P A R T - I V

Social Issues

Q. Secularism is all about erecting a wall of separation be-tween state and religion and thereby devaluing religion. Critically analyse this statement in the Indian context.

Model Answer

Introduction

The practice of keeping state policy and religion at distance is a western import. In particular, it came from the US in the formulation of President

Thomas Jefferson who declared that a wall of separation exists between the state and religion. Similar to American Congress, Indian constitution also prohib-its establishment of national reli-gion and preference for one reli-gion over other. But secularism in no way demands that the state should not recognise religions

and religious sentiments. Indian Constitution (Article 25-28) gives free-dom to everyone to profess, practice, and propagate any religion.

Secularisation and Secularism

It is a common notion that secularism is accompanied by secularisa-tion of society or secularisation is essential prerequisite for secularism as state policy. Thus it was argued that secularism is inappropriate for deeply religious country like India. But post-modern history of India a has proved that secularism can be a guiding principle for religiously diverse country like India. Secularisation does not imply that people have become irreligious or anti-religious. It simply means that religion should not come in conflict with the public life of the citizens.

State and Religion in India

Since Independence, the State in India has clearly stated that secular-ism is one of the founding principles of the country. But only after the 42nd amendment to the Constitution, it got imprinted into the Preamble of the Constitution. Indian secularism, however, is quite different from other forms of secularism, more so from western concept. Unlike Western countries, it recognises religion. It does not alienate itself from religious sentiments of the citizens. Therefore religion as a right was protected under the Fundamental Rights.

Key Points

• Indian secularism is different• Religion as Fundamental

Right • Secularisation of society not

essential• State and religion

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Conclusion

The Indian state is a unique example of how it can create conducive environment for all faiths to prosper without compromising the inter-est of one community over other and mixing state policy and religion. Secularism in India will further strengthen when political parties stop seeking religious sanctions to practice vote bank politics. One fine ex-ample was given by a political party when it denounced sanction from a clergy who came in support of them during Delhi elections.

Q. The government has started tightening control over the funding of the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in India. How far do you justify such action?

Model Answer

Introduction

The incumbent National Democratic Alliance government in India has increased the scrutiny of the various NGOs citing issues of national in-

terest and security at stake. In the past the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also raised is-sues over the role, funding and mode of operation of some NGOs in stirring anti-nuclear plant protest in Kudankulam. Civil society is an important part of democracy and forms an interface between state and citi-zens. But when it assumes the

role of spokesperson of vested interest of foreign agencies, it does not augur well for the home country.

Rationale behind Government’s action

The Ministry of Home Affairs recently cracked the whip against Greenpeace India by suspending its license for six months and froze all its accounts. Ford Foundation also has come under its scanner. In ad-dition to this, FCRA license of around 9000 NGOs have been revoked. The ministry has said that these NGOs have not complied with Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. Government agencies argue that NGOs

Key Points

• National Interest and Security• Foreign Contribution

Regulation Act• Transparency and

Accountability• Democracy and Civil society• Uniform Policy

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should have clear mandate in terms of objective and mode of operations. Their funding needs more transparency and accountability. It is also claimed that some organisations, which face identity crisis, try to sub-vert social service scheme of government to stay relevant. Historically during the Cold War, both superpowers hit each other by NGOs – some call it policy of “Soft Subversion”.

argument against Government’s move

The most affected by these moves will be frontline and field workers working under NGOs. Also NGOs, which work without any ulterior motive, would become more circumspect in their actions. This does not augur well for a democracy where the constitution guarantees freedom of expression. Many organisations in the past have worked in collabo-ration with government. Ford Foundation, for example, has supported IIMs, A, NID, and also supported Planning Commission. They par-ticipated in ideas like Green Revolution, Population planning, Urban Planning in Kolkata. It is also argued that every grant to NGOs in India passes the scrutiny of concerned ministries.

Conclusion

Government must make sure that only those voluntary organisations are targeted which do not comply with the law of the land, not those who have raised difficult but valid questions about environment and hu-man rights. Intelligence agencies should be empowered to crack down on organisations working against the national interest and security. Government should also come up with a uniform policy like National Policy on the Voluntary Sector, 2007 brought by previous government but could not be implemented.

Q. The Constitution of India gives to its citizens the right to profess, practice and propagate any religion. Does it imply that it also gives right to convert? Comment.

Model Answer

Introduction

The Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression under Article 19 en-visages the scope and philosophy of Right to Freedom of Religion. The constitution makers made it explicit that Right to Profess, Practice and Propagate will be enshrined as a fundamental right under Article 25.

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It was done on the recommen-dation of Advisory Committee of Fundamental Rights chaired by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Immediately after Independence, society was divided on sectarian lines due to formation of Pakistan. Thus, it was important to protect the interest of the minorities in the Hindu majority country.

Right to Convert?

Any sort of coercion and incitement to forcefully convert someone is not guarded by the constitution. In fact, it is violation of very same fun-damental right that provides for freedom to propagate religion. There is need for the state to take precautions and prosecute illegitimate acts of force, coercion and allurement. Else, it would invoke genuine senti-ments of communal hatred.

A five judge bench of the Supreme Court of India, in the case Rev. Stainislaus vs. State of Madhya Pradesh, stated that the word propagate means “to transmit or spread one’s religion by an exposition of its te-nets”, but to not include the right to convert another person to one’s one religion. Chief Justice A.N. Ray in the same case maintained that “Article 25(1) guarantees freedom of conscience to every citizen, not merely to the follower of one particular religion, thus in turn postulates that there exists no right to convert.

Contemporary Significance

Though proselytisation in India is not a recent development, it has been in controversy due to alleged aggressive conversion campaign carried out by a few Hindu organisations. These organisations argue that suc-cessful propagation would naturally result into conversions. They further argue that if conversions are illegal and immoral, then state must bring anti-conversion law similar to Madhya Pradesh Dharma Swatantraya Adhiniyam, 1968 and Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, 1967.

Conclusion

Religious conversions have been a contentious issue even since prosely-tising religions came to India. However, the democratic state in India

Key Points

• Article 25 (1)• Rev. Stainislaus vs. State of

Madhya Pradesh judgment• Role of state• Protection of Fundamental

Right

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must make sure that religious practice and propagation must limit itself within the ambit of the law of the land. State must act in non-partisan way.

Q. One of the major fallouts of the unplanned and uneven urbanisation is the increased vulnerability of women to violence. Discuss.

Model Answer

Introduction

National Crime Records Bureau in its annual report states that a crime against women is recorded every 1.7 minutes in India. Every 16 minutes

a rape case is recorded in this coun-try and every 4.4 minutes a girl is subjected to domestic violence. The national capital has earned the du-bious reputation of accounting for most number of rape cases in pro-portion to the population. The cit-ies, which were traditionally safe for women have also witnessed a surge in the violence against wom-

en – rapes of school children inside campus in Bangalore and Shakti Mill case in Mumbai. Though no age group is safe, women between 15-30 face most hostilities.

Causes

Indian society has always been deeply patriarchal. Both in Hinduism and Islam, women were assigned an inferior place in scripture as well as social practice. If women refuse to adhere to traditional gender roles, they face a patriarchal backlash. Ideas like equality before law is break-ing the caste and gender hierarchies. Men from upper caste usually target Dalit women to assert their social and political dominance. This phenomenon is more common in cities in transition. This might be the factor that put Madhya Pradesh at the top for rape cases in absolute numbers (Gwalior and Jabalpur in particular).

Millions of young men come to cities in search of livelihood. Not all get regular and desired employment. They are confronted far more di-rectly by a culture of conspicuous consumption than they were in their

Key Points

• Delhi having dubious distinction

• Patriarchy & Social factors• Migration and movies• Focus on urban

infrastructure

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villages. Dissatisfied and disenchanted, they vent their anger on women. Bollywood and billboards have commodified women and portray ro-mance and desire as inevitable by products of contemporary life. This further frustrates the young men.

Conclusion

First of all there is need to upgrade urban infrastructure like public transport and well-lit streets. If there was safe and reliable public trans-port available, Nirbhaya case would not have occurred. Employment opportunities in rural area will mitigate migration. Conviction should be fast tracked to deter perpetrators.

Q. The new provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014 has stirred debates all around. How far do you think the new provisions are justified?

Model Answer

Introduction

The new bill replaces the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. It addresses the issues of juvenile crimes and the

care and protection of children. The new provisions, however, permits juveniles between the age of 16-18 years to be tried as an adult for heinous crimes. Also, if the juvenile is apprehended af-ter the age of 21 years for lesser crime, he/she will be treated as adult. Juvenile Justice Board

(JJB) will take a call on the severity of crimes with the help of psycholo-gists and social experts.

arguments

The UN Convention on Rights of Children treats everyone up to 18 years as child. India is signatory to this convention. The provision of try-ing a juvenile as an adult contravenes the convention. The basic premise of this law is based on reformation and rehabilitation, rather than on retribution. These sentiments of vengeance have gained ground after the Nirbhaya case. It is argued that the current law is not acting as a deter-

Key Points

• Juveniles to be tried as adults• Contravenes UN convention• No retribution, only

rehabilitation • Society is responsible

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rent due to lesser punishment and the offenders are well aware about the consequences of their action.

But human rights activists and civil society have vehemently op-posed the proposed amendments. Even the Standing Committee on the Bill has observed that the Bill was based on misleading data regarding juvenile crimes and violating certain provisions of the constitution. It could violate Article 14 and Article 21 of the Constitution. MacArthur Foundation through various research have found that at a young age children underestimate risk, lack foresight and are susceptible to nega-tive influence.

Conclusion

It would be almost impossible for the JJB to scientifically determine the maturity and mindset of the offenders. This will leave scope of subjectiv-ity in their decisions. Experts at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore say that due to under-development of pschyo – biological aspects, adolescents are vulnerable to their environ-ment, especially social environment. They are too immature to weigh consequences of their actions. Heinous crimes by juveniles are actually the reflection of failure of society to assert social and moral norms. Thus it can safely be argued that the ills of the new provisions outweigh the benefits of it.

Q. Urbanisation pattern in India has been lopsided. The new urban centres in the process of horizontal expansion, en-gulf adjoining villages. Discuss the impact of such expan-sion in the Indian context.

Model Answer

Introduction

Indian cities hide in their womb maladies of unequal access, segre-gation, filth and squalor, alienation and dispossession. There is no de-nying the fact that increased ur-banisation has aided India’s growth story. But on one hand while these cities embody an outlet for maxi-mum aspirations and opportunity,

Key Points

• Urbanisation must for economic growth

• Loss for farmers and farm labour

• Urban elite gets benefits• Rural earning, urban

expenditure• Conflict of culture

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on the other, it is a site of struggle for drinking water, fresh air and hos-pitable shelter.

Impact

Very few cities in India are planned ones. Most of them have witnessed unbridled expansion. Indian cities expand absorbing villages as they grow. It brings into a play a unique socio-cultural confluence. New ur-ban entrants seeking employment in urban centers, retain very strong rural links. They often find their cultural practices getting into conflict with urban ethos. This leads to disillusion and disenchantment. New industries and factories require huge tracts of land. Mostly agricultural lands are sacrificed for it. Landowners get some compensation, which they soon squander away due to lack of entrepreneurship. Agricultural labourers become daily wage labourers, living in slums. Women suf-fer the most in these situations. They often have to find work in urban dwellings where they are underpaid and exploited, sometimes harassed. The irony is that their income remains rural while expenditure becomes urban.

Urban dwellers become net beneficiary due to such urban-rural in-teraction. Slum clusters that inhabit the periphery of the planned and gated enclaves in a city actually subsidises the cosy living of the elite by providing cheap labour for all kinds of work like maids, plumbers, security guards to name a few.

Conclusion

The history of economic development shows that growth of cites is not just natural and unavoidable, but desirable too. Urbanisation creates efficiency by utilising maximum space and optimising the productive labor. But such expansion has to be humane and sustainable. The new Smart City Project by the government raises some hope in this regard.

Q. The notion of smart cities is more of a process than a goal. Comment on the essential features of a smart city.

Model Answer

Introduction

Smart cities project is one of the major developmental policies of the new Union government. Finance Ministry has approved an outlay of

Key Points

• SCM & AMRUT• ICT & MDG• Housing of all• Urban Public Transport• Database

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on the other, it is a site of struggle for drinking water, fresh air and hos-pitable shelter.

Impact

Very few cities in India are planned ones. Most of them have witnessed unbridled expansion. Indian cities expand absorbing villages as they grow. It brings into a play a unique socio-cultural confluence. New ur-ban entrants seeking employment in urban centers, retain very strong rural links. They often find their cultural practices getting into conflict with urban ethos. This leads to disillusion and disenchantment. New industries and factories require huge tracts of land. Mostly agricultural lands are sacrificed for it. Landowners get some compensation, which they soon squander away due to lack of entrepreneurship. Agricultural labourers become daily wage labourers, living in slums. Women suf-fer the most in these situations. They often have to find work in urban dwellings where they are underpaid and exploited, sometimes harassed. The irony is that their income remains rural while expenditure becomes urban.

Urban dwellers become net beneficiary due to such urban-rural in-teraction. Slum clusters that inhabit the periphery of the planned and gated enclaves in a city actually subsidises the cosy living of the elite by providing cheap labour for all kinds of work like maids, plumbers, security guards to name a few.

Conclusion

The history of economic development shows that growth of cites is not just natural and unavoidable, but desirable too. Urbanisation creates efficiency by utilising maximum space and optimising the productive labor. But such expansion has to be humane and sustainable. The new Smart City Project by the government raises some hope in this regard.

Q. The notion of smart cities is more of a process than a goal. Comment on the essential features of a smart city.

Model Answer

Introduction

Smart cities project is one of the major developmental policies of the new Union government. Finance Ministry has approved an outlay of

Key Points

• SCM & AMRUT• ICT & MDG• Housing of all• Urban Public Transport• Database

nearly Rs. 1 lakh crore to make cities more livable. Two programmes will run parallel – one is Smart Cities Mission, another is Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation. Focus is to build new urban infrastructure as well as rejuvenate old ones.

Features

Technology will play a very important role in these cities. Even the use of information and communication technologies is articulated in Millennium Development Goals. But it is pertinent to make people -centric technological applications. It would bring transparency in gov-ernance and services. The benefits by states can be targeted better. India already has a National e-Governance Plan to provide basic services to common man at affordable cost. NeGP and Digital India should be the first milestone towards the goal of Smart City.

Urban Housing is another major issue. Government plans to build houses for all slum dwellers and weaker sections by 2020. It would cover urban poor living in slums, urban homeless and migrants. These houses should not be the energy guzzler as in the present urban set up. It should be fitted with clean energy sources and steps should be taken for rain-water harvesting. Access to water, sanitation, education and affordable healthcare are other issues, which require smart thinking and decision-making.

In terms of smart decision making, the database on different func-tional aspects of Indian cities will have to be created to run smart algo-rithms on dynamic pricing of services or routing of traffic. Chhattisgarh for example, has tried to improve the functioning by developing neces-sary management information systems (MIS). Public transport needs utmost attention. The example of a metropolitan like Delhi shows that how excessive use of private vehicles would add enormously to air pol-lution. Only way out is extensive and effective affordable and safe public transport connecting every corner of the city.

Conclusion

Building smart cities in India is no more a luxury; it is the need of the hour. Else Indian cities will turn into large urban slums. Government would do well if it can dovetail its various development works with the Smart City Mission.