Confident that India will help overcome geopolitical divides: UN chief says ahead of G20 Summit
United Nations/Jakarta (PTI): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed confidence that India, all set to host the leaders' summit during its G20 presidency, will do "everything possible" to ensure that existing geopolitical divides are overcome and the crucial gathering of world leaders concludes with "possible results."
Guterres will arrive in Delhi on Friday to attend the G20 Leaders' Summit on September 9 and 10 for which world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, are travelling to India.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are not attending the summit.
"I'm confident that India will do everything possible to make sure that the geopolitical divides that exist are overcome and that the G20 can conclude with possible results," Guterres said in Jakarta where he is participating in the 13th ASEAN-UN Summit.
He was responding to a question on his expectations from India as the G20 host as well as New Delhi's support for bringing the African Union (AU) into the grouping of the world's biggest economies.
India assumed the year-long G20 Presidency in December last year and the Leaders' Summit in Delhi comes amid several geopolitical challenges, including the Ukraine war, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic slowdown, a worsening climate emergency, growing poverty, and inequalities.
Guterres added that as he attends the G20 Summit, there are questions that for him would be essential.
"One is to have a clear message about the reform of the international financial architecture to make it adapted to the needs of today's world," he said.
The UN chief further said that another key aspect is to create conditions in debt relief and in access to long-term concessional funding to allow developing countries to be able to overcome the impacts of COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and many other situations that are putting many nations on the verge of debt distress.
Guterres noted that many countries are faced with situations in which they do not have the fiscal space to attend to the needs of their own people.
"And at the same time, I would be obviously very interested in seeing the emerging economies and the developed countries that are gathering in the G20 to be able to come to a united approach to an increased ambition, ambition in mitigation to reduce emissions, as we are facing a catastrophic climate situation, and ambition in justice to provide developing countries with the resources they need for climate action in adaptation and in mitigation."
Guterres further noted that the UN has a very solid partnership with the African Union. He said Africa has a "serious problem" of representation in today's international institutions.
"When they were created, the African continent had few independent countries, most of the countries were still under colonial regimes. And so, Africa was a double victim of colonialism and then of the fact that when the UN was created, the Bretton Woods system was created, the African countries were not there," the UN chief said.
"So that is why I'm strongly supportive of the presence of an African country, at least as a permanent member of the Security Council, that I can see that it's essential to reform the Bretton Woods system for Africa to have a stronger participation and, of course, I would be very happy to see the African Union as a member of the G20," he said.
The G20 includes the world's 19 wealthiest countries and the European Union.
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'Fraud on Constitution': SC rules against religious conversion for quota benefits
New Delhi (PTI): In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court has said religious conversions undertaken solely to avail reservation benefits without genuine belief amounted to a "fraud on the Constitution".
Justices Pankaj Mithal and R Mahadevan passed the verdict on November 26 in a case filed by one C Selvarani and upheld a Madras High Court decision of January 24 denying a scheduled caste certificate to a woman who converted to Christianity but later claimed to be a Hindu to secure employment benefits.
Justice Mahadevan, who wrote the 21-page verdict for the bench, further underscored that one converted to a different religion, when they were genuinely inspired by its principles, tenets and spiritual thoughts.
"However, if the purpose of conversion is largely to derive the benefits of reservation but not with any actual belief in the other religion, the same cannot be permitted, as the extension of benefits of reservation to people with such ulterior motives will only defeat the social ethos of the policy of reservation,” he noted.
The evidence presented before the bench was found to have clearly demonstrated that the appellant professed Christianity and actively practiced the faith by attending church regularly.
"Despite the same, she claims to be a Hindu and seeks for a SC community certificate for the purpose of employment," it noted.
"Such a dual claim made by her," said the bench "was untenable and she cannot continue to identify herself as a Hindu after baptism".
The top court, therefore, held the conferment of scheduled caste communal status to the woman, who was a Christian by faith, but claimed to be still embracing Hinduism only for the purpose of availing reservation in employment, "would go against the very object of reservation and would amount to fraud on the Constitution".
The top court underlined a religious conversion solely to access reservation benefits, without genuine belief in the adopted religion, undermined the fundamental social objectives of the quota policy and her actions were contrary to the spirit of reservation policies aimed at uplifting the marginalised communities.
Selvarani, born to a Hindu father and a Christian mother, was baptised as a Christian shortly after birth but later claimed to be a Hindu and sought an SC certificate to apply for an upper division clerk position in Puducherry in 2015.
While her father belonged to the Valluvan caste, categorised under scheduled castes, he had converted to Christianity, as confirmed by documentary evidence.
The verdict said the appellant continued to practice Christianity, as seen by the regular church attendance, making her claim of being a Hindu untenable.
The bench noted individuals converting to Christianity lose their caste identity and must provide compelling evidence of reconversion and acceptance by their original caste to claim SC benefits.
The judgement said there was no substantial evidence of the appellant's reconversion to Hinduism or acceptance by the Valluvan caste.
Her claims lacked public declarations, ceremonies, or credible documentation to substantiate her assertions, it pointed out.
"One converts to a different religion when genuinely inspired by its principles. Conversion purely for reservation benefits, devoid of belief, is impermissible," the bench held.
The apex court opined in any case, upon conversion to Christianity, one lost their caste and couldn't be identified by it.
"As the factum of reconversion is disputed, there must be more than a mere claim. The conversion had not happened by any ceremony or through 'Arya Samaj'. No public declaration was effected. There is nothing on record to show that she or her family has reconverted to Hinduism and on the contrary, there is a factual finding that the appellant still professes Christianity,” it noted.
The bench said there was evidence against the appellant, and therefore, her contention raised that the caste would be under eclipse upon conversion and resumption of the caste upon reconversion, was "unsustainable".
