to Dec 20
Thane (PTI): A court in Bhiwandi in Thane district on Saturday adjourned the hearing in the criminal defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker to December 20 due to non-availability of a crucial prosecution witness.
Advocate Narayan Iyer, counsel for Rahul Gandhi, confirmed the adjournment, stating that the witness, Ashok Saykar, currently Deputy Superintendent of Police in Barshi in Solapur, could not remain present due to personal reasons.
Saykar's evidence is now likely to be recorded on December 29.
His testimony is considered key because he, as police sub inspector in 2014, conducted the preliminary inquiry into the private defamation matter under Section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
It was on the basis of Saykar's submitted report that the court subsequently issued process (summons) against Rahul Gandhi under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The criminal defamation case was filed by local RSS worker Rajesh Kunte following a speech given by Rahul Gandhi at an election rally near Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014.
The case stems from the Congress leader's alleged statement that "the RSS people killed (Mahatma) Gandhi."
The matter is being heard by Bhiwandi Joint Civil Judge, Junior Division, P M Kolse.
The hearing had previously been adjourned on November 15 after the complainant's counsel, Advocate Prabodh Jaywant, moved an application seeking permission to examine Saykar, who had submitted the probe report to the court.
The matter was originally scheduled for November 29 but was deferred to December 6 after Rahul Gandhi's legal team sought an adjournment citing their non-availability. The proceedings will now resume on December 20.
