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Quota in promotions
The nation needs to be integrated
by Kuldip Nayar
A
dalit (untouchable) was killed. His house was destroyed and his family, including a 10-year-old, was thrown out. The upper caste members did not like his audacity to hoist the national flag on the Independence Day at a disputed property which they had appropriated forcibly.The discrimination is the bane of India where the caste-prejudiced Hindus constitute 80 per cent of the population. The story of this dalit came to light because one TV channel highlighted it. Otherwise, thousands of dalits undergo similar rigours every day. They face the arrogance and "zulum" of upper castes. And there is no light at the end of the tunnel. More than sixty years ago, the Constitution banned untouchability. The freedom struggle had promised to break the shackles of the caste system after Independence. The first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, even deleted the column of caste from applications, registers and forms for admissions to schools and entrance examinations. Yet caste considerations have not lessened. Mahatma Gandhi, father of the nation, named the dalit, Harijan (son of God). But the dalits found the nomenclature too patronising and preferred to be called dalits. A social evil or whatever the explanation, the feeling of discrimination in the Hindu society has not abated. Even today a dalit bridegroom cannot ride a horse while taking the barat (wedding procession) to the bride's place. Roads at many places are closed to the dalits. As for their habitation, they continue to live in slums in the urban areas and on outskirts of villages in the rural areas. Some who claim to speak on behalf of the Hindus seldom endeavour to eliminate the discrimination against the dalits who are also Hindus. I have not seen the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) criticising the caste system, although the party is all for the Hindu Rashtriya (state). The party's attention is focused on politics, not on social reforms. Its problem may well be the dictation by RSS, a group of Brahmins, the uppermost caste. Unfortunately, the caste has penetrated the thinking of Muslims and Christians. The religion of both communities forbids discrimination. They preach equality. But when it comes to practice, they are not different from Hindus. Both of them treat with contempt the dalits, some of whom embrace Islam or Christianity to escape the caste hatred of Hindus. However, there is a case for concessions to such dalits which former UP Chief Minister Mayawati, a dalit, has suggested. But her fault is that she has gone beyond. She wants a quota in promotions of public servants. The demand has justifiably raised an uproar in the country. I think that whatever reservations, they should be given at the time of recruitment. Any reservation during the career would affect the morale of other caste civil servants, who have come through a tough competitive examination. The dalits wanting to join civil services also take the examination but the reservations give them an edge. The two main political parties, the Congress and the BJP, are supporting Mayawati's amendment because they have their eyes set on votes in the 2014 elections. The quantum of reservations has gone up because the quota has been extended to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). They too want reservation in promotions. Many others are also want reservations. This is not possible because of a Supreme Court judgment. It has fixed 49.5 per cent as the maximum limit for reservations. Even if Mayawati's amendment is passed by Parliament, the court may consider it unconstitutional. A Constitution amendment to introduce reservations in promotions is sought to be passed in the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha has already passed it despite opposition by Mulayam Singh's Samajwadi Party from the OBCs. It appears that the political parties in the opposition had their way when the ruling Congress party, after putting up a brave fight against the quota in promotions, caved in. True, the Congress did not have a majority in the Lok Sabha. But it could have mustered the numbers if it had stood firm. The reservations have been spelled out in the Constitution for the dalits and the tribal people. But as the Supreme Court has pointed out the benefits have been cornered by the creamy layer among the dalits. So is in the case of the OBCs. The dalits and the OBC members should allow the advantage from reservations to go below. The problem is that the leaders, vocal as they are, manipulate to appropriate maximum concessions. My knowledge of law, however limited, tells me that the column of caste in the form that the census enumerators ask violates the basic structure of the Constitution. They inquire about caste. On the basis of such information economic benefits are distributed. This makes a mockery of the Constitution. Its Preamble says that the people resolve to constitute India into a "Sovereign Socialist Democratic Republic." Democracy and discrimination do not go together. My objection is also on another point. In the Keshvanand Bharti case the Supreme Court has said that the objectives in the Preamble constitute the basic structure of the Constitution. It means that Parliament, although elected directly by the people, cannot alter the basic structure. Surprisingly, the government does not realise the effect the introduction of quota in promotions will have on the bureaucracy, the sheet anchor of the administration. Divide and rule was the dictum of the British who held India in bondage for 150 years. The nation needs to be integrated however strong are the forces to stratify it. The introduction of quota in services is an important policy decision. The government should have called a meeting of the National Integration Council, which is meant to discuss such problems. Caste is something that affects the nation on the whole. The country cannot be pushed back to the dark ages. Affirmative action which America follows to give benefits to the blacks is far better than the reservations which have no expiry date. But that is a different story, although Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, a dalit, who outlined the Constitution, agreed unwillingly to reservations for 10 years
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A teacher’s worth
by Navjit Singh Johal
The most memorable Teachers' Day came in my life when, as a lecturer in India, I was refreshing myself as a student in America. It happened in 1993 when I got the Fulbright scholarship to study mass communication in an American university school. Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communication was not just top ranking, some of its teachers were known all over the world. One such teacher was George Comstock, an elderly Professor gifted with charismatic communication skills. Right from day one, I liked the Professor because he was a fountainhead of knowledge. He was very punctual, witty, articulate and easy to understand. He handled his three-hour long classes so well that everybody felt enriched from his refreshing insights. On September 5 that year, the first thing that came to my mind in the morning was the celebration of the Teachers' Day in India. I remembered and saluted some of my teachers and left for George Comstock's class. George was madly in love with horse racing and the previous night he had lost a lot of money in one of such races. While lecturing, he went off track and started talking about horses and the excitement that he was getting from horse-racing events. He also talked about the business of horse racing and the role of the media in promoting this business-cum-sports. After finishing the first half of his lecture in about one and a half hours, as usual George left the class and went to his nearby room for a five-minute coffee break. Surprisingly, the American students didn't rush to the corridor for a cold drink on that day; rather they were talking to each other with very serious facial expressions and jammed body movements. Before George could arrive, David, one of my serious-looking classmates, requested us to stay put to discuss something serious at the end of the class. In the second half George taught the subject that he was supposed to teach on that day. After the class, David stood up again and said, "Look guys! the Professor has not only wasted time, but he has also wasted our money. We are 35 in the class and each one of us pays approximately 40 dollars for a class of three hours. Therefore, by talking about horses for one and a half hours, he has wasted 700 American dollars," he exclaimed with a lot of stress on the word, "American." "We must sign a petition against the Professor and submit it to the Dean," he added. I was stunned to find that almost everyone was in agreement with the arguments of David. To calculate the contribution of a teacher in dollars was unthinkable for me, but I did not have the courage to counter the arguments given by David. Suddenly, when I realised that it was September 5 and the Teachers' Day in India, I got up to say, "Friends, I have been a teacher in India for the last ten years and today is the Teachers' Day in my country. To me, a teacher's words can't be measured and calculated in any currency. Professor George might be wrong but he had corrected his mistake in the second half. Can't we reconsider our decision?" To my surprise, my few sentences had a magical effect as after a little pause, one of the students said, "At least, we must go to George and make him realise what he has done to us today." "Not today, for my sake, please," as I uttered these soft but stressful words, the class dispersed. The next day I found that no complaint was lodged against Professor George in any of the
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While the judiciary is trying to bring about changes at the macro level to prosecute culprits in rape cases, victims are facing social ostracism at the village level — even schools shut doors on them
Rape victims — from anonymity to non-entity
Vandana Shukla
A rape victim shares her woes with the media at Hisar,
Haryana |
In the early 60s when contraceptives were introduced the world over, it was believed they will release women from the burden of biology — of the cyclical reproduction. In all developing societies, contraceptives improved women's participation in the mainstream economic activity. Their financial assets, body mass index, and their children's schooling and health improved. By and large all societies welcomed women’s empowerment because it raised the family's standard of living. The rising graph of crimes against women in India, seems to undo it all. Women are dragged back to be a mere biological entity by rapists and molesters, who are not always the goons prowling around the dark, unsafe alleys and lanes for their prey, they also happen to be the ones who are supposed to offer a sense of security and support social growth of women — the policemen, teachers, neighbours, colleagues and even family members. Thanks to these crimes, and the audacious ability of the culprits to evade punishment, the entire focus of women's issues is now limited to their safety, instead of their economic empowerment and better education and health care. Though, social research is not a strong point of the Indian academics, it would be interesting to know what happened to the index of women's development while the crime graph against them has been growing phenomenally? Are more women joining the work force, what has happened to the school drop out rate of young girls, are other parameters of their growth affected by these crimes? Both yes and no would offer interesting insights.
Protesting women at Jind, Haryana, after a Dalit girl’s alleged rape and murder in August. |
Propagating victimhood The underlying fact working behind the assault on the body of a woman is, an assault on the entire trajectory of women’s emancipation. Girls have been outshining boys in almost all school results. In metros and cities, when good- for- nothing young men watch empowered women walk past them in the fast lane of life with their enviable social position, the sexual assault becomes a way of avenging their own failure. These men had been made to believe by fading patriarchy that the jobs and positions, now usurped by women, were their birth right. By molesting or raping women, they are righting a wrong, teaching them a lesson for usurping what was theirs —in their belief. Therefore, the repercussion of a rape or molestation does not end at the so-called justice. Culprits are sent behind bars, if at all, the social trials of the victim begin with the reporting of the case. Not much has changed on this front, despite several reforms in the legal structure. Ruchika Girhotra was not alone. Lives of scores of girls are interrupted in more than one ways. The crime results in exactly what the rapists and molesters would want; sending women back to their safety zone, not venturing out into domains underlined by men as their rightful asset. We have no data on the number of girls withdrawn from school or work after molestation or rape, in the absence of a well-coordinated rehabilitation plan between schools, hospitals and police stations. The mind-numbing numbers of rape cases still pending in the courts have put an unimaginable number of victims’lives in jeopardy. No one has a clue about what happens to the education of the young victims after the crime is reported. The social reality being what it is, which treats a victim of rape as a social outcast. Need social reform Young victims find themselves moving from well-meaning anonymity to be turned into nonentities at the behest of social ostracism. Schools shut doors on them, calling them bad influence for other children. How do they pursue their journey to empowerment, if their education is stopped midway? Even in the absence of an official data, a few cases from Haryana offer a trend, which is, to say the least, is alarming. In May this year, a 9th grade girl was raped by her teacher in Farain Kalan village of Jind district. The horror and humiliation of the rape apart, even though the law took its course — the accused teacher Rajinder Singh was terminated from service and was sent to jail on a charge of rape. But, the girl has not been able to resume her studies. An NGO involved in the case has been made to run between offices of the police, administration and the department of women and child development, but none is able to help the girl resume her education. As a result of humiliation of rape, the girl's younger sister too has been withdrawn from school, a 4th grade student. The minor's mother is a widow, and though the villagers had locked up the school demanding removal of the accused teacher, the same villagers are not forthcoming for thr rehabilitation of the girl. More laws, less justice More than the laws what the victims of rape need is; social empathy and acceptance. Even after the law has punished the guilty, the rape victim is continued to be treated as a culprit. This results in inadvertently justifying the rapist's motive — who succeeds in demoralising a young woman from her pursuit of empowerment. In Nilokheri tehsil, a 16-year-old school going Dalit girl was gang-raped on August 6, 2012, her mother was murdered for lodging an FIR against the accused. In Haryana, it is common to see that the victim of rape is ostracised socially and forced to either leave the village or strike a compromise with the accused who are protected by the khap panchayats and the police, since both are controlled by the high castes. In cases after cases, even families of the victim get divided, close relatives pressurise the victim to respect the diktat and the might of the khaps. The victimised girl now wishes to pursue her education, but her village school has shunned her on strong caste lines. Journeys cut short A mere 13-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by a 60-year-old fruit vendor in Khai village of Fatehabad district for over four months, the girl and her two younger sisters were expelled from the government school hours after the rapist was arrested in Oct, 2012. The plea given by the school administration was; the girls will be subjected to taunts from other students. Before the culprit was arrested, the sarpanch of the village offered Rs 35,000 to the victim's father to hush up the case. It reflects the mind- set of people who are controlling different segments of society, and are supposed to play a supportive role for women's empowerment. Social ostracism is a carry forward — from mother to children. In June 20, 2008, when a 34-yerar-old woman was gangraped in Samalkha village of Panipat, the family did not know how far the repercussions would reach. The couple, tired of the apathy of the system that refused to catch the culprits, threatened to commit suicide in front of the office of the then Rohtak Inspector General of Police, and did so. The victim died, but her husband survived, who was put behind bars under the law for murdering the victim. While the nightmares of the family do not seem to end, of the five accused, only one was arrested, the trial is still pending in a court in Panipat. The worst victims of this legal and social apathy are the children of the victim, whose only dream is to somehow go to a school, as they used to before their mother was raped. They are aged 12 and 11. For whose benefit the law If you recall the Bhanwri Devi gangrape case, 1992, which led to major amendments in the laws dealing with protection of women against sexual harassment at work place known as Vishakaha judgement, Bhanwari was a saathin, a grassroot worker employed by Women's Development Project. As an empowered saathin, Bhanwri, a dalit, resisted a child marriage organised by a Gujjar family. She was gangraped, the rape case became a gujjar versus kumhar caste battle at all levels of justice delivery system in Rajasthan. Her medical examination was conducted 52 hours after the rape, two years later the trial began in a lower court, five judges were inexplicably changed, the sixth found the accused not guilty in 1995. At the police station, Bhanwari was asked to deposit her lehanga (long skirt) as evidence. She had to cover herself with her husband's blood-stained saafa (turban) and walk 3 km. to the nearest saathin's village, at about 1 am in the morning. Bhanwri was alienated, despite amendments in the law, her honour was not restored. Her humiliation was a lesson for other women's pursuit of emancipation. That was in 1992. In the Nilokheri tehsil case mentioned above, the police had asked the minor Dalit girl, the victim, to wash her clothes which resulted in loss of evidence. This was 2012, after several legal amendments. In the Panipat woman gangrape case, the police was found guilty of keeping the suicide note and dumping the forensic examination report in the police station's malkhana ( store) for over two years. They did not put the suicide note in the trial of her husband, which led to his imprisonment and loss of the trial for rape of his wife. Almost everyday a major court verdict brings a case of sexual crime against women into limelight. At the macro level, changes are taking place. Their implementation requires a lot of groundwork at the local police thana level, where the cases are registered and charges framed. Here, at this level, not the law but all other social factors come into play — from caste hierarchy to political positioning of the caste to patriarchal values. Here, a woman being raped is seen as a man's, or, his caste's authority being challenged. The woman is inconsequential in this parlance. Hence, her rehabilitation too is of little consequence. And her empowerment is best forgotten.
Justice in a vacuum
- In 24 High Courts, posts of 275 judges are vacant
- ALLAHABAD HC : Rape cases pending — 8,200 ; vacancies of judges — 68
- MP HC : Rape cases pending — 3,800 ; vacancies of judges — 10
- PUNJAB & HARYANA HC : Rape cases pending — 2,700 ; vacancies of judges — 21
- CHHATTISGARH HC : Rape cases pending — 1,500 ; vacancies of judges — 8
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