Post Sachar Reservation Politics

REASON FOR BEING IN NEWS

Growing demand to create 4.5% sub-quota for Muslims under backward classes. On 5th March, 2013, Jaimat Ulama-i-Hind held march to press for reservations for the Muslim community.

INTRODUCTION                                                     

Reservation is always seen as a tool to reduce social inequality amongst various religious Indian communities. A 27% quota for OBC encompasses such a large amount of population that there is an increasing demand for a special sub-quota for different communities.Though a welcome measure, it is still plagued with politicization

SACHAR COMMITTEE REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

Sachar Reservation Politics committee report is prominently identified for diagnosing the problem of Muslims. It had submitted its final report on November 16,2006.

Main Recommendations:

• Recognize degrees from madarasas for eligibility in defence, civil and banking examinations.
• Increase employment share of Muslims, particularly where there is great deal of public dealing. Work out mechanisms to link madarsas with higher secondary school board.
• Establish a delimitation procedure that does not reserve constituencies with high minority population for SCs.
• Create a nomination procedure to increase participation of minorities in public bodies.
• Set up an Equal Opportunity Commission to look into grievances of deprived groups like minorities.

It gave its recommendations at two levels: 1. General Level 2. Specific policy measures.

General Level Policy Measures:

1. Need for transparency, Accountability
2. Ensure equal Opportunities, End Discrimination
3. Enhance Muslim Participation in Governance
4. Give Incentives for Diversity
5. Facilitate Creation of Common Public Spaces
6. Sensitize government servants

Specific Policy Measures:

1. Give education top priority
2. Initiatives for Higher Education
3. Provide hostels/boarding houses, especially for girls
4. Teacher training programme
5. Support Urdu language 6. Link Madarsas to Mainstream Education
7. Ensure More Access to Credit and Government Schemes

RANGANATH MISHRA COMMISSION

It is mainly known for recommending measures for improving socioeconomic conditions of minorities. Had constituted on October 29,2004 by the Government of India.

Main Recommendations:

1. Educational:

• Selected institutions in the country like the Aligarh Muslim University and the Jamia Millia Islamia should be legally given a special responsibility to promote education at all levels to Muslim students by taking all possible steps for this purpose.
• The Madrassa Modernisation Scheme of the government should be suitably revised, strengthened and provided with more funds so that it can provide finances and necessary paraphernalia.

2. For Linguistic Minorities:

• The law relating to the linguistic minorities commissioner should be amended so as to make this office responsible for ensuring full implementation of all the relevant constitutional provisions for the benefit of each such minority in all the states and union territories.
• The three-language formula should be implemented everywhere in the country , making it compulsory for the authorities to include in it the mother tongue of every child – including, especially , Urdu and Punjabi – and all necessary facilities, financial and logistic, should be provided by the state for education in accordance with this dispensation.

3. Economic Measures

• As many minority groups specialise in certain household and small-scale industries, an effective mechanism should be adopted to work for the development and modernisation of all such industries
• Special schemes should be formulated for the promotion and development of agriculture, agronomy and agricultural trade among them.

BURNING POINTS OF THIS ISSUE

• Muslim is the largest community amongst minorities.
• But comparatively it is socially and economically backward with respect to forward minority communities like Christians and Sikhs.
• In 2011, government cabinet approved in a hurry the 4.5% subquota for minorities within existing reservation of 27% for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
• Many Muslim communities feel the sub-quota to be inadequate considering the poor condition of Muslims.
• With 4.5% reservations Muslims will now have to compete with forward minority communities like Christians and Sikhs.
• Courts in its decision has discarded cabinet decision of introducing 4.5% sub-quota stating that it is not based on empirical data.

KEY ISSUE

• No guidelines have been given out by government that to who will constitute this 4.5 % sub-quota amongst Muslims ?
• Muslims have a lot stratification in terms of class income.
• So there is a possibility of taking benefits of this sub-quota by the upper echelon of Muslim community particularly the Asharaf castes.
• Government engaging in piecemeal process of democratization (i.e. giving a peace to a particular community when it protests).
• According to Ministry of Minority Affairs (MMA), the central allocation of 0.79% of total budget is insignificant.
• Muslim OBCs are neither getting a sub-quota within the 27% OBCs reservation, nor are the schemes meant for poor Muslims (including Ashrafs) being implemented properly.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE ?

• Government must stop being ambiguous and implement Sachar Committee report in totality.
• Separate sub-quota for Muslim OBC’s should be made.
• Declare Presidential Order (1950) null and void and bring dalit Muslims into the scheduled castes category.

Cable TV Digitalization

Cable TV digitalization is the process where cable TV users have to install a Set-top box in their house for watching cable TV from now onwards. In December last year, Parliament enacted a Bill to make digitization of cable television compulsory in India.                                

PHASES OF DIGITALIZATION IMPLEMENTATION

•  Encompasses 4 metro cities of India. Digitized by December, 2012.
•  encompasses 38 cities of India having population more than 1 million. Completed by April 1, 2013.
•  Digitize cities except covered in phase I and phase II by September, 2013.
•  Encompasses whole India. Will be covered by December 2013.

WHAT IS A SET-TOP BOX ?

It’s a device which enables TV to deliver digital signals.

WHAT IS MULTIPLE SYSTEM OPERATOR ?

A multiple-system operator or multi-system operator (MSO) is an operator of multiple cable or direct-broadcast satellite television systems.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES TO USERS ?

• Picture quality: Users will get better picture quality than the previous analog based cable TV whose quality used to be very poor after certain number of channels.
• Sound Quality: Users will now not get distorted audio voice or signal. On the contrary they can enjoy HD quality voice.
• Amount Payable: Users now need to pay only for those channels which they view or want to view.
• Options available: Previously analog signals at the most could deliver 60 channels properly. But after digitalization, it will be able to provide channels in the range of 500 to 1050 and more with same nice quality.
• Broadband facility: Users can now avail broadband facility with the same cable TV.

OPTIONS AVAILABLE FOR CABLE TV DIGITALIZTION :

1. Direct to Home service (DTH)
2. Same cable TV operator but which provides set top box to view its cable services.

• DTH service is little costlier than Cable TV+Set top box option. But the quality and the facilitates provided by DTH are far more greater than the later.
• The only problem with DTH is that it will not be able to provide its services in the case of rain or bad weather.

ISSUES INVOLVED IN CABLE TV DIGITALIZATION

• Extra Cost: Users will need to pay more money for set-top box services.
• Protest of Cable TV Operators: Cable TV operators are reluctant towards investing more money in the infrastructure needed to support set-top box services.
• No reporting from Cable TV operators: Cable TV operators are not reporting the exact number of users or consumer information to multi-system operator (MSO) which in turn is providing huge chances for tax evasion.

GOOD NEWS FOR BROADCASTERS

• Carriage Fees: Broadcasters are those who deliver the serials, news, music and other shows on TV. But they first need to broadcast it to cable operators which take advantage of this & ask for more money (as carriage fees). Broadcasters now only need to work on creativity of their TV content & don’t need to worry about carriage fees.
• Revenue generated by them will increase.
• Specialized channels will be able to grow from now onwards as they will get freedom from artificial bandwidth scarcity created by cable operators.

ADVANTAGES TO GOVERNMENT

• Transparency of the whole TV system will increase.
• Revenue generated by the government will increase as exact number of users will be reported to the government using set top box.
• Menace of cable TV operators of earning more revenues (black money of course) from underreporting of the number of users will be stopped).
• Higher profits to broadcasters will ensure job creation in the market & its advancement.

Need For Regulatory Body For Electronic Media

There has been a spurt in complaints about the content being shown on electronic media by a large section of consumers. The rapid growth of revenue-hungry Indian media and recent scandals involving news outlets has prompted growing calls for external regulation, raising concerns about independence of the press. In this context Delhi high court (HC) in the month of April, 2013 recommended the centre to form a regulatory body for electronic media.                                              

High Court's Observations

HC rejected the idea of “self-regulation” mechanism of the broadcasters, adding that absence of state intervention do not guarantee rich media environment. For pluralism and diversity to exist state intervention is necessary at a point.

REASONS OF MEDIA TO OPPOSE

• Many of them are haunted by the fear of “Emergency” in which media was heavily suppressed in the name of national security which they haven’t forgot.
• They consider media as the fourth pillar of democracy & should be independent of other three (i.e. Executive, Legislative and Judiciary).
• They think that such measures are being used to suppress right to expression.

HC ON THESE REACTIONS

• Freedom of expression was not an absolute right so can’t be used against any legislation if enacted against Parliament.
• In world, it is there. The only problem being it is new to India.

VIEW OF SOME EXPERTS

• Not a complete regulatory body is needed but “co-regulation” is definitely needed.
• It will help to set a standard for media content and put some punishments in case of violence.
• Absence of experimentation in the media content which was evident in serial like “Hum Log”. So media has reached a “routinezed” content making and neglecting values.
• Idea of media for Freedom of speech and expression is totally vague considering the question that actually whose freedom they are talking – whether of media, or its owner, or the common man who has empowered them to exercise this freedom.
• Public Service Broadcasting (i.e. doing something for the society through media content) be started and used by electronic media content.
• Media privileges are being used in the same way as “emergency” was used as a tool for some selfish gains.
• Anyone cannot control view or opinions today. Media should come out of its ghost of emergency times. It is a history today. So a special regulatory body should be made.

PREVIOUS ATTEMPT

MP Meenakshi Natrajan tried to introduce the Print and Electronic Media Standards and Regulation Bill, 2012, which would have given the government sweeping powers over the media, including ability to ban or suspend coverage of an event in the interest of national security. The bill would have also created a regulatory body largely appointed by the government. Natarajan's bill has been shelved in response to a media outcry.

USE OF MEDIA FOR SELFISH GAINS

Following are too common in Indian Media:

1. Paid News
2. Pressurizing industrial houses for some “confidential video”
3. Threatening political entity for some investment and political interest
4. Bribery and corruption linking lobbyists to journalist and politicians for “inclusive corruption”.

Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid Concluded Two Day Visit to Sri Lanka

Minister of External Affairs of India Salman Khurshid visited Sri Lanka on 7-8 October 2013.The main issues discussed in the meeting were process for solving the problems of the minority Tamil community, the issue of detention of Indian fishermen etc.                                  

                                     

Highlights of the visit

• Salman Khurshid first day met the President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa and he emphasized the need to restart the dialogue process for solving the problems of the minority Tamil community in the Sri Lanka and for ensuring a meaningful devolution of power within a united Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid Concluded Sri Lanka.

• Salman Khurshid also met the first Tamil Chief Ministe, CV Wigneswaran of Northern Province (is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka) in Jaffna. Both were discussed regarding the 13 amendment.

• CV Wigneswaran thanked India for playing a key role in ensuring that elections were held in the province.

• External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid also met Governor of Northern Province GA Chandrasiri at the Governor’s Secretariat on 08th October 2013. They discussed a number of issues of mutual interest with the underlying objective of developing strategies for the two countries to coordinate more closely towards further strengthening relations. Their discussion also focused on development activities carried out all over the province and the newly elected Provincial Council of Northern Province.

About India and Sri Lanka bilateral Relations

• India is Sri Lanka's closest neighbour. The relationship between the two countries is more than 2500 years old and both sides have built upon a legacy of intellectual, cultural, religious and linguistic intercourse.

• Relations between the two countries have also matured and diversified with the passage of time, encompassing all areas of contemporary relevance.

• In recent years, the relationship has been marked by close contacts at the highest political level, growing trade and investment, cooperation in the fields of development, education, culture and defence, as well as a broad understanding on major issues of international interest.

• India-Sri Lanka relationship is strong and poised for a quantum jump by building on the rich legacy of historical linkages and strong economic and development partnerships that have been forged.

Turkey Lifted A Ban on Women Wearing The Islamic Head Scarf

Turkey on 8 October 2013 lifted a ban on women wearing the Islamic head scarf in state institutions. It is considered as a part of a package of reforms introduced by the government. The new rules, however will not apply to the judiciary or the military.  
               

                                 

The current government package is aimed at bolstering the rights of Turkey's Kurdish community. It included changes to the electoral system, the broadening of language rights and permission for villages to use their original Kurdish names. It also put an end to state primary school children reciting the oath of national allegiance at the start of each week, a deeply nationalistic vow.

The Turkey government in 1925 had introduced a series of clothing reforms meant to discard off overt symbols of religious affiliation for civil servants.

Street Vendors bill : A Bill For 'Teen Ka Ek Ya Paanch Ke Do

The first thing which strikes one’s mind when we think of street vendors is that they are mobile & don’t have fixed position where we can find them again. Comprising mainly poor people, street vendors are subjected to constant harassment by local government bodies. What makes the situation worse is that they are politically unorganized & hence can’t fight back. Therefore, government on 6 September 2013, passed the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2012 in order to protect the rights of the street vendors in urban areas Street Vendors bill .

Facts about bill

1. Town Vending Committee (TVC) ,comprising officials and non-officials (40% of it from vendors) by election (having 1/3rd reservation for women) will be formed which will implement the provisions of the bill.
2. The TVC comprises of the municipal commissioner, representatives of street vendors, local authority, planning authority, local police, resident welfare association and other traders associations.
3. A vendor has to register with TVC, after which he will be issued with a certificate for a particular area for particular period.
4. Decisions relating to street vending activities like deciding natural market, finding vending zones etc. will be looked into by TVC.
5. Any vending area will comprise maximum of 2.5% vendors to total population.
6. TVC will revise its plan every 5 years.
7. This Bill shall not apply to Railways land, premises and trains.

PRESENT SITUATION

• Street vendors are from that class which doesn’t get jobs in formal sector due to low level of education & skill. According to V. V. Giri National Labour Institute, NOIDA, age-wise distribution of household of vendors reveals that the age group below 14 constituted 28.2% and that of 15-60 years constituted 69.7% of population.
• One-third of the vendor household’s fall in the income range of Rs. 3001-5000., 2/3rd in range of 3001- 7000. Total family members are doing vending job as family business.

Analysis : Whether this legislation will help the 

According to National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI), the bill has serious shortfalls which need immediate attention. Following are the flaws they mentioned:-

1. “Concentrated too much power” with local municipal bodies.
2. Local bodies will create schemes for street vendors which won’t have right to go against them if they found it useless.
3. Final authority on issues like identification, registration and licensing of street vendors, identification of natural markets and allocation of space based on the idea of natural markets will be of local authority and not of TVC.
4. Bill shows fewer quanta of resettlement and rehabilitation solutions in case of land acquisition.
5. No clear cut principles laid down on how to issue vending certificates, allocation of vending zones, etc.
6. Bill is not all negative; indeed it has lots of motive provisions which will prevent the day-to-day harassment of street vendors.
7. This bill will provide for the first time vendors a say in their problems & the solutions related to it.

VIEWS OF EXPERTS

• Among a list of amendments NASVI will campaign for, include provisions for
• those on railway premises who have been left out of the scope of the proposed law,
• incorporation of principles of natural markets as central to the determination of vending zones,
• prescription of minimum quantitative norms for a number of street vendors to be accommodated and
• allocation of a minimum percentage of public land for street vending.

IMPACTS

Given the pace of urbanization and the opportunities presented, the growth of street vendors’ population is likely to have an upward trend. Dr. Girija Vyas, Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, said “ It is vital that these vendors are enabled to pursue their livelihoods in a congenial and harassment free atmosphere. Inclusive growth strategy adopted by the 11th and 12th Five Year Plans calls for a facilitating mechanism for street vending to aid economic growth and inclusion simultaneously".

RELATED SUBJECTIVE QUESTIONS

1.  Analyze and Comment - “Street Vendors Bill, 2012 will lead to more inclusive growth”.
2. Enlist and examine the highlights of Street Vendors Bill, 2012 keeping in view the present situation of vendors before the bill.
3. Critically analyze the Town Vending Committee mention in the new Street Vendors Bill, 2012. 

Problems Of Unorganised Sector Workers

Unorganized workers (UW) in India have increased many folds post independence. Around 52% of UW’s are engaged in agriculture & allied sector and more than 90% of the labour work force constitutes these UW. UW contributes 50% to GDP (according to National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector i.e NCEUS). So it is of utmost importance to look into the plight of this poverty-stricken and downtrodden class of India.                                                              

• As per "Ministry of Labour and Employment " definition : Unorganized sector means an enterprise owned by individuals or self-employed workers and engaged in the production or sale of goods or providing service of any kind whatsoever, and where the enterprise employs workers, the number of such workers is less than ten.

• “Unorganized worker” (UW) means a home-based worker, self-employed worker or a wage worker in the unorganized sector and includes a worker in the organized sector who is not covered by any Acts mentioned in Schedule II of the Unorganized Workers Social Act 2008.

• Labour is a subject under concurrent list.
  
  

• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA):Problems Of Unorganised Sector Workers flagship program is not implemented through Labour and Employment Ministry (LEM) but is by Rural Development Ministry. LEM has no say in MNREGA.

CLASSIFICATION OF UNORGANIZED WORKERS (UW) According to statistics of Ministry of Labour (2008), UW is classified into four groups :

•  By Occupation
•  By nature of employment
•  Service Category
•  Special Category 

CHARACTERISTIC OF INFORMAL / UNORGANIZED SECTOR

• Low productivity compared to formal sector
• Lower wages to workers
• Poor working conditions
• Excessive seasonality of employment
• Absence of social security measures
• Negation of social standard
• Poor human capital base (in terms of education, skill and training) as well as lower mobilization status of the work force
• Any effective legal action against it is seen as a step of impairing

CHARACTERISTICS OF UNORGANIZED WORKERS (UW)

• Have limited or no education or other skills.
• Are hugely scattered and don’t have political pressure groups
• Don’t have fixed jobs i.e. have seasonality as compared to formal sector workers.
• Social stratification is more in them in rural areas on the basis of Caste and sub-castes.
• Still today, they act as “bonded labour” in some cases due to low incomes & permanent indebtedness.
• Have insufficient labour laws relating to them.
• Work in very poor working environment.

ISSUES INVOLVED :

• Insufficient labour laws
• No social security
• No guaranteed minimum wages
• Bonded labour (they don’t complain about this because if they do their master may remove them) considering their ignorance)
• Child Labour (they are the most exploited among them
• Working Women – issue of harassment at work place
• Low literacy among them
• Low incomes which they don’t complain about
• Vulnerable to diseases

ASSESSMENT OF UNORGANIZED SECTORS SOCIAL SECURITY ACT (2008) 

Pros

• Envisages creating National Social Security Board which will be chaired by Union Minister for Labour and Employment & Director General (Labour Welfare) as Member-Secretary [both ex-officio].
• Envisages creating State Social Security Board at state level which will be chaired by Minister for Labour and Employment of the concerned state & the Principal Secretary or Secretary (Labour) as Member-secretary [both ex-officio].

Cons

• No separate provision for unorganized workers.
• Only contains available social security schemes in the country.
• No legal binding on the part of government or the one who employs.
• No eligibility criteria, no benefit details, minimum wages etc. have been envisaged in the act.
• Act has a serious lagging on the legislative and intent front. Basically, eyewash which has neither addressed problems nor given solution.

SOCIAL SECURITY

• Social Security can be defined as “the provision of benefits to households and individuals through public or collective arrangements to protect against low or declining standard of living arising from a number of basic risks and needs.

• Some examples of social security measures:

•  Medical care of all sorts
•  Provident Funds/Gratuity
•  Medical Care of all sorts

• Except some medical treatment and age-old pension schemers with meager amount of benefit (around Rs. 100 to 200 per month) there are no special social security measures available for the unorganized workers in the country.
• The organized sector on the other hand enjoys a lot of social security measures which establishes a question that why it can’t be don’t for unorganized workers.
• Social Security legislations for mainly urban and organized workers in the country are as follows:

1. Payment of gratuity Act 1971
2. Workmen compensation Act 1923
3. Maternity benefit Act 1971
4. Employees state insurance Act 1948
5. Employees provident fund and the miscellaneous provisions act 1952

Above mentioned legislations do not mention unorganized workers specifically nor do they prohibit coverage of them. In other words they can’t enjoy any social security measure which is freely open for organized workers.