Will EWS quota stay; Mohan Bhagwat’s Muslim outreach; Office meetings are drab
Opinion Watch
Will EWS quota stay?
The Supreme Court has reserved its decision on the 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS).
The Pioneer in its Editorial has assessed the arguments made before the apex court, which essentially leans on three aspects – breach of 50 per cent ceiling, economic criteria and exclusion of already reserved classes.
The government lawyers, Solicitor General and others, argued before the apex court that economic justice is also demand of the time, which is in tune with the Preamble of the Constitution, and thus doesn’t violate the basic structure of the statutory book.
The Noida-based daily has claimed that the government’s way of implementing the EWS quota was arbitrary, including deciding the Rs 8 lakh annual ceiling. It rightly stated that the judgment would be a landmark.
But history of quota politics and judicial pronouncements smack of their authors still sipping drinks made for the last century. That has turned sour. The quota regime by all accounts has been hijacked by a select few who don’t deserve affirmative actions of the state.
Timidity of the political leadership to review the efficacy of quota system in jobs and educational institutions and the judiciary walking along tell sad tales at a time when India aspires to be a knowledge-based economy.
While the politicians speak privately that reservation system should be torn off from the statutory book, an incrementalism would suffice to begin with – bar the family once benefited, reduce creamy layer to Rs 5 lakh annual income, limit benefit to just one time either in educational institution or jobs.
By the way the Central government is now mostly employing people in the ministries on a short contract which is exempt from the reservation system, and that should be an admission that quota and talent promotion are adversarial to each other.
Mohan Bhagwat’s Muslim outreach
The RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat met with five prominent members of the Muslim community in Nagpur and also came calling to a mosque and a madrasa in Delhi.
The Bengaluru-based Deccan Herald in its Editorial has claimed that it’s unrealistic to say that the meetings in the past fortnight mark a new beginning in the relations between Hindu and Muslim communities.
“There is a growing sense of insecurity and marginalisation among the Muslims and this has been caused mainly by the actions and policies of the BJP governments at the Centre and in some states and the activities of organisations that belong to the Sangh Parivar,” opined the Karnataka daily.
It must, however, be known that Bhagwat has been meeting Muslim intellectuals for at least five years, and the RSS is also patronizing Rashtriya Muslim Manch. The RSS has shown that it’s looking for bridges with the minority community, with Bhagwat remarking very often these days of the common ancestry of all Indians.
But such overt outreach may also signal big steps to “mainstream” the Muslims in line with the worldview of the RSS, and that National Population Policy and madrassa education reform are surely the next items on the agenda of the RSS.
Office meetings are drab
Bosses may think that they can get done with their jobs by calling meetings, but the Times of India in its Editorial claims that the outcomes are on the contrary.
The daily quoted a study of North Carolina, which claimed that meetings cost a loss of $100 million a year. The New Delhi headquartered daily also quoted Antony Jay, British writer, who has outlined every aspects of the meetings, saying that they should be called only if unavoidable, for they are least productive.
Also, the daily stated that meetings should be few with few people with sharp goals.
The Covid-19 pandemic indeed turned meetings, virtual modes, into the most unproductive activities.
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Time is crucial for everyone in this fast paced world, so companies should focus on effective meetings for only the time sensitive tasks
Good analysis on reservations for EWS, creemy layer cap.
RSS attempt to connect with Muslim community is appreciable…what we all will gain will be clear down the line.