THE ROHINGYA CRISIS: WHY THE WORLD MUST ACT DECISIVELY

The dimensions of the crisis generated by the systematic persecution and expulsion of Rohingyas by the Myanmar authorities have been a sustained subject for global debate in these present times. The refusal of the Myanmar government to heed the world's warnings, its obfuscations in the matter of following through on the recommendations of the Annan Commission, and the dogged reluctance of Aung San Suu Kyi, once an ardent advocate of democracy and human rights in her country, to speak up for the Rohingyas have left the international community deeply disappointed. And disturbing too is a report by UN investigators on human rights abuses in Myanmar's Rakhine state. The problem does not look about to be resolved any time soon, with more than 750,000 Rohingyas taking refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh, pushing social dynamics in an already over-populated country to the edge. The fear is that the crisis could fester before getting dangerously out of hand, unless the global community goes for decisive action.     

Western sociology and the Muslim world

This article examines the Syeikh Muhammad Abduh's ideas on society, diagnoses of its problems and viable solutions. Central to this article's argument is the appropriation of Abduh into the list of thinkers found within the discipline of sociology that has been dominated by Europeans in his era. By highlighting several themes related to the challenges and anxieties faced by Muslim societies in facing up to Western modernity, which Abduh was much concerned with in his discourses, it is hoped that future scholars would re-examine his sociological thoughts in light of its significance towards fostering East–West intellectual symbiosis.

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Towards a Jurisprudence of Emergency: Colonialism and the Rule of Law

This article revisits an infamous incident in colonial India -- the Amritsar massacre of 1919 -- in order to explore larger questions of the place of martial law and emergency in jurisprudence. By focusing on modes of power in the colonial realm, and the productive role of the colonies in the conception of modern law, it tests the claims of a rule of law and declarations of emergency. The argument tries to show how these two terms are, in fact, relational in theories of colonial discourse and of legal positivism. As such, it reads H.L.A. Hart’s, The Concept of Law and instances from the colonial archive against one another. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Naga dream and the politics of peace

A section of Naga tribes-people in northeastern India are engaged in an insurrection against the government on the premise that they had been an independent people until the British brought the areas where they lived under its control after the signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826 with the Burmese. The Burmese were defeated by the British and this treaty brought the curtains down on the first Anglo-Burmese War. Even before the seeds of the Naga insurgency movement were sown in 1946, the Nagas had petitioned the British authorities, in the wake of the possibility of India gaining independence, saying they should not hand over the Naga areas to India when they leave after granting Delhi freedom. The Nagas wanted London to let them revert back to their way of life before the signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo. This was not to be and Naga areas became a part of India as they were in any case a part of British India before that. The Naga insurrection was shaped in 1946 and since then has undergone a massive transformation. Today, the Naga insurgency movement is faction-ridden, with four groups on the scene, pushing the dream of an independent Naga homeland. The dominant among these groups, the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland or the NSCN-IM has been engaged in peace talks with the Indian government ever since a ceasefire was reached between the two sides in 1997. A solution is nowhere in sight although dozens of rounds of parleys have been held. The problem is compounded by the emergence on the scene of other Naga rebel players, formed mostly by break-away groups from the NSCN-IM. Factional wars have become the order of the day, resulting in the authorities focusing their attention to ending the turf battles among the factions rather than pushing the peace process forward. The situation is hazy to say the least and the politics of peace has assumed different dimensions, posing newer challenges to peace-makers.     

Psychological health in midlife among women who have ever lived with a violent partner or spouse

This study examines the psychological health correlates of domestic violence in a large random sample of mid-aged Australian women (N = 11,310, age 47 to 52 years). Logistic regressions were used to investigate the associations between domestic violence and depression, anxiety, and psychological wellbeing, after adjusting for demographic variables (marital status, income management, area). Results indicate increased odds of having experienced domestic violence for those who had: ever experienced a diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or an "other" psychiatric disorder; recent symptoms of depression and anxiety; used psychoactive medication for depression or anxiety in the 4 weeks prior to the survey; and who reported current depression. Current psychological well-being had an inverse association with a history of domestic violence: As psychological well-being decreased, the odds of having ever experienced domestic violence increased. The results indicate that a history of domestic violence is associated with decreased psychological well-being in mid-aged Australian women.     

Stakeholder engagement for value-based banking: The case of Malaysian Islamic banks

This study explores the practices of stakeholder engagement (SE) in Malaysian Islamic banks. In 2017, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) introduced the Value-Based Intermediation (VBI) framework, with the aim of promoting a more sustainable and responsible banking system in the country. Among others, the VBI framework requires Islamic banks to adopt a stakeholder-driven approach to their business operations, which involves understanding and responding to the needs and expectations of their stakeholders. Within this context, we apply a content analysis of the annual and sustainability reports of all stand-alone Islamic banks in Malaysia to document the changes in the banks' quality of SE after the introduction of the VBI. The content analysis is guided by a new index that we construct, termed as the Stakeholder Engagement Quality Index (SEQI), which covers four dimensions of SE process: the purpose, stakeholder mapping, scope and approach to the engagement. Our results indicate that the SE quality significantly increases overall and for the third (i.e., scope of SE) and fourth (i.e., SE approach) dimensions subsequent to the VBI. Additionally, in terms of bank types, we find that the SEQI score is higher for commercial Islamic banks than development Islamic banks in the post-VBI period. Despite such improvements, our study alerts policymakers that there are areas that need further attention. Among others, these include integrating SE into the banks' internal managerial functions and encouraging active stakeholder participation in the design and implementation of the engagement itself.     

Renewal Acute Toxicity of Broad-Spectrum Herbicide,Paraquat Dichloride in Channa punctatus (Bloch)

Abstract

Paraquat dichloride (PD) is a major contaminant in aquatic environment and is a cause of concern to different organisms, especially to fishes, as it causes different changes in behavioral and morphological to aquatic creatures. Hence, the objectives of the study are to examine the acute toxicity, behavioral and morphological alterations in air-breathing teleost fish, Channa punctatus (CP) (Bloch). Renewal acute toxicity was performed to calculate the lethal concentration (LC₅₀) by Finney’s probit analysis to CP by exposure to wide range of PD concentrations (30, 60, 90, 120, 150?mg/L) for 24, 48, 72 and 96?h. The LC₅₀ values determined are 93.36, 82.22, 67.93 and 65.87?mg/L for 24, 48, 72 and 96?h, respectively. Maximum allowable toxicant concentrations (MATC) defined by LC₅₀ value is found to be 0.6587?mg/L. The upper and lower 95 percent confidence limit (Fiducial limit) are in narrow range for 24, 48, 72 and 96?h, respectively, and thus results of the experiments are considered good. Fiducial limit calculated helps us to state that the LC50 falls within the specified limit and helps in constructing of toxicity curve. LC50 value gradually decreases with increase in time. Mortality rate was dose-time dependent and increased with increase in concentration. The behavioral changes provide biologically relevant endpoints in evaluating toxicity testing. Deviation from baseline behavior was noticed. Morphological deformities were also seen. The present study provides a clear indication of the toxicity of PD, and is highly toxic even at low level. Hence, it is recommended that appropriate eco-toxicological risk assessment should be made and indiscriminate use of PD by farmers should be discouraged particularly in areas close to aquatic environment.