Whispers Forum

Consistently increasing fuel prices have pushed inflation up in the country in the past few months. This is having a detrimental effect on financially strained households to the extent that they were cutting back expenditures on essentials such as health and groceries in order to pay for fuel. It is an indirect tax on a commodity consumed by both the rich and the poor, so the relative burden on the poor is more because the tax is not calculated based on the income of the buyer; it's a regressive tax. It is also leading to an inflationary impact by feeding to the cost of everything from food to steel, cement and fertilisers through increased cost of logistics for transportation again, in a way, a kind of additional tax on everybody.
Pramod Bhatt

I fully agree with A K Saxena. Caste base census will further divide the country . Hope better sense prevails on Leaders and this is avoided.
S Gopal
Census on caste basis would result in more division
I fully agree with views expressed by A K Saxena and Srinivasan regarding census on caste basis, this would result in more division of the society in India, as it is miserably failed the reservation policy has created a divide & created a class within the class, the very purpose has since been defeated, infinite.
Harish Kumar

Caste Based Census - the heading and the comments by A K Saxena are very timely and apt. These thoughts are in the mind of every right thinking Indian. For one, we want to bring about a casteless society and try to merge all as human beings at the end of several decades if not a decade or two more. Against this objective, to have an OBC census, and on the top of it all, to give freedom to the states to declare OBC categorization by themselves smacks of political suicide or short term vision. If an OBC of one state becomes a non-OBC of the neighbouring state, what happens? Also how many castes are we going to have? Will they not pull and tear at each other's hair and throats? Will this not mean an end to harmony in society? One thought that in the second term of the Government, statesmanship will dominate and the country will be integrated into a strong force. Alas, it is happening in the reverse gear. We, right thinking Indians, should have sleepless nights hereafter.
S Srinivasan

A delegation of politicians from Bihar called on PM Modi August 23, to impress upon him the ‘ significance ’ of holding ‘ Caste-based ’ census in the country.
The motive was political: To widen voters’ base as an electoral tool to score brownie points for elections. The suggestion was not based on high moral ground. A misplaced perception.
In a democracy, the man is considered rational. And, if, the individual allows his/her irrationality to guide his political attitude ,he/she is supposed to be negating the basic premise of political life. Impact : Democracy becomes the casualty in the long run. This would be the implication of the course of action mooted by the Bihar delegation. PM Modi, as a seasoned politician and Vishwa Guru, is aware of potential repercussions of the move .
Recall the caste-based census of 2011. Caste details were collected by the enumerators. But, the agency to authenticate the same ,was not identified. Findings were disastrous and have not been put in public domain, till date. The committee formed to suggest steps to remove roadblocks, was stillborn.
It will be unjust and unfair to put the entire blame on Bihar’s casteist politicians. The demand for caste-based census, was triggered by the 127th Constitutional Amendment Bill unanimously passed by both the Houses of Parliament, allowing States and union territories to prepare and maintain their own list of OBCs, that sought to undo Supreme court’s verdict.
The move is bound to cause unintended consequences across the country. Any electorally significant group could now claim to be an OBC. The law has the potential to cause socio-political upheaval in the country as a large number of sub-castes would push for quotas, exceeding the 50% limit.
But, the moot point is: How to identify the various variants of a dominant group? Different groups carry different names in different states and Union Territories. Worse, which agency/authority will authenticate different OBC variants that will push for inclusion of their castes under the umbrella of OBCs. The situation remains the same, till date. It will be second exercise in futility.
All things considered, the latest demand for caste-based census, will further fragmantise and mandalise our already caste-ridden society.
Democracy will get reduced to hypocrisy. The country should be prepared to face Mandal-II.
A K Saxena (A former civil servant)

To bring about transparency and show how quick the working of the PMO is, it would be proper to partially open the e-office of the PM. After the files are cleared, the dates of receipt and disposal of files at the PMO should be disclosed. This would put pressure on the other departments of the government to act quickly and lead to efficiency in work. It is very easy to implement in the e-office. Would the PMO be willing to take the lead? Or, as it is claimed in the corridors of power, the PMO is the hub of slow activity with files taking months to clear.
Sumita Kashyap

The appellant submitted that the photocopy of his answer sheet of MSc were provided after delay which showed that two of his attempted answers were left unchecked by the invigilator. His request for revaluation was denied. The PIO informed that there is no provision for revaluation in the Byelaws/ rules of the University, and that only re-totaling provision is permitted. The CIC empathized with the concern of the Appellant and advised him to pursue the matter through the administrative mechanism for redressal of his grievance. The CIC noted the absence of a provision for revaluation of answer scripts in the rules/ regulations of the Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Gharwal University. The CIC observed that it is the dire need of the educational Institutions/Universities to protect the interest of intended aspirants. Holding that it will be in the best interest of HNBGU to explore the viability of introducing provisions of revaluation facility in the rules/regulations, the CIC directed the PIO to place a copy of the order to the Vice Chancellor, HNBGU to look into the issue in the larger public interest.
Comments
The RTI Act provides for only obtaining information. By issue of an advisory in larger public interest, the CIC has taken an initiative which may change the course of working of many universities like HNBGU.
Citation: Ankit Kumar v. Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Gharwal University in File No : CIC/HNBGU/A/2019/160876, Date of Decision : 06/07/2021
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is an expert on RTI matters and has co-authored the books RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Apart from her weekly article here, her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: www.rtifoundationofindia.com

This case is indicative of
1. How the government agencies at the senior most level (such as the President's secretariat) do not wish to part with simple information even if it is innocuous.
2. Information which ought to be brought to the public domain suo-motu has to be asked for. This information should have been in public domain after the decision is complete and over.
3. How the Information Commission has been made ineffective and incapable to doing what they are supposed to do. Unfortunately, the career bureaucrats are willing to crawl when asked to bend. They have lost the moral courage to issue orders as per law.
Sukumar Upadhyay

In Government service at least one thing was known and that was the "date of retirement". But I think this rule applied to only below Secretary-level posts who have to retire on the due date of their retirement. Others are getting extension and extension - be it Cabinet Secretary/ Home Secretary/ DGPs/ some selected Secretaries/ Officers in the PMO, etc. I had thought that this practice of previous Governments will not be continued by the BJP Government. But alas! For the BJP Government it perhaps means that other junior level officers due for promotion as Secretary etc are not competent. But on the other hand those due for promotion as Secretary are losing this opportunity of getting the highest bureaucratic position. My suggestion to the Government is that there should be no extension in service beyond the date of superannuation in Central as well as State Governments. And there should not be any exception to this rule.
Pradeep Kumar
Balmer Lawrie should continue
Balmer Lawrie should remain in service to the nation.
Subir Seal

India is a vibrant Democracy which implies that the will of the majority should prevail. The Government in this case represents the will of majority and not the opposition. As long as the house is conducted in accordance with the rules of conduct of business which the Speaker decides , there is no justification for the unruly behaviour of the opposition. The opposition does not respect the will of the majority.
Bharat Bhushan Pande
Partition Horrors Remembrance day – a futile idea
Prime Minister gave a call the other day from the ramparts of Red Fort to make 14th August as Partition Horrors Remembrance day. I wonder whether it is a good idea to remember those horrors. As a five year old child, I remember the horrors of those days. What my grandparents and other relatives went through. How my father,( who was with the Railways ) after opting for India was transferred from Gujarkhan near Rawalpindi to a very small station near Bhatinda where except for us there were only three families of support staff 1 Lever man, waterman and a signal man to light the lamps at the signals. The nearest village was two miles away. A group of Nihangs with spears came and ordered my father, the station manager to stop a train carrying refugees to the other side (Muslims naturally. Their intention was obvious.) My father refused as the train was supposed to run through. The train passed through and the Nihags were livid with anger. They threatened to kill us that night. My father just rushed one of the staff to the village to get some help. The villagers led by one landlord came with two bullock carts and took us and the rest of the staff and their families. How for days and months we suffered losing my kid brother also due to illness till my father got a new posting at a better and safer place. My maternal grandmother almost went insane after coming over to this part of partition after losing her land and house in a village near Sargodha named after my late maternal grandfather. The generation born in Pakistan is either dead or very old. Why remind them of those horrors?
Aarti Khosla