Page 14 - EW September 2024

Editorial

LESSONS FROM BANGLADESH MELTDOWN sulted in the emergence of a free and
independent Bangladesh. Curiously
Sheikh Hasina had no awareness that
he swift fall of the seemingly Hasina weaponized national secu- youth desperately seeking employ-
impregnable Sheikh Hasina rity laws and jailed Begum Khaleda, ment in the country and sweeping out
Tgovernment in neighbouring a former prime minister and leader of overseas, have no memory of Bangla-
Bangladesh, and her dramatic flight to the major opposition party, and also desh’s freedom struggle led by her fa-
New Delhi to escape rampaging mobs interfered with the electoral process ther Sheikh Mujibur Rehman.
in Dhaka, offers several important les- to ensure the victory of the Awami Unfortunately leaders of political
sons for India. Perhaps for all devel- League in the General Election of parties in South Asian countries tend
oping countries where constitutional 2023, in effect attempting to impose to be history agnostic and often inter-
checks and balances are not as well one-party rule over the country. More- pret ephemeral political popularity
developed as in older democracies. over scant attention was paid to up- as licence to practice autocracy. Soon
First it’s important to note that by grading the public education system after she swept General Election 1971,
all metrics Sheikh Hasina’s Awami — a blindspot of all South Asian gov- Mrs. Indira Gandhi imposed free In-
League government serving its fifth ernments. As a result the Bangladesh dia’s first internal Emergency in 1975
consecutive term in office was stable, economy was flooded with millions and jailed opposition party leaders
having engineered unprecedented an- of youth unable to find employment leading to her humiliating defeat in
nual rates of GDP growth. On Sheikh commensurate with recklessly issued General Election 1977.
Hasina’s watch, Bangladesh trans- academic certification. Now after sweeping three General
formed into a fast-track economy and Moreover instead of liberalising Elections since 2014, the BJP/NDA
one of the world’s premier textiles and the economy and inviting foreign in- government and three-term prime
garments manufacturing nations. vestment to establish factories and minister Narendra Modi who have also
The first lesson of the lightning-fast businesses to generate employment, neglected public education reform, are
fall of Sheikh Hasina is that there’s the Hasina government passed a law confronted with a massive youth un-
temptation for popular and success- reserving 30 percent of jobs in govern- employment/unemployability prob-
ful governments to slip into autocratic ment to children of freedom fighters lem. Simultaneously they are weap-
rule. Convinced that her own steady who had fought in the anti-Pakistan onising provisions of the law to target
hands were needed at the helm to re- liberation war of 1971 which (with opposition leaders and the Muslim
cord high rates of economic growth, assistance from the Indian Army) re- minority. The auguries are not good.

SUPREME COURT MUST EXERCISE POWER wait endlessly for justice.
Almost half a century ago as edi-
tor of Business India while writing a
cover feature on the law’s delay, your
here is much that’s admirable varnished truth is that far from admir- editor interviewed Chief Justice Y.V.
about India’s free and indepen- ing them for providing adjudication Chandrachud (incumbent’s father)
Tdent judiciary. Although it’s services and justice, most people hate who expressed the same intent be-
commonly accepted that the lower and dread the legal system. cause he feared “breakdown” of the
judiciary comprising the district, city, Everyone knows what’s the solu- judicial system.
civil, family and magistrates courts is tion. “The judge-to-population ratio In the Union Budget 2024-25, the
in disarray, learned judgements de- in India is amongst the lowest in the total allocation of the Union ministry
livered by the country’s metropolitan world. We need simply more judges of law & justice is Rs.5,940.95 crore
high and Supreme Courts are usually to adjudicate upon cases and we are (from a total budget of Rs.48 lakh
praiseworthy for their fierce indepen- engaging with the government to in- crore). Instead of continuing to bleat
dence, reasoning and academic excel- crease the strength of the Judiciary at about “engaging with government”
lence. The descriptive that the judi- all levels,” said Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud, to expand the judiciary, perhaps it’s
ciary is democratic India’s third estate Chief Justice of India, speaking at the time for the Supreme Court to issue
(after the legislature and executive) is Oxford Union (UK) on June 27. The an order to government to multiply
well deserved. ratio of judges to population in India the judiciary’s budgetary allocation
Unfortunately despite its good is 21 per million as against 150 per five-fold to appoint more judges and
reputation, the country’s legal system million in the US and 210 in Europe. build judicial infrastructure by way of
administered by the upper judiciary The consequences of this judges many more court-rooms and accom-
is in a shambles. A total number of shortage are dire. Under-trial prison- modation for new judges.
50.88 million cases are pending in ers awaiting adjudication comprise Under the Constitution, the judi-
the country’s 23,790 courts of law. Of 75 percent of the country’s jail popu- ciary has parity with Parliament and
this humungous number, 6.1 million lation. On the issue of enforceability the executive. The time has come for
are pending in the 25 high courts, and of contracts — vital for ease of doing the judiciary to practice constitutional
44.6 million in the district and sub- business — India is listed #63 on a egalitarianism and assert its power to
ordinate courts. Little wonder that league table of 190 countries. More- clean up and rejuvenate the judicial
it’s quite common for cases to remain over court fees are payable on all civil system which is a heavy burden on
pending for generations. The plain un- suits despite which plaintiffs have to national development.

14 EDUCATIONWORLD SEPTEMBER 2024