26 August 2015   Leave a comment

Violence has broken out in the Gurarat state of India.  The violence comes about as Patidar protesters, led by Hardik Patel, mobilize to be recognized officially within the legally recognized caste definitions of Indian law.  The Patidars wish to be recognized as an Other Backward Class (OBC).  Time describes the classification in this way:

Patel is at the helm of a protest movement aimed at declaring the Patidar community he belongs to — an affluent and politically dominant section of Gujarati society — as “backward” under India’s quota system for its historically lower castes, legally termed as Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). This would give Patidars access to the 50% of government jobs and places in educational institutions currently reserved for such “backward” castes under a form of affirmative action.

The Gujarat government is currently led by Chief Minister Anandiben Patel who argues that the 50% requirement has already been met. At least 9 people have been killed in the violence thus far.

As migrants filter in through Macedonia and Serbia, Hungary is building a fence along its 110 mile border with Serbia in an effort to keep them out.   Hungary is part of the Schengen Plan and is viewed by many migrants as the entry point to the European Union.  Hungary’s President, Viktor Orban, is unabashedly hostile to the migrants believes that they threaten European identity as well as the European experiment.  The migrant crisis continues to defy the competence of the European states.

As the Chinese economy continues to show signs of weakness, the central role of China in the global economy becomes more visible.  Unfortunately, some of the countries that will be hurt the most are among the most vulnerable in the world.  The Chinese slowdown is having a damaging effect on several African economies as Chinese demand for commodities from Africa tails off.

Graphic showing China's main imports and countries exporting the products

Posted August 27, 2015 by vferraro1971 in World Politics

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