Sruthisagar Yamunan | SabrangIndia

By failing to release caste census data, the Centre is jeopardising vulnerable groups

Mon, 08 May 2017 05:55:32 +0000

Quota wars

In 2011, after several years of deliberation and under pressure from the Supreme Court, the Union government under the United Progressive Alliance decided to conduct a socio-economic and caste census. This followed massive protests that had broken out in 2006 against the Centre’s decision to reserve government jobs and seats in higher educational institutions for members of the Other Backward Classes. The court said that it needed concrete data on caste numbers so that it could determine whether the quota limit, which it set at 50% in 1992, could be altered.

But six years after the caste census was completed, there is no sign of the caste component of the data being released, though a small part on the economic conditions was put out in 2014.

In the meantime, state governments have begun challenging the 50% limit. In April, for instance, the Telengana government decided to increase quotas for Muslims and Scheduled Tribes. In 2015, the state government had set up the Sudhir commission to study the Muslim community’s conditions. It was found that despite constituting 12% of the state population, Muslims got only 7.6% of government jobs. The community was also lagging behind in education. By increasing the quota for Muslims to 12% from the existing 4%, the Telengana government went way past the 50% ceiling.

In order to avoid judicial intervention, the state government said the reservations for Muslims had nothing to do with religion: it contended that the quota was alloted on the basis of the community’s economic backwardness. However, the courts have struck down previous attempts to create quotas for religious groups. They have not viewed the economic argument favourably as the Constitution recognises only educational and social backwardness.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had also cited the example of Tamil Nadu, where quotas are as high as 69%. A challenge to Tamil Nadu’s reservation policy is currently before a nine-member Constitution bench of the Supreme Court.

What does this confusion really say about India’s policy of affirmative action? First, the Supreme Court’s decision to cap reservations at 50% has been criticised widely for its arbitrariness. Some have argued that such a cap allows members of the upper castes to corner a disproportionate share of resources, since they dominate the 50% of jobs and seats left to open competition.

Secondly, the only reason that could be cited for the Centre’s failure to release the caste data is its reluctance to take on upper caste interests. In the process, not only is the Centre denying vulnerable communities their legitimate share of reservations, it is also risking the danger of the caste census being dismissed as dated. In the meantime, the absence of quality data on caste and socio-econimic condition is leading to what the Supreme Court termed as “competitve backwardness”. Even historically well-off groups, such as Patels in the Gujarat and the Jats in North India, are seeking reservations, to the detriment of weaker communities.

There was also the question of federal rights involved in this debate. By holding back the caste census data, the Centre is also indirectly limiting the powers of state legislatures from making changes to the reservation law since they are unable to get the 50% ceiling lifted in the courts.

Courtesy: Scroll.in

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We have worked overtime for 50 days: Union official explains why bank workers plan protest for Jan 3

Mon, 02 Jan 2017 06:21:14 +0000

All India Bank Employees' Association says it wants a comprehensive probe on how some individuals got crores worth of new cash.

Image credit: Mukesh Gupta/Reuters

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8, he asked the nation to bear the “minor inconvenience” for 50 days. But just over 50 days later, the cash crunch has not eased. Across the country, thousands of Automatic Teller Machines remain dry. While the Reserve Bank of India has allowed a weekly withdrawal of Rs 24,000 per account, banks have set arbitrary limits in branches due to the cash shortage. However, Income Tax department raids across India have resulted in the seizure of crores of rupees in new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes. CH Venkatachalam, general secretary of the All India Bank Employees’ Association, said these raids, and the reluctance of the income tax department to give out proper information about them, have created the impression that bankers are helping black money hoarders. The association, one of the largest unions in India, has planned a nation-wide protest on January 3 demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into illegal cash exchange and compensation for the additional workload they face after demonetisation.

Edited excerpts from an interview with Venkatachalam:

The 50 days deadline given by the prime minister for return of normalcy is over. How is the situation on the ground?
There is hardly any improvement. Branches of nationalised banks across the country are facing severe cash shortage. Many of them had to fix lower withdrawal limits so that more customers could be served. In our estimate, only 40% of over two lakh Automatic Teller Machines are functional and this too for a few hours a day. We do not think this will magically improve after December 30. The Reserve Bank of India has a duty to ensure proper cash supply. As employees, we feel our image has taken a beating as customers think we are hiding cash from them and helping the rich. In reality, nationalised banks are struggling without cash supply.

But why will the employees’ image get dented when it is the RBI and the government that are to be blamed?
This is because of what has come out of raids conducted by the Income Tax department. After these raids, media, based on information from IT officials, has reported that crores of black money in the form of new Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 have been seized. This gives a false perception that bankers are colluding with fraudsters. The customers are turning angry. But let me tell you that the systems have been created in such a way that we will not be able to exchange such large amounts of cash in any branch. Basically, the systems in place in nationalised banks wouldn’t allow it. Our suspicion is that the fault lies with private ATM service providers who are allowed to handle cash. The RBI is saying it is supplying enough cash. But when you go to the ground, you see that a majority of ATMs are dry. How is this possible? Is the cash getting diverted in the middle? We see a big scam here. We demand a thorough CBI probe into this problem so that the real culprits are caught.

But bank employees were also suspended for exchanging cash beyond RBI prescribed limits…
You need to place it in context. What was the amount they exchanged? A few thousand rupees. What is the amount of new currency seized in these raids? They run into hundreds of crores. I am not defending employees who erred. But you should understand that these small violations are being magnified but real culprits are happily getting away with defrauding the public. Let the CBI probe. If people are found doing something illegal, whether employees or otherwise, let them face the music. Why is there a reluctance to probe?

Do you see the cash supply situation improving in the coming days?
We are entering a new month. People will come to the bank to access their salaries and pensions. The increase in cash supply to branches should be significant to overcome this challenge. This is where I think the RBI has not functioned well. They should put out daily figures of how cash has been sent to each branch. They do have the data but they don’t want to release it. Why so? Unions have already raised this doubt. We feel some private banks are getting cash at the cost of nationalised banks. If the RBI puts out the data, we will be able to see where all the cash is going. But above all these issues, we bank employees are hurt. Visit a branch and see for yourself. We have to hear the worst of abuses from our customers. The government shouldn’t forget we are also humans. Every employee has worked overtime over the last 50 days. Many have died due to work pressure. Despite terms of employment that guarantee us extra pay for extra time, we have not been given anything. This cannot work.

How are you going to tackle the question of additional wage?
We have called for a nation-wide protest on January 3 outside all RBI regional offices. The demands include proper cash supply to branches, extra pay and a CBI probe into cash diversion. If things do not improve, we are planning to call for a strike when all unions meet for a conference on January 8. Bankers cannot be a collateral to bad policy implementation.

Courtesy: Scroll.in

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Court order on national anthem uses patriotism to undermine individual rights

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 06:08:35 +0000

The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to give India a lesson in how exactly it should respect the national anthem. In an order that many experts have deemed a massive gesture of judicial overreach, the court yet again ventured into lawmaking by asking cinema halls to play the national anthem before start of each show along with displaying the national flag on the screen.

This decree to cinema halls was accompanied by other sweeping comments that limit freedom of expression by placing the anthem even beyond artistic interpretation. The Supreme Court, which is supposed to be the ultimate guardian of the fundamental rights of citizens, devalued the notion of individual rights by claiming that it had no place in the context of respecting national symbols.

“Be it stated, a time has come, the citizens of the country must realise that they live in a nation and are duty bound to show respect to National Anthem which is the symbol of the Constitutional patriotism and inherent national quality,” the bench said. “It does not allow any different notion or the perception of individual rights, that have individually thought of have no space. The idea is constitutionally impermissible.”

By laying the rules on how to respect the national symbols, the court has put in place a law that was not envisaged by Parliament.

The order has also reversed the cautious, liberal view the Supreme Court has taken in the past when dealing with cases under the Prevention of Insults to the National Honour Act. In 1986, the court took the side of three school children from Kerala who had refused to sing the national anthem during the school assembly every morning. Unlike the current interim order that placed collective responsibility over individual rights, the court decided in 1986 that forcing the children, who were faithful Jehovah’s witnesses, to sing the anthem was an infringement into their freedom of religion.

In developed western democracies, reverence to national symbols is not imposed at the cost of dissent. In 1989, the Supreme Court of the United States went to the extent of allowing the desecration of the national flag, arguing that such an act was very much part of freedom of expression guaranteed under the Constitution.

There are also logistical problems that crop up with the order. How will the state implement it? Will policemen stand guard inside cinema halls and book those who do not show respect to the anthem in the manner decreed by the court? In October, the nation witnessed in disgust the assault on a differently-abled man in Goa who was physically incapable of standing up for the anthem. With this order, the Supreme Court may have inadvertently emboldened elements prone to takin the law into their own hands in the name of patriotism.

Courtesy: Scroll.in

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