OPINION

An entire generation that entered the teaching profession in the early eighties willsoon be hanging up their boots without seeing the second edition of the National Education Policy since the one presented to the nation in 1986. If nothing else, it reflects poorly on thepriority we accord to education in this country.

Quality education is a prerequisite to thequality of life,socialtransformation, research and innovation, sound value system and above all to build a high human capital. The educators, policymakers and the civil society are acutely aware of the challenges that we face todayin education. As oftoday over 17 million children and adolescents are out of school, according to the recently released UNESCO eAtlas of out of school children. The share of GDP to education is hovering below 4%, hampering efforts to provide educational access to the weaker sections, investment in research and technology, skill development, and in creating a pipeline of committed and well-trainedteachers.Over 10 million young people in India are in need of jobs at any given time.

At the media briefing last week to announce the party candidates for the three RajyaSabha seats from Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party’s number 2 and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia made two very important observations. First that the party contacted 18 politically neutral persons for nomination, and that all refused to bite the bait. Second about ND Gupta, the chartered accountant who is helping AAP to handle its income tax matters, getting the party’s boarding pass for passage to Rajya Sabha.

Political parties have a tradition of paying the fee of their saviours before law by way of a nomination to the Rajya Sabha. If one needed evidence, there are cases of advocates Kapil Sibal and RK Anand being sent to Rajya Sabha from Bihar and Jharkhand respectively. In the former’s case Lalu Prasad Yadav was the sponsor, whereas in the case of Anand it was veteran tribal leaderShibuSoren.

Sibal over the years has defended Yadav in several of cases of corruption which he is battling, so has Anand in the case of Soren, who like his Bihar counterpart has travelled several times to penitentiary.

It was for quite some time that the judiciary has been insisting upon the Indian state to bring an end to the unjust, gender biased personal laws prevailing in different minority communities, especially in the Muslim society. The women in that community are leading the life of slaves to their menfolk; patriarchy in its worst form.

There is a complete domination of man over woman in all that is related to marriage, divorce, inheritance, maintenance or remarriage with the same man whom she was divorced from. Apart from the practice of triple talaq instantly, there are practices like polygamy, ‘halala’, inequality in inheriting the ancestral property etc. It is no secret that these practices, sanctioned by Shariat as they say, have made a Muslim woman either to surrender to the whims and fancies of their husbands or face the music of abandonment to be left to fend for herself. So she is from day one in the parental house to the husbands’ home made to live in a state of constant fear.

In the past week yours truly has crossed KoregaonBhima on four occasions and as one drove through the rustic Panchayat village each time it was a different experience. On the first day while going one watched the pandal coming up, while returning the same day we saw more hectic preparations for the rally scheduled two days later.
The day after the rally we saw burnt out buses and cars, while burnt out motor cycles were lying a dime a dozen. The air was tense as we drove through the war memorial and built up area with heavy police deployed all over, there was tension in the air. Next   morning we read in the papers that the Ahmednagar- Pune highway was blocked shortly thereafter, for an hour plus.  While returning a day after the bandh it was back to business as usual but signs of destruction were visible -- a burnt out fireengine, some burnt out buses still remained, but the area was peaceful, all lives lost, property destroyed, huge losses but what for?Did any one gain, or was it all in vain?  

The 2 G and Coalgate Scams are likely to stay. These two were electoral issues in 2014 and most likely to cloud the political environment in 2019 as well but with a difference. Congress party which was on back foot on allegations of 2 G scam in 2014 has received a shot in the arm and launched an offensive as much as forcing ruling BJP to duck.

It was a grief and joy for Congress in the last fortnight of 2017. On December 19, the sentencing of former Jharkhand Chief Minister MadhuKoda and senior bureaucrats in Coalgate Scam numb Congress but on the acquittal of all the accused in 2 G Scam came as a blessing for the grand old party of India. It was definitely ‘the day of Congress’ which was continuously receiving flaks all the corners – judiciary, media and opposition. Senior Congress leaders it ‘falsehood’ propagated by former CAG VinodRai, ‘hysteria’ of media and 'propaganda of political opposition. However, Union Finance ArunJaitley initially launched a counter offensive by mocking the Congress not to take the judgment as 'badge of honour' but soon BJP changed her strategy asking CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to issue official statements. Even the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, known for his silence, called the 2 G scam as ‘propaganda’. Both the sides demanded their rivals to apologise. Who should apologize and for what? This needs a threadbare analysis of the 2 G Scam at two levels.