Whispers Forum

I agree with Anshumali (WIC, Sept 1).The US failed to see through the Talibans gameplan after ruling Afghanistan for two decades. Return of Talibans to power after 20-year proxy rule by the US and its NATO allies, is a collective failure of their foreign policies.
The elected Ashraf Ghani government was kept aloof by the US and its allies while carrying on negotiations with the Talibans. On the contrary, the Ashraf Ghani regime was forced by the US to hold talks with the Taliban for a power-sharing arrangement along with the release of 7,000 Talibani prisoners (read as ferocious fighters) captured in the past. This merely reinforced the nuisance value of the Talibans.
The situation in India’s neighbourhood is explosive, almost changing by the hour, ready to reach the flashpoint anytime. Pakistan seems determined to create mischief to add to India’s discomfiture. The turmoil has not ended. Situation in Jammu & Kashmir, would remain explosive due to infiltration of Pakistan- sponsored terrorists. Peace in India, Pakistan, Iran, Central Asian republics will be adversely impacted leading to a change in geo-political situation in the region.
The USSR, China is waiting to accord recognition to the ‘rogue’ regime that is not democratically elected but took over Afghanistan by force. The USSR and China will be competing with each other in capturing the mineral resources like Lithium, gold, iron, copper, lead, zinc among others.
India is in a catch-22 situation. It cannot and should not trust the Talibans, let alone accord recognition to the new regime, which will be tilted towards Russia, China and Pakistan.
A K Saxena (A former civil servant)

The Afghanistan images in media, the gut-wrenching stories of death, devastation, despair and a distress sense of helplessness evoke an eerie feeling of déjà vu — one has been down this road 20 years ago. The US’ Afghanistan withdrawal is also an unforced foreign policy error of possibly historic proportions that could have been avoided had the US kept a small permanent military presence in the country so long as the Taliban and Al Qaeda remained active. It’s a blunder that will most harshly be felt by the Afghan people and U.S. counterterrorism interests as also several other countries including India.
Anshumali

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