Quota Quagmire; Teenage Tyranny; Taiwan Takeaway
Opinion Watch
Quota Quagmire
The Asian Age has called for freezing reservation within the 50 per cent limit as set out by the Supreme Court, while welcoming the decision of the Karnataka government to move the Muslims from the OBC list to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category. The daily has underlined in its Editorial that there is no basis for religion-based reservation, while also questioning Telangana’s practice for four per cent quota for Muslims.
The daily forthrightly called for the state governments to pull down their reservation balloon which keeps bloating only. It also stressed that the time for quota politics is over. In an unequivocal articulation, the daily called for an end to religion-based reservation.
Reservation is a ploy of political parties to cover up their incompetence to expand the scope of opportunities for all the sections of the society. Pitting one section against another has been the lifeline of the political parties. Time is also ripe for an impartial audit of reservation system.
Teenage Tyranny
The Economic Times in its Editorial has delved into two US-based schools suing the social media platforms for making teenagers addictive to their contents. The daily noted the concerns of the schools that addictions to the likes of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc., is leading to teenager mental health crisis.
The business daily counselled that the schools and parents have responsibilities to moderate screen time of teenagers. It also stated that addictive contents are now created by AI (artificial intelligence) and delivered through virtual reality.
Entertainment was meant to be an escape from the long hours of work or studies. But now entertainment is sought fulltime and work or studies are the pastime. Cases of teenagers dying by suicides keep coming when they are deprived of smartphones. But who gave the smartphones to the children and made them addictive. Indeed, the parents must take the blame.
Taiwan Takeaway
The Hindu in its Editorial has said that Taiwan is now left diplomatic ties with only 12 countries, which consist of a few Pacific island nations and Central African countries. The daily noted that China’s deteriorating ties with the US are bringing consequences for Taiwan even while its president Tsai Ing-Wen has said that her country would not compete for “dollar diplomacy”.
The Chennai-based daily lamented that the tussle between the two superpowers has left 23 million people of a prosperous island caught in the middle. Ever since Nancy Pelosi, former US Congress chairperson visited Taipei, China mounted on an outreach to isolate Taiwan.
China has deep pockets. That makes Beijing a bully. A peaceful global order cannot allow a bully to dictate terms. A counteraction on diplomatic relations from the US-led western alliance may not be ruled out.
About The Author
