DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

India - Saudi Arabia Relations

• Recently, India and Saudi Arabia explored establishing a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) in order to formally cooperate with one another in criminal case investigations.
• India has already signed MLATs with 45 nations and is currently negotiating MLATs with Germany and Italy.
• The only other nation except for Saudi Arabia without an MLAT or any other bilateral arrangement with India to assist such inquiries is Pakistan.

What is MLAT?

• It is a mechanism through which nations work together to offer and obtain official assistance in the prevention, suppression, investigation, and prosecution of crime in order to make sure that criminals do not evade or thwart the due process of law due to a lack of evidence available in various nations.
• In India, petitions for reciprocal legal help in criminal cases are handled by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• The reciprocal arrangements that must be made between the Central Government and the Foreign Governments with regard to the delivery of summonses, warrants, and legal procedures are described in Section 105 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
• On the basis of the evidence acquired through the mutual agreement, the signing of the treaty would assist in obtaining a conviction for an accused party in a court of law.
• On India's request, Saudi Arabia has in the past extradited a number of terrorist suspects.

How have relations between Saudi Arabia and India been?

Oil & Gas:

• Iraq has historically been India's leading crude oil supplier, with Saudi Arabia currently occupying that position.
• Around 18% of India's crude oil needs and 22% of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) needs are met by imports from Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Arabia will provide assistance to Saudi Aramco, Adnoc of the United Arab Emirates, and Indian public sector oil corporations as they build the largest greenfield refinery in the world at Raigarh in Maharashtra.

Trade:

• Saudi Arabia is India's fourth-largest trading partner on a bilateral basis (after the USA, China and UAE).
• Bilateral trade had a value of USD 42.8 billion in the fiscal year 2021–2022

Political Relations:

• Following the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1947, both countries' high-level representatives visited one another.
• The historic visit of King Abdullah to India in 2006 was a turning point that led to the adoption of the "Delhi Declaration," which gave the two countries' relations a new lease on life.
• The prestigious Saudi National Festival of Heritage and Culture had its 32nd edition in 2018, India attended as a "Guest of Honor" with great success.
• In Saudi Arabia, yoga was listed as a "sports activity."
• Another significant element of bilateral relations is the Haj pilgrimage.

Naval Training:

• The Al-Mohed Al-Hindi Drill, a first-ever naval joint exercise between India and Saudi Arabia, began in 2021.

Indian Diaspora:

• Saudi Arabia's 2.6 million-strong Indian community is the country's largest foreign population and is regarded as the "most favored community" because of their knowledge, discipline, and commitment to upholding the law and promoting peace.

Challenges:

• Middle Eastern politics are intricate and multifaceted, necessitating a coordinated and group effort.
• The rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Turkey could cause issues for India.
• Iran-Saudi Arabia Rivalry: India maintains close ties with both Iran and Saudi Arabia.
• India has yet to figure out how to balance its ties with Saudi Arabia and the United States on the one hand, and Iran on the other.

Way Forward

• India might take advantage of its cordial relations with Saudi Arabia by persuading the country to use its clout with Pakistan to restrain the Taliban in Afghanistan.
• Southwest Asia will change as a result of both economies working together.
• The pace of India and Saudi Arabia's defence cooperation has greatly increased.
• With the Gulf area seeing fast change, the two nations' defence ties are strengthening.

Vokkaligas, Lingayats share in Karnataka Reservation

• Vokkaligas and Lingayats, the two largest communities, have recently been moved from the "backward" category to "moderately backward" by the Karnataka Cabinet in a move that could raise their share of reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC).

More on News:

• Karnataka currently has a 32% OBC quota, 17% Scheduled Castes quota, and 7% Scheduled Tribes quota, bringing the total to 56% quota.
• Veerashaiva Lingayats' Panchamasali sub-sect has sought to be moved from their present 3B category, which has 5% quota, to the 2A category, which has 15% quota.
• The Vokkaliga community will be transferred from the 3A category to a brand-new 2C category with 4% reservation.
• Additionally, the Lingayat community—which was previously in the 3B category—will now fall under the new 2D category, which has a 5% reservation.
• The Cabinet makes sure that the Lingayat community is not divided into subgroups.
• The Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes' suggestions, which were based on an interim report it had given Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on December 23, was taken into consideration.
• Based on the population of various communities as determined by the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, the EWS quota would be redistributed, increasing the reservation from the one now allocated to these communities—4% for Vokkaligas and 5% for Lingayats.
• By adding it to Schedule 9 of the Constitution, the Karnataka government would ask the Centre to approve the increase in the reservation.
• A list of federal and state laws that are unchallengeable in court can be found in the ninth schedule.
• It was incorporated into the Constitution in 1951, the year it underwent its first amendment.
• It was established by the new Article 31B, which was introduced by the government together with Article 31A to defend legislation pertaining to agrarian reform and the abolition of the Zamindari system.
• Following Lingayats in terms of population in the state is the Vokkaliga ethnic group.

Lingayats: Who are they?

• A person is referred to as a lingayat if they have a personal linga, which is a representation of the Hindu god Shiva that is placed on their body during the initiation ritual.
• The Lingayats are devotees of Basaveshwara, a poet and social reformer who lived in the 12th century.
• Both the caste system and Vedic rituals were not followed by Basaveshwara.
• The Lingayats adhere to monotheism. They encourage worshipping Linga as the sole deity (Shiva).
• Lingayats are Shaivites and have been categorised as a Hindu subcaste known as "Veerashaiva Lingayats."
• Lingayats believe to have their own religion: Lingayats have separated from Hindu Veerashaivas because they adhere to the Vedas and uphold the caste system, which Basaveshwara opposed.

Vokkaligas: Who are they?

• Even the Rashtrakutas and Western Gangas are thought to have sprung from the Vokkaliga.
• Vokkaliga is a group defined by occupation, and in that sense, it could be considered an ethnic category since its members are mostly farmers at heart.
• In the Indian state of Karnataka, the Vokkaliga caste first appeared. The Vokkaligas made up the majority of the population in the former princely state of Mysore.
• They have historically possessed enormous demographic, political, and economic power in Old Mysore as a community of warriors and cultivators.

How has the OBC Reservation Status Changed Over Time?

• The first backward classes other than Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) at the national level were identified by the Kalelkar Commission, which was established in 1953.
• According to the Mandal Commission Report from 1980, 1 257 communities were deemed backward and the OBC population was expected to be 52%.
• It suggested raising the present SC/ST-only quotas from 22.5% to 49.5% in order to include the OBCs.
• According to Article 16(4), the central government reserved 27% of the seats in union civil posts and services for OBCs. Following that, the quotas were put into effect at educational facilities run by the central government [Article 15 (4)].
• The Supreme Court ordered the national government to eliminate the advanced parts (the creamy layer) from the OBCs in 2008.