The NEET Drama claims its first victim

Headline- The Tamil Nadu girl who spearheaded the battle against the applicability of NEET for UG Medical admissions in the state commits suicide today. 

Opinion– Thus ended a precious life. A life that could have been anything huge. It has fallen prey to probably the nastiest political games in recent times in Tamil Nadu. The news came as a shocker to me, since I had presumed that the chapter was closed for this academic year at the least.

The NEET conundrum has been going on for a while, with the Honourable Supreme Court ruling that no exemption shall be provided to Tamil Nadu and that the state must conduct medical admissions based on NEET scores. This ended the confusion regarding the ever-delaying admissions to the Government Medical Colleges in the state, or that is what I thought. It was just the beginning, it seems.

Anitha, who had a board exam score of 1178/1200 in her class 12 had a lower NEET score, making her ineligible for the Merit seats in Government medical colleges in the state. She was the petitioner in the Supreme Court case above. She lost the case and with that, her dreams.

I try and think about this from an objective point of view. I shut my ears and eyes to the uproar caused by political parties in the social media, all of which, I am damn sure, is for the screen time and political mileage. I shall not be influenced by any of those, I decide.

The main aspect of today’s news was that she was a Dalit girl. Somehow, this point seems to be highlighted everywhere. I for one do not understand that if it was a Backward community or a general category student, who had exhausted all the options and committed suicide, would it have been highlighted the same way too? I doubt it. Moving on. People talk about how Dalits are oppressed in our country and how the oppression still continues etc. I agree with all of it. Let us take the case of Anitha, in Tamil Nadu.

There are about 45 seats reserved for candidates from Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes in the Tamil Nadu assembly. No other candidates are allowed to contest from those seats. That is around 19% representation in the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu, over the years, for SC and ST. Still, it is a fact that the conditions of the people belonging to SC and ST have not improved on the ground. Apparently, there is a gap somewhere between the representatives and the people, which is being overlooked here. Have we held those people responsible for the pathetic state of affairs now? It is still the story of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

That being said, the game of NEET was purely a political one played by the politicians in the lives of the unassuming students. Students as always, are taught to chase marks by rote learning. Most students who pass their class 12 exams would not be thorough with the concepts or the applications of a particular idea given in their textbooks. This is a fact. I studied in the same board and I felt the pinch when I came to Chennai to prepare for CA-intermediate. I had felt intimidated in a class of 200 when everybody other than me seemed to know the correct answer to a basic question in accounts when I was gawking at them with disbelief. These were not CBSE students. These were students from Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, who had studied in their respective state boards and completed class 12. That low was our standards of the higher secondary syllabus. It still is.

NEET is an exam conducted by the CBSE for admission into Government Medical colleges and Government seats in private medical colleges. The question paper for NEET is set by the CBSE, which obviously will rely on its own NCERT text books to pick questions for the exam. This gives an undue advantage to the CBSE students who use NCERT books for their higher secondary exams. Would it be that tough to ask for a separate body to conduct exams for medical admissions in the country? Anyway, we have gazillion schemes and committees decorating New Delhi, why not have one for something reasonable? Or are we ready to implement CBSE as uniform syllabus through out the country with the same books and the same quality of education as provided in say a Delhi Public School or a Kendriya Vidyalaya? How about focussing on tightening up the state education departments to comply with some set standards as the bare minimum to print text books?

I was hence thinking what might have caused our own education ministers and the relevant authorities to not initiate a syllabus revamp? Then I thought about various lobbies that bat for this ‘mark-centric’ and ‘rote learning’ ideas that would keep filling their coffers year after year. Also, the state government had earlier put an upper ceiling on the fees collected by private schools in Tamil Nadu. But I know of certain cases where the schools collect double the stipulated amount (half via Instruments and the other half strictly by cash, for which no receipts would be given). This is very common in Tamil Nadu and the state government seems oblivious to these on purpose.

Also, the quality of education that is under fire includes the values that are taught to children. Are we cornering them into pursuing one particular stream and not helping them realise that life is beyond these? Are we being lax on the emotional well being of students and fail to spot patterns in student behaviour? In a way, are we inculcating to the student that if he or she doesn’t get her first step right, there is nothing more to it? Are we raising a weaker generation, which is ignorant about the trials and tribulations of life? These are all open ended questions that we need to ask ourselves as a society.

Anitha is gone today. Her dream unfulfilled. She fell prey to the petty politics played by the Centre and the State. I am sure now multiple politicians will tread the soil of Ariyalur for photo-ops and gimmicks. Do they care about her? I am not sure. Today she fell victim to failures at multiple levels over the years. Let her demise be a lesson to all of us.

A soul that held the lamp of a promising future is gone, to never be back. May She Rest In Peace.

UPA finds it tough to look beyond Nepotism

Headline- The UPA announced Smt. Meira Kumar as its Presidential candidate.

The plot thickens and now there seems to be a level playing field in respect of the caste politics involved is concerned. The UPA, headed by the Indian National Congress, announced Smt. Meira Kumar, the former Lok Sabha Speaker and a five-time Lok Sabha MP and an out and out Lutyen’s politician, who is also the daughter of the prominent Dalit Leader, former Deputy Prime Minister, and Freedom Fighter Shri.Jagjivan Ram, as its candidate for the Presidential Elections to be held soon.

Meira Kumar is also a seasoned politician who has proved her mettle by being a part of the Union Cabinet for quite a while. Pitting her against Shri. Ramnath Kovind has made the job of the allies tough since they will now go into a frenzy as to whom to extend their support to, which would also be presumed as a signal in the political arena.

Opinion

This is a cunning move by the UPA which symbolically begins the tug of war as to which Dalit is bigger. This is also a move to make the UPA allies reconsider their support to the presidential candidate. We could expect a few change of minds as a result of this nomination.

As for Smt.Meira Kumar is concerned, she does not seem to be an equal match for the NDA’s candidate, especially when it comes to her privileged upbringing and Lutyen’s loyalty.

Also, the inability and reluctance of the UPA to look beyond Dynasty politics are becoming loud and clear, given the other name under consideration was Shri.Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who is the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. The Gandhi surname bodes well with the sentiment of the party.

Smt. Meira Kumar seems to have earned this nomination as a prize for her unswerving loyalty towards the Nehru-Gandhi family. Also, it would be possible for her to claim the ‘Woman’ card and the ‘Dalit’ card together and stir up the support of the allies of the UPA.

But, in all honesty, the possibility of her getting elected looks bleak, now that most parties have vowed their allegiance to Shri.Kovind and have got into the good books of the ruling alliance, the NDA. Nobody would want to lose that advantage now, would they?

 

The Presidential Checkmate

Headline- Ramnath Kovind announced as the Presidential candidate of the BJP.

 

In what could be termed as a masterstroke, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party announced Shri Ramnath Kovind, the incumbent Governor of Bihar as their candidate for the highest constitutional position of the country, the President.

“He hails from a Dalit family of farmers and has come to this position after facing a lot of struggles. We are sure that he will send a positive signal to the people across the country”, said Amit Shah, the BJP head, in the press conference announcing his candidature.

Ramnath Kovind is a lawyer by profession and an RSS loyalist. He had been a member of the Rajya Sabha twice before and also a practicing advocate in the Supreme Court.

Now why this could sound the death knell for the opposition is because it would practically be difficult for them to announce a candidate at par with Shri.Kovind.

With leaders like Mayawati and Nitish Kumar expressing their solidarity and support to Shri Kovind, it is now a lost cause for the opposition to think of any other person.

Shri Kovind is known for his hard work and his work towards the upliftment of the Dalit community in north India. He is also said to have taken up the cases of SC/ST women, without charging any fee for the work. Him being from the Dalit community, which was emphasised in the press conference, is aimed at appeasing the community in the run-up to the polls of 2019.

This move is also seen as the end for the burning political ambitions of senior BJP leaders like LK Advani and MM Joshi, who have been embroiled in the controversy of Babri Masjid.

Opinion

While this might seem like a move to appease the Dalit community, to consolidate their votes, this is also a welcome move, to be honest. The position of the President of India is one of dignity and influential. Only someone with a proven track record of groundwork could do justice to the prestige and honour associated with the chair. Given that Shri Ramnath Kovind is known for his impartial nature ( tiffs between the CM and the Governor in Bihar are non-existent with the CM himself calling Kovind to be impartial) and he has done a lot for the upliftment of the Dalit women, there could not have been a better choice as far as the BJP is concerned. His caste and RSS loyalty would only be worthwhile add-ons to the already glittery ensemble. If this move would pay off in the long run or not with regards to the polls is something that is to be seen.

For now, it looks like the BJP has gotten its moves right and if things unfold as anticipated, then this would be the checkmate.

 

 

Holy Cow!

This article has been published in Youth Ki Awaaz and can be read here

The past week has been busy with numerous celebrations and an equal number of protests across the country.

The elected governments of the Southern states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, among others completed one year of rule and the Union Government completed three years since its landslide victory in 2014. While Tamil Nadu has been silent on the whole celebrations aspect owing to a year of mourning for its former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, Kerala has been celebrating the successful completion of one year by its LDF government headed by Pinarayi Vijayan.

While the Central Government is conducting heavy campaigns to mark the completion of three years, there are voices from many directions calling out the apparent failure of the government in the areas of Job creation, which was, in fact, one of the electoral promises of the BJP.

Moving on, the hot topic over the past few days has been the Beef ban. A majority of people think it to be a move targeting Muslims, now that the festival of Ramzan is round the corner. The notification, in fact, speaks about the ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets, with the terms ‘Cattle’, ‘Animal market’ etc have been clearly defined in the notification.

The notification also states that people selling cattle in animal markets are to give a declaration stating that the cattle sold is to be used for agricultural purposes and not for slaughter.

It is a known fact that many states in India consume beef as food and they have not taken this action by the ministry in a good way. There have been mass protests across the country with states refusing to comply with the order because this is a topic that comes under the States list and the center has no right to interfere in governing these aspects.

Recently, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court also stayed the ban consequent to a Public Interest Litigation. Surprisingly, the Kerala High Court yesterday expressed its opinion on the entire topic saying that the notification does not ban the slaughter of cattle in its entirety. A basic reading of the notification would indicate that the ban is on the sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets only and nowhere else, it said. The High Court also opined that there seems to be no ban whatsoever on the sale of cattle for slaughter outside animal markets, that is from homes and other places.

Opinion

This seems to be a diversionary tactic employed by the BJP to distract people from attacking its three-year completion celebrations. It also is very evident that the ban has been imposed to garner the faith and loyalty of the Hindu majority in the nation thereby warming up for the 2019 elections.

While this is something all the governments do, any attempt in policing what the people eat or drink is not a good sign of governance. There are much more burning issues in the nation and all that we are provided with is a ban on one of our favorite dishes. This was a totally uncalled-for move and also it might hit the BJP at all wrong places when planning for the next election campaign.

Two more years to go to deliver on the poll promises and they don’t seem to be anywhere close to fulfilling all of them by 2019.

Celebrities and Politics

This post has been published in Youth Ki Awaaz and can be read here

It is almost a month after we came to know about the stunning attendance record of Members of the Parliament like Sachin Tendulkar and Rekha, and now Superstar Rajnikanth is doing his bit of churning the dust by talking and hinting about his entry into politics. It has been reported that there has been stone-pelting in front of his Poes Garden residence in Chennai, by a group of people who do not want him in politics.

Should celebrities and showbiz people be given the coveted entry card into political life?

Fact

As per this news report, Sachin and Rekha, who are the nominated members of the Rajya Sabha, have an abysmal attendance record since their nomination in 2012. That they have been very much present to many sporting events and cinema award ceremonies make us question the very premise of their nomination to the privileged Parliament, which serves as one of the guardians of our sacred Constitution. A recent news that Sachin met our Prime Minister to promote his upcoming biopic, says more about the indifference and disregard of the MP to the constitutional post that he has been bestowed with.

Superstar Rajnikanth met his fans in a specially organised public event after about eight years, on May 15th. Come elections, you will hear the political circles buzzing with the anticipation of his entry into politics. He keeps brushing all of it aside, in his usual style and goes about his job of acting. This time around, he has asked his fans and followers to be ‘prepared for war’ which has set the speculation ball rolling. Whether he will support BJP or float his own party, is something that time will only tell.

Opinion

No celebrities in Politics. While we all have come across a ‘Full Dedication’ clause in our employment offer letters, which prohibits the employees from taking up another job, while in employment with the employer, people in politics seem to have no such roadblocks. I agree that politics is not a full-time job, but being an elected representative to an assembly or the parliament is one, which pays a monthly salary, apart from the numerous perks and subsidies that these people get.

To argue saying Sachin or Rekha have done a lot of good deeds otherwise is a moot point by itself because those are not special deeds. It is what any political representative must do in the normal course of his work as a people’s representative. There is absolutely no requirement to put them on a high pedestal just because they did this. It is true that they have done what most other MPs or MLAs don’t do usually, but that is the shortcoming of those MPs and MLAs.

There have been isolated cases where cinema stars have become bankable leaders and later on Chief ministers of their states, it is not a norm. To leave the decision to God and other debatable entities, show the mere indecisiveness of the person. I would not want an indecisive leader who shifts the onus of important things onto God. To create a hype before every election and before the release of a movie is unbecoming of a leader anyway. This shows the insensitivity of the ‘leader’ for the feelings of his fans and followers alike.

If the celebrities feel that they cannot do justice to their election/nomination as an MP or an MLA, they have the right to refuse/deny. The greed for power and money seems to have more prominence than the need to serve the country.

We need to realise that it is our taxes that form the salary and perks of these legislators and we have every right and duty to question them when they put one toe out of line. If we don’t, it is our collective failure and nothing else.

We must have rigid rules that prohibit two-faced nutjobs to get elected to coveted positions and clean up the system for good. That is the need of the hour.