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Subject: Indian Society

  • Vanniyar movement in Tamil Nadu

    The government in Tamil Nadu has announced the construction of a memorial in Villupuram to people killed in police firing and clashes in 1987, during a movement demanding reservation for the Vanniyar community.

    Vanniyar Movement

    • Vanniyar are one of the largest and most consolidated backward communities in the state.
    • They had raised massive protests in the mid-1980s demanding 20% reservation in the state, and 2% in central services.
    • Their movement was backed by the Justice Party as well as the Self-Respect Movement.
    • The agitation began in 1986 with activists sending hundreds of letters and telegrams to then Chief Minister M G Ramachandran seeking an audience.
    • As there was no response from MGR and the then Rajiv Gandhi government, agitators started demonstrations in community strongholds, then went on to blockading rail and road traffic.

    The 1987 deaths

    • The Vanniyars declared an agitation from September 17 to 23, 1987, which turned violent.
    • At least 21 protesters were killed, mostly in police firing, and also in clashes with members of Scheduled Caste communities.
    • While this shook the state establishment, there was no immediate solution.

    Reservation granted

    • After 1989, the OBC quota was split into two: Backward Castes and Most Backward Castes.
    • Vanniyars were categorized among the MBCs with 107 other communities, with 20% reservation.
    • Three decades later,10.5% reservation was granted for Vanniyars within the 20% MBC quota.

  • What is Glue Grant Scheme?

    Forty Central universities will kick off the implementation of innovative measures such as the academic credit bank and the glue grant meant to encourage multidisciplinary in UG courses.

    Glue Grant Scheme

    • Under the glue grant, announced in this year’s budget, institutions in the same city would be encouraged to share resources, equipment and even allow their students to take classes from each other.
    • This is the first step for multidisciplinary.
    • We intend to start this from the second semester of the current academic year.
    • Ultimately, faculty will be able to design joint courses.
    • This also meant that institutions need not duplicate work by developing the same capacities, but would be able to build on each other’s expertise.

    Credit bank

    • The first step would be the academic credit bank, which would have to be adopted separately by the academic council of each university to kick off implementation.
    • To start with, the system would allow students to attain qualifications by amassing credits rather than specific durations on campus.
    • A certain number of credits would add up to a certificate, then a diploma and then a degree, allowing for multiple entries and exit points.
    • Students can earn up to 40% of their credits in online Swayam classes, rather than in the physical classroom. In the future, these credits will hold validity across different institutions.

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  • What is the School Bubble Concept?

    The Karnataka government has proposed the ‘school bubble’ concept to mitigate the spread of the disease among children (aged below 18) attending offline classes at schools and pre-university colleges across the state.

    It takes a village to raise a child.

    -Anonymous

    What are school bubbles?

    • School bubbles are physical classifications made between groups comprising a small number of students.
    • As per the concept, each such bubble will include students who tend to remain as a group during school hours throughout the term or an academic year.
    • The concept would help managements easily isolate a fewer number of students in case anyone gets infected.
    • For instance, a school bubble can include 30 students. If one among them gets infected, the others can self-isolate but the school need not be closed completely.
    • This would allow uninterrupted learning to others as well.

    Why are school bubbles significant?

    • The concept of school bubbles, experts feel, will be more relevant to students studying in primary school or below.
    • These students will have more chances of peer-to-peer interactions on a daily basis.
    • With school bubbles in place, the risk assessment process to identify close contacts of a Covid-positive student will also get easier.

    Is this concept completely new?

    • This has been successfully implemented at schools in the United Kingdom.
    • The government there has further relaxed social-distancing measures for students within a particular school bubble.
    • However, all members of the bubble are mandatorily subjected to RT-PCR tests if a student is infected.

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  • Gujarat Anti-Conversion Law

    The Gujarat High Court this week stayed key provisions of The Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021 pertaining to marriages involving religious conversion of either of the two parties.

    What is the Anti-Conversion Law?

    • The legislation has amended the 2003 Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act.
    • The amendment was brought in line with several similar laws enacted last year by right-wing-ruled states, starting with Uttar Pradesh.
    • The laws seek to end conversion through unlawful means, specifically prohibit any conversion for marriage, even if it is with the consent of the individual except when a prior sanction is obtained from the state.
    • Apart from UP and Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh too, have also enacted similar laws.

    Controversial provisions

    • Vagueness: It gives powers to the state to conduct a police inquiry to verify the intentions of the parties to convert for the purposes of marriage.
    • Burden of proof: Section 6A reverses the burden of proof on the partner of the converted spouse to prove that he/she did not coerce the other spouse.
    • Intent of marriage: Section 4 allows the aggrieved person, their parents, brother, sister, or any other person related by blood or marriage or adoption to file an FIR challenging the conversion and subsequent marriage.
    • Conversion as Allurement: The law considers lawful conversions as “allurement” in vague.
    • Discrimination: It defines over-broad terms; prescribes different jail terms based on gender; and legitimizes the intrusion of family and the society at large to oppose inter-faith marriages.

    Issues with such laws

    • Stereotyping of lawful conversion: The new anti-conversion laws shift the burden of proof of a lawful religious conversion from the converted to his/her partner.
    • Curb on individual freedom: Legal experts have pointed out that the laws interfere in an individual’s agency to marry a partner from different faith and to choose to convert from one’s religion for that purpose.
    • Interference of state: Apart from being vague and sweeping, the laws also test the limits to which the state can interfere in the personal affairs of individuals.
    • Violative of FRs: The freedom to propagate one’s religion (A25) and the right to choose a partner are fundamental rights (A21) that the new anti-conversion laws impinge upon.

    What has the Gujarat High Court held?

    • A Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court has granted an interim stay on certain provisions of the amendment that interfere with inter-faith marriages.
    • It has held that the bill interferes with the intricacies of marriage including the right to the choice of an individual, thereby infringing Article 21.
    • The interim stay on certain provisions will have to be confirmed when the larger challenge is decided.

    What was the government’s defence?

    • The state government had argued that the law did not prohibit all inter-faith marriages, but only the ones based on fraud and coercion.
    • To buttress its submission, Advocate General had argued that the Act must be read as a whole to interpret the provision, and the provision alone could not be read by itself.
    • However, the court said that the wider interpretation would happen at a later stage, and stayed the provisions for the time being. A larger challenge would determine the fate of the law eventually.

    Significance of the ruling

    • The HC ruling, although preliminary, comes as a relief to interfaith couples from being harassed.
    • The reading could have a bearing on challenges pending in other HCs (namely in MP, UP, Himachal etc).
    • However, its real impact on the ground could be limited, as larger constitutional nuances are often difficult to permeate, especially when it is not a final and binding verdict.

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  • Is a caste census desirable?

    With the 2021 Census coming up, several political parties have demanded a nationwide caste census.

    What is Caste Census?

    • Every Census in independent India from 1951 to 2011 has published data on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, but not on other castes.
    • Before that, every Census until 1931 had data on caste.
    • However, in 1941, caste-based data was collected but not published.
    • In the absence of such a census, there is no proper estimate for the population of OBCs, various groups within the OBCs, and others.
    • The Mandal Commission estimated the OBC population at 52%, some other estimates have been based on National Sample Survey data.
    • Some political parties make their own estimates in states and Lok Sabha and Assembly seats during elections.

    Arguments for caste census

    A caste census is not merely geared to the reservation issue.

    • Enumerating the marginalized: A caste census would actually bring to the particular the number of people who are at the margins, or who are deprived, or the kind of occupations they pursue, or the kind of hold that institutions like caste have on them.
    • Data for Policymaking: This information is absolutely necessary for any democratic policymaking.
    • Judicial backing: The courts in India have often emphatically said that it is important to have adequate data with regard to the reservation.
    • Caste offers privilege: Caste is not only a source of disadvantage; it is also a very important source of privilege and advantage in our society.
    • Caste doesn’t marginalize: We need to do away with the idea of caste being applicable to only disadvantaged people, poor people, people who are somehow lacking.
    • Rids away caste rigidities: Counting of caste doesn’t necessarily perpetuate caste or the caste system. Myths of caste elitisms can be debunked through a caste census.

    Arguments against caste census

    • 50% breach: It is argued that a Socio-Economic Caste Census is the only way to make a case to breach the 50% cap on reservation and rationalize the reservation matrix in the country.
    • Rising assertiveness: More the State ignores out caste, the more is the tendency to preserve caste, protect it. This has been observed in many states.
    • Chaos: Data gathering itself is a big problem because it can become very, very invasive. But we need to actually balance it with enabling people and asserting citizen equality.
    • Social friction: Caste identification can lead to friction amongst various classes.

    Breaching the 50% cap

    • Judicial Substantiation: The 50% cap, as introduced by the court, has not really been argued through.
    • Questioning the sacrosanctity: Some feel that nothing sacrosanct about the 50% limit − it can be exceeded, if necessary, but a clear argument should be given for why this is being done.

    Inefficacy of reservations

    • Fractional benefits: The way reservation is practiced has invariably led to elites among castes and communities.
    • Domination: These elites within the castes have tended to exercise their dominance over their very communities and not let them exercise the kind of freedoms, or search for equality, which any democratic polity deserves.
    • Welfare isn’t reservation: The state has helped privileged communities far more, even though this help has not taken the explicit form of programs like reservation.

    Why is a caste census always controversial?

    • Data manipulation: This is a manifestation of the principle that those in power control data and information.
    • Censoring of data: We have had instances where this data has been collected but has not been made public.
    • Relative deprivation: Since a caste census is a necessity, it is not a happy thing, it is not a great achievement, it is just something that the State has to do circumstantially.
    • Vote bank politics: Vested interests of particular state governments in hunt for vote banks are also visible these days.

    SECC has the solution

    • We have got locked into a mindset where we think only those communities which want welfare benefits from the state must be enumerated.
    • Many have argued that a Socio-Economic Caste Census would be the best way to rationalize reservation based on data and make a strong case for breaching this gap.
    • Earlier governments argued that counting caste will perpetuate it.

    Conclusion

    • Favoring one caste becomes a disfavor for others. This is an undeniable fact of Indian society.
    • It seems that the caste census will happen unless something extraordinary happens in our polity.
    • There are also important questions of demands coming up because of mismatches between the numbers that we come out with and the share in resources that different communities have.
    • This is a kind of nightmare that all governments fear. So, they would much rather leave things vague.
    • The Backward Classes are more than 50% of the population. And this dispensation knows that it cannot afford to lose the support of the Backward Classes.

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  • Arunachal Pradesh ST List

    The Parliament has passed a bill that seeks to amend the nomenclature of certain tribes from Arunachal Pradesh mentioned in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.

    What does the Bill amend?

    • The Bill seeks to modify Part-XVIII of the Schedule to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.
    • Part-XVIII lists 16 tribes of Arunachal, in order: Abor, Aka, Apatani, Nyishi, Galong, Khampti, Khowa, Mishmi [Idu, Taroon], Momba, Any Naga tribes, Sherdukpen, Singpho, Hrusso, Tagin, Khamba, and Adi.
    • The Bill corrects the names of tribes spelled incorrectly and adds names of a few tribes that were either named ambiguously or had their parent group named only.

    Why is it significant?

    • Self-identification: It is an essence for much-needed respect for small indigenous communities in the Northeast.
    • Indigenous nomenclature of tribes: This has been a long-standing demand in Arunachal Pradesh for two reasons: for the recognition of individual identity and to do away with the ambiguity as a result of errors in their names.
    • Identity assertion: For long, communities — whether civil society members or student leaders — have demanded that they must be known by their respective names.

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  • Quality of Life for Elderly Index

    Quality of Life for Elderly Index was released by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).

    Quality of Life for Elderly Index

    The Index has been created by the Institute for Competitiveness at the request of EAC-PM and it sheds light on an issue often not mentioned- problems faced by the elderly.

    • The report identifies the regional patterns of ageing across the Indian States and assesses the overall ageing situation in India.
    • The report presents a deeper insight into how well India is doing to support the well-being of its ageing population.
    • The Index framework includes four pillars:
    1. Financial Well-being
    2. Social Well-being
    3. Health System and
    4. Income Security
    • It has eight sub-pillars: Economic Empowerment, Educational Attainment & Employment, Social Status, Physical Security, Basic Health, Psychological Wellbeing, Social Security and Enabling Environment.

    Features of the index

    • This index broadens the way we understand the needs and opportunities of the elderly population in India.
    • It goes far beyond the adequacy of pensions and other forms of income support, which, though critical, often narrows policy thinking and debate about the needs of this age group.
    • The index highlights that the best way to improve the lives of the current and future generations of older people is by investing in health, education and employment for young people today.

    Why need such an index?

    • India is often portrayed as a young society, with a consequent demographic dividend.
    • But, as with every country that goes through a fast process of demographic transition, India also has greying cum aging problem.
    • Without a proper diagnostic tool to understand the implications of its ageing population, planning for the elderly can become a challenge for policymakers.

    Key Highlights from the Report:

    • The Health System pillar observes the highest national average, 66.97 at an all-India level, followed by 62.34 in Social Well-being.
    • Financial Well-being observes a score of 44.7, which is lowered by the low performance of 21 States across the Education Attainment & Employment pillar, which showcases scope for improvement
    • States have performed particularly worse in the Income Security pillar because over half of the States have a score below the national average, i.e., 33.03 in Income Security, which is the lowest across all pillars.

    Performance of the states

    • Among all the states, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh are top-scoring regions in the aged states and relatively aged states categories.
    • Rajasthan has a score of 54.61 in the aged states category while Himachal Pradesh has a score of 61.04 in relatively aged states.
    • Mizoram has a score of 59.79 among northeastern states while Chandigarh scored 63.78 among the Union Territories.
    • Jammu and Kashmir scored the lowest 46.16 among Union Territories.
    • Arunachal Pradesh, among the northeastern states, scored the lowest score with 46.16.
    • In the aged states and relatively aged states categories, Telangana and Gujarat scored the lowest with 38.19 and 49.00, respectively.

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  • [pib] PM-DAKSH Scheme

    Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment has launched the ‘PM-DAKSH’ Portal and ‘PM-DAKSH’ Mobile App.

    About PM-DAKSH Scheme

    • The PM-DAKSH stands for Pradhan Mantri Dakshta Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi (PM-DAKSH) Yojana.
    • It is being implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment from the year 2020-21.
    • Under this scheme, eligible target group are being provided skill development training programmes on (i) Up-skilling/Re-skilling (ii) Short Term Training Programme (iii) Long Term Training Programme and (iv) Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP).
    • These training programs are being implemented through Government Training Institutes, Sector Skill Councils constituted by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and other credible institutions.

    PM-DAKSH Portal/App

    • Any person can get all the information related to skill development training at one place by visiting the ‘PM-DAKSH’ Portal.
    • Also, with just one click, one can get information about skill development trainings happening near him/her and he/she can easily register himself/herself for skill training.

    Some of the features of this portal are as follows:

    • Availability of all information related to skill development at one place for Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and Safai Karamcharis.
    • Facility to register for the training institute and program of their interest.
    • Facility to upload desired documents related to personal information.
    • Facility to register the attendance of the trainees through face and eye scanning during the training period.
    • Monitoring facility through photo and video clip during training etc.

  • [pib] Definition of Minority

    The Ministry of Minority Affairs has provided some useful information about various initiatives for minorities.

    A very interesting fact found in the article is that Minorities are identified by the States and not the Centre!

    Defining a minority community

    • The Central has notified minority communities at the national level in consultation with various stakeholders under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), Act,
    • The six communities notified as minority communities under Section 2(c) of the NCM Act, 1992 are Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists, Parsis, and Jains.
    • Notification of any community-specific to a State as a minority community within a State comes under the purview of the State
    • Article 29 and 30 of the Constitution provide for the protection of interest of minorities which includes linguistic minorities also.

    Who are linguistic minorities?

    • Linguistic Minorities are group or collectivities of individuals residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language or script of their own.
    • The language of the minority group need not be one of the twenty-two languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
    • In other words, linguistic minorities at the State level mean any group or groups of people whose mother tongues are different from the principal language of the State, and at the district and taluka/tehsil levels, different from the principal language of the district or taluka/tehsil concerned.
    • The linguistic minorities are therefore identified by the respective States/UTs.
    • The State/UT wise, broad linguistic profile is available in the 52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities(CLM).

    National Commission for Minorities

    • The Government has already enacted the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992 to constitute a National Commission for Minorities.
    • The NCM receives petitions/grievances from the aggrieved persons and the said petitions/grievances being received by Commission.
    • They are dealt with by calling for reports from the concerned authorities under the Union and State Governments.
    • On receipt of the reports, the Commission makes appropriate recommendations to the respective authorities for redressal of the grievances.

  • India’s technical education: Issues and Suggestions

    Context

    This year, AICTE approved the closure of 63 engineering colleges across the country.

    Deterioration of quality

    • Tweaking with curriculum: Private entrepreneurs took the lead to meet the growing demand of the country in technical education in the mid-Eighties, but with little idea of the subject.
    • Subjects like materials, applied physics and thermodynamics which forms the building blocks of engineering became dispensable.
    • Because they were both tough to teach for the teachers and tough to pass for the students.
    • Expansion: This softening of subjects coupled with unfettered expansion in the early and mid-2000s, resulted in real dilution of the overall standards in the country.
    • Lack of adequate number of teachers, lack of quality in those available, inability of the management to make adequate investments in a dynamic environment, lack of employment opportunities, shelf life of skills coming down with every technology-related intervention and a constant experimentation with curriculum have all been the bane of quality in technical education.

    Issues

    • Engineering education suffers from regulatory gaps, poor infrastructure, lack of qualified faculty and the non-existent industry linkage that contributed to the abysmal employability of graduates from most of these institutes.
    • No linkage with Industry: Not a single industry body, be it CII, FICCI or ASSOCHAM has managed to effectively inform the education planners on the growth in different employment sectors.
    • No independent body to suggest AICTEC: The government also has not taken any tangible steps to set up an independent body to advise AICTE on this vital aspect.
    • Excessive changes: A constant fiddling with the curriculum, reducing total credits, giving multiple choices in the name of flexibility, dispensing with mathematics and physics at the qualification level, teaching in local languages may all be good arguments, but one must assess their utility and their effect on technical education in the long run.

    Way forward

    • Proactive: Rather than being reactive, institutions must proactively define the practicing elements of education.
    • Investment in teaching: The corrective measures for these shortfalls are technology intensive, are experiential, and need investments in teaching.
    • Quality assurance body: The ultimate measure of performance is embedded in quality assurance.
    • The need of the hour is to create a truly autonomous quality assurance body at an arms-length from the government, manned by eminent persons both from the industry as well as academia.

    Conclusion

    The education paradigm is staring at a large shift and technical education cannot remain immune to that change.