Page 12 - EW Oct 2023
P. 12

Editorial



         LONG ROAD TO PREVARICATION                                        tives in the Lok Sabha is based on the
                                                                           principle of one-man-one-vote, states
                                                                           whose population has increased since
                                                                           Census 2011 will be awarded greater
              he constitution (one hundred   years because it not only records pop-  representation in this apex legislative
              and Twenty Eighth Amend-    ulation growth (or decline) in several   body.  Conversely, representation of
         Tment)  Bill,  2023,  introduced   constituencies, but it’s also “an attrac-  states with better governance and ed-
         in  Lok Sabha in the new Parliament   tive source of data for scholars and   ucation which results in falling birth
         building  on September 19, and almost   researchers in demography, econom-  rates will be reduced. This is certain to
         unanimously legislated into an Act of   ics, anthropology, sociology, statistics   lead to long discussion and arguments
         Parliament on September 20, reserves     and many other disciplines. The rich   which will delay the delimitation pro-
         one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha,   diversity of India’s people is indeed re-  cess. The southern states which have
         state legislative assembles and the as-  vealed by the decadal census, which   directly or indirectly practiced family
         sembly of Delhi NCR state, for women.   has become a tool for understanding   planning  will  suffer  reduced  repre-
         However this historic legislation ap-  and studying India,” says the website   sentation in the Lok Sabha. This is
         proved by all major political parties is   of the Office of the Registrar General   unlikely to be acceptable to them.
         an elaborate exercise in prevarication.     and Census Commissioner under the   Instead of these prolonged pro-
           Under  s. 5  of  the  Amendment   Union ministry of home affairs. But   cesses, surely it makes more sense
         Act, the Union government has to   for mysterious reasons, it has not been   for political parties to issue tickets to
         first decree a Census of India pend-  conducted for the past two years.    a larger proportion of women? That’s
         ing since 2011. After that there has   Moreover delimitation, i.e, redraw-  the  route  taken  by  most  European
         to be delimitation, i.e, redrawing of   ing electoral constituency lines sched-  countries to eliminate gender dispari-
         Lok Sabha  constituency lines on the   uled to be completed after the next   ties in their parliaments. Since all par-
         basis of population data disclosed by   census, is likely to prove even more   ties except one voted in favour of the
         the new census. These are elaborate,   time consuming. A Delimitation Com-  Women’s Reservation Act, they could
         time-consuming exercises stretching   mission needs to be constituted under   pass resolutions to mandate that one-
         into years, if not decades.      a special Act of Parliament to redraw   third  of    their  Lok  Sabha  and  state
           Under  the  Census  Act,  1948,  a   boundary lines based upon the popu-  assembly party candidates should
         nationwide census is obliged to be   lation data provided by the census.   be women. That they prefer the long
         conducted after interregnums of ten   And since the number of representa-  route indicates prevarication intent.


         HOSTILE COUNTRY FOR CHILDREN                                      lack of drinking water and toilets,
                                                                           multi-grade classrooms (because 1.25
                                                                           million government school teachers
                                                                           are absent every day) and rock-bottom
              here is a dangerous sickness of   degree to which anti-minorities hate,   learning outcomes.
              selfishness and indifference, if   fanned by vote-bank politicians, has   Despite this, the annual outlay for
         Tnot hostility, towards children   permeated the teachers’ community,   education  (Centre  plus  states)  has
         spreading far and wide within Indian   once the noblest and most honourable   averaged 3 percent of GDP since in-
         society. Two glaring examples of cal-  profession.                dependence against the global aver-
         lous cruelty towards youngest citizens   The second atrocity which prompt-  age of 5 percent, and 7-10 percent
         highlight this malaise which is becom-  ed a lead edit in the Times of India   in  advanced  OECD  countries.  Even
         ing endemic in this benighted repub-  (September 29) which seldom edito-  of this meagre outlay, 40 percent is
         lic, whose leaders are given to making   rializes on such quotidian matters,   expended on heavy subsidisation of
         loud proclamations about India’s in-  is a measure of the erosion of values   higher (mainly middle class) educa-
         evitable emergence as a global super-  of compassion and empathy within   tion. Moreover since the child-friend-
         power.                           the self-centred, materialistic middle   ly EducationWorld was launched 23
            In August, the promoter-principal   class, for the multiplying poor and dis-  years ago, none of the education min-
         of a budget private school in Muzaffar-  advantaged.              isters  at  the  Centre  or  in  the  states
         nagar, Uttar Pradesh, annoyed that a   The daily atrocities visited upon   has consented to grant interviews for
         child of the minority Muslim commu-  youngest children at the micro-level   intelligent questions about education
         nity had not completed his homework,   countrywide — employment of child   policy and related matters. Ditto rep-
         directed all classmates to slap him,   labour,  widespread  under-reported   resentative organisations of Indian
         even as she openly threw communal   child trafficking and child porn, sub-  industry (FICCI, CII, Assocham).
         slurs at the seven-year-old child. More   stance abuse and the burden of com-  From public platforms, ignorant
         recently, not one citizen came to the   petitive exams — apart, our voiceless   and ill-educated leaders proclaim
         aid of a 15-year-old girl child who was   children suffer pervasive institutional   their intent to harvest the country’s
         found  half naked, bleeding in the   and policy neglect. The majority of the   demographic dividend. But the grass-
         streets of the holy city of Ujjain after   country’s 1.10 million state govern-  roots reality is that India’s human re-
         she had been brutally raped by a per-  ment primary schools avoided like the   source is being shamefully neglected
         vert, until she fell down unconscious.   plague by middle class households,   and under-developed. The conse-
         The first incident is indicative of the   are notorious for crumbling buildings,   quences will be severe.


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