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Muslim reservation put in cold storage

March 8, 2020

There was a ruckus regarding the quota for Muslims, spur-of-the-moment after the announcement of NCP minister Nawab Malik that the MVA will provide 5 per cent quota for Muslims in education in Maharashtra, there was a big uproar in the corridors of power.

Soon after this, there was a verbal attack on Uddhav Thackeray by the opposition for ignoring what Malik said. The CM also hit back at the BJP for questioning Shiv Sena on Muslim reservation. “Don’t waste your energy in raking up these things.” When the issue comes up, we will look into it. The MVA government in the state had announced 5 per cent quota for Muslims in jobs and education in October 2014 though the Bombay High Court scrapped reservations for the community in jobs but allowed it in education. Muslim reservation is a commitment of the NCP-Congress. It is there in the common minimum program as well. So they have to do it. But it is also true that the issue has not yet come for discussion. It is interesting that during the last government’s tenure, when the Bombay High Court had upheld 5 per cent reservation to Muslims in education, the Sena had come out in support of it. This is not the first government that has voiced its affirmation for reservations to a minority but many states have already implemented the same.

The Government of Andhra Pradesh introduced a law enabling 4 per cent reservations for Muslims in 2004. This law was upheld by the Supreme Court of India in an interim order on March 25, 2010. However, it instituted a Constitution bench to look into the issue. Until that decision came, it was allowed. The issue of whether religion-based quotas are permissible under the Constitution is now before a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court. Pending a decision on its legality, the top court, however allowed the state government to implement the quota.

The Kerala Public Service Commission has a quota of 12 per cent for Muslims. Religious minority (Muslim or Christian) educational institutes also have 50 per cent reservation for Muslim or Christian religions. The Central government has listed a number of Muslim communities as backward Muslims making them eligible for reservation. Why are we facing problems today? The reasons are very clear. The Constitution that Babasaheb Ambedkar delivered was a fair perfect document. But it was never implemented in neither letter nor spirit for which the Congress Party whose most leaders came from Hindu Mahasabha. Post-independence, we mostly had Brahmin chief ministers. And the percentage of Muslims in govt. jobs went down from 30 per cent to 1 per cent and non-stop at 15 per cent and that is also the reason why the backward Hindus are asked Mandal commission reservations as they were ignored in jobs.

Reservations are not given to a minority group; it is given to a backward group. For example, consider the parts of Articles 15 & 16 of the Constitution of India that provides for reservation.

15.4: Nothing in this article or in clause (2) or article 29 shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. 15.5: Nothing in this article or in sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of Article 19 shall prevent the State from making any special provision by law for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in so far as such special provisions relate to their admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions whether aided or unaided by the State other than the minority educational institutions referred to in clause (1) of Article 30.

16.4: Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Play Holi with caution

Afternoon Voice

March 8, 2020

$holi, happy holi, dhuleti, \holi celebration, holika dahan, festival of colours, colours, festival, holika, celebration, coronivirus, china, wuhan$ Holi, the festival of colours is just round the corner and people are seen making all kinds of arrangements just to see that the festival goes off well and doesn’t end up on a sour note. But before we get into more of preparation, let’s see what is this festival like and from where did this originate?

Holi is an ancient Hindu religious festival which has become popular with non-Hindus as well in many parts of South Asia as well as people of other communities outside Asia. In addition to India and Nepal, the festival is celebrated by the diaspora of the Indian subcontinent in countries like Jamaica, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Mauritius and Fiji. In recent years, the festival has spread to parts of Europe and North America as a spring celebration of love, frolic and colours.
The festival also celebrates the beginning of a good spring harvest season. It lasts for a night and a day, starting on the evening of the Purnima (Full Moon day) falling in the Vikram Samvat Calendar in the Hindu calendar month of Phalguna, which falls around middle of March in the Gregorian calendar. The first evening is known as Holika Dahan (burning of demon holika) or Chhoti Holi and the following day as Holi, Rangwali Holi, Dhuleti, Dhulandi or Phagwah.

Holi is popularly known as the Indian ‘festival of spring’, the ‘festival of colours’ or the festival of love”. The festival signifies the arrival of spring, the end of winter, the blossoming of love and for many, it is a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive and repair broken relationships.

The celebration of Holi start on the night before Holi with a Holika Dahan where people gather, perform religious rituals in front of a bonfire and pray that their internal evil be destroyed the way Holika, the sister of the demon king Hiranyakashipu, was killed in the fire. The next morning is celebrated as Rangwali Holi – a free-for-all festival of colours where people smear each other with colours and drench each other. Water guns and water-filled balloons are also used to play and colour each other. Anyone and everyone is fair game, friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman, children and elders. The frolic and fight with colours occurs in the open streets, open parks, outside temples and buildings. Groups carry drums and other musical instruments, go from place to place, sing and dance. People visit family, friends and foes to throw coloured powders on each other, laugh and gossip, then share Holi delicacies, food and drinks.

But this year, there is a cache. Authorities have, through a warning, have asked people not to touch China made colours, pichkaris, balloons and other articles that people handle while playing with colours. All this is because of the Novel Coronavirus that has killed thousands all around the World.

So, be cautious and play Holi safely.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 08 March, 2020

Web Team

March 8, 2020

Spread awareness, not panic

Cardinal Oswald Gracias’ recommendation asking Catholics not to kiss the relic of Our Lord, Jesus Christ during the period of Lent and may be even after that either by hand or lips and not to receive Holy Communion on the tongue is laudable. Taking precautions is better than cure. Coronavirus is a deadly disease and spreads rapidly. So, one has to be careful.

Jubel Dcruz

Crisis at Yes Bank alarming

The recent crisis at Yes Bank is alarming. This will lose public trust and confidence yet again in the banking sector after PNB and PMC bank crisis in recent times. In an era of digital transformation in banking, banks are losing trust over NPA losses by heavy lending, internal board room feuds etc. The crisis has now taken a toll on customer-focused approach which is otherwise a primary goal of lenders. RBI should have stepped in at the right time instead of being a mute spectator until the panic button was raised at the eleventh hour.

It is also surprising to note that how RBI has quickly stepped in to rescue private banks while it maintained an arm’s length in case of the recent co-op bank crisis. SBI’s takeover bid of Yes Bank may only result in delayed transactions thereby inviting the ire of its trusted customers and instead should speed up the process of acquisition. RBI, otherwise, should be unanimous in its approach to rescue any banks either in the private or co-op sector where public interest plays a larger role than the rule books prevailing upon banking regulations.

Varun Dambal

Stop nuisance on beaches

Goa is considered to be India’s beach paradise and people desire to experience the finest that the Goan culture offers once there. With the intention of making tourist hot-spots nuisance-free, the Goa government has already introduced a bill which says its objective is to protect and preserve tourism potential of tourist places in Goa and keep them clean and free of nuisance. The state government should now strongly implement on amendment to the Tourists Trade Act to stop the nuisance on the beaches and to ban alcohol consumption on the beaches. Strong implementation of amendment will bring discipline along the entire coastal belt. In the past, tourism and travel industry stakeholders had also blamed the government for poor vision as well as the lack of will to attract “quality tourists”. People found creating nuisance like drinking in public or cooking in the open should be strictly dealt with and fined. People of Goa and tourists must also take the issue seriously to have a positive impact on Goa’s pristine beaches.

Vinod Dixit

New varnish-coated 100-rupee notes to be introduced shortly

This refers to reply by Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur in the Rajya Sabha on March 4 that new varnish-coated 100-rupee notes with longer life will be shortly issued on experimental basis in five cities Shimla, Jaipur, Bhuvneshwar, Kochi and Mysore. But similar commitment by the then Union Minister of Finance Namo Narain Meena on March 12, 2013 in written reply in Rajya Sabha about introduction of plastic-currency in ten-rupee denomination has not been implemented till now. It is better if experimental plastic-currency in the denomination of rupees ten may also be done simultaneously to ascertain better of the two options namely varnish-coated currency and plastic currency.

Thereafter notes in other lower denominations of rupees 10, 20, 50 and 100 also can be issued simultaneously in better of the two forms namely varnish-coated and plastic currency. However one-rupee notes restarted on March 6, 2015 after a gap of about two decades just for bureaucratic craze to be signed by a secretary-level officer rather than RBI governor should be discontinued to be printed. It may be mentioned that all other notes except that of rupee-one bear signatures of RBI governor. This is why notes in other discontinued lower denomination notes of rupees 2 and 5 were not re-introduced because these notes did not bear signature of secretary-level officers.

Madhu Agrawal

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Hope Narendra Modi realises what Indian women want from him

Vaidehi Taman

March 6, 2020

As soon as his post surfaced on Twitter, a wave of concern gripped Narendra Modi’s followers. His staunch supporters and the others were making fun and it was all sorts of mixed response. People wrote on Twitter about their disapproval of Modi leaving social media. In an hour, the tweet was re-tweeted for hundred thousand times. Very soon the micro blogging site was seen trending with #NoSir #NoModiNoTwitter tags. Some women went to the extent of making videos while crying and asking him to stay on social media because without him, their lives have no charm. There was unlimited madness from all sides. Prime Minister Modi is presently active on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube and he is followed by millions of people globally. Interestingly Modi is the first Indian to cross 50-million followers on Twitter. While this melodrama was at its peak, he broke the overnight suspense over his announcement that he would consider giving up his social media accounts on Sunday, March 8, by tweeting that he would be handing over his accounts to “inspiring women”. March 8 is international Women’s Day. This is the first time that the Prime Minister would be giving access to his social media accounts for such a campaign. The question here is whom will he choose? Whomsoever he chooses, that lady would be completely under his control or might be his staunch admirer.

I am sure he will never be inspired by Swara Bhaskar or Barkha Dutt or those women who dare to speak against him and the governance. Many were suggesting Jasoda Ben, his isolated wife to be given that opportunity. Some even went to suggest the name of BJP leader Smriti Z Irani. Well! Whosoever it could be, but that lady would be from one of his mutual admiration group. The women who go into constructive criticism or who dare him for his wrong policies and decisions should not even try to impress him because the opportunities are already locked. They will not be getting any remote mention in his “Mann Ki Baat” too. He likes all those people who are his blind followers one like the lady who asked for his shawl and she was immediately gifted with the same. The story hit the headlines for few days, then the same woman was questioned in conspiracy of doctored videos of JNU incidence. Later on, it was exposed that the lady is very close aid of Smriti Z Irani. There are many such incidences from giving media interviews to calling celebrity women for feast, he chooses all those women who are either his support group or making some difference to his political fate.

You will never see any critic or the one who is not in his admiration club. He has never shown that gut or dare to involve with the other side of his followers who are not against him, but they have millions of questions they want PM to be accountable to various promises made. They can dare to have open dialogue other than just praising him from start to end. These are the same women who vote for his victory but would stand against him as voter of this country but not as opposition or enemy. But to see and judge all this Modi’s social media group should allow him to open his eyes. And he himself should indulge in dialogue with these women because they want something constructive beyond praises.

Women have overwhelmingly supported Narendra Modi, 46 per cent women had voted for the BJP and its allies, 27 per cent for the Congress and 27 per cent for other parties, some exit polls made these revelations. If you witness his social media support group, there is very strong woman base that the men and these women not only promote BJP and Modi’s agenda, but they heavily take on those people who slightly go against him, they are all like worries. They bring war like situation if some trend goes against Modi or some exchange dialogues that go against the interest of Modi and BJP. This social media support group comprises many educated women from all strata. Again, the question here is who is inspiring Modi among this group?? Hardly anyone, because they are just supporters but not celebrities. Modi’s announcement considering renouncing his social media accounts. Speculations ranged from this being a curtain raiser for an India specific, “Weibo”-like platform to a social media detox campaign after a rash of dangerous rumours swirling during the riots in Delhi. Modi will hand over his social media accounts months after facing criticism over a series of high-profile rape cases.

He asked people to share entries of such women using the hashtag #SheInspiresUs which became the top trending topic on Twitter about an hour after he posted his tweet. His support for the March 8 event came after he faced flak for failing to check violence against women following a series of rape cases late last year that triggered mass protests. In November, a 27-year-old vet was raped, suffocated and her dead body set alight on the outskirts of the southern city of Hyderabad. Another rape victim was set on fire and killed by a gang of men including her alleged rapists in December. In the same month, a court sentenced a former lawmaker from Modi’s ruling party to life imprisonment for raping a teenager. These cases highlighted India’s grim record of sexual violence against women despite enacting some of the world’s toughest laws after the gang rape of a Delhi student on a bus in December 2012 which sparked global outrage. One woman reported a rape every 15 minutes on an average in India in 2018, according to government data released in January. To come to power in 2014, he came up with a slogan “Beti Bachao” save girl child, but in reality, the crime against women is on rise since he has taken over the power.

Women’s Day is celebrated to recognise women for their achievements not at a personal level but for womanhood. It is a day when ladies from all nations, ethnicity, culture, political and economic background come together to increase awareness about women rights and break the stereotypes. Not always was there a need to step up for this day, but the world first became a Man’s world when humans began relying on agriculture for their survival. Prior to that, women in all religions and cultures were respected as equal counterparts. Certain segment of society still today has set ideas of gender roles and how we expect men and women to dress, behave and present themselves. As this continues to happen, we often forget that we still continue to personify nature as “Mother Nature” – A woman. This Women’s day is my shout out to women community to join hands to break the stereotypes. This is the day where everyone should stand and resist the brutality by giving the social media account to a so-called woman who inspired him at large, who is already pre-decided and this all event is to introduce her, will not help the women who is victim of atrocities by all means. We don’t want this stunt, we want rapists to be punished, we want violence to be controlled, we want atrocities to be addressed, we want to be safe in our mother land and we want our basic rights. Instead of giving social media account to selective choices, he would give confidence and assurance to woman of India.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

#YesBankCrisis: After PMC, RBI caps Yes bank withdrawal limit; moratorium hits PhonePe

Hema Singh

March 6, 2020

After Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday imposed a month-long moratorium on Yes Bank citing “serious deterioration in its financial position”, capping the withdrawal limit at Rs 50,000. The RBI in a press release said that the financial position of Yes Bank has undergone a steady decline due to the bank’s inability to raise a capital to address potential loan losses and resultant downgrades.

Soon after the announcement, the hashtag #yesbankcrises started trending like the same case of PMC bank. After the statement, the depositors in Mumbai rushed to the ATMs to withdraw cash. On Thursday late evening, the RBI restricted withdrawal from Yes Bank at Rs 50,000 for the next one month and it is said that the restriction will remain in place until April 3, 2020.

The RBI statement stated, “This has been done to quickly restore depositors’ confidence in the bank including by putting in place a scheme for reconstruction or amalgamation.”

After the RBI moratorium notice on Yes Bank, the digital payment firm PhonePe suffered an outage in services. Reportedly, PhonePe, is the largest payments partner of YES Bank.

Yes Bank Ltd. placed under Moratoriumhttps://t.co/GcAFiDs6CU

— ReserveBankOfIndia (@RBI) March 5, 2020

On Friday PhonePe’s co-founder and CEO Sameer Nigam confirmed the outage through a tweet. He tweeted, ““Dear @PhonePe_ customers. We sincerely regret the long outage. Our partner bank (Yes Bank) was placed under moratorium by RBI. Entire team’s been working all night to get services back up asap. We hope to be live in a few hours. Thanks for your patience. Stay tuned for updates!.”

Dear @PhonePe_ customers. We sincerely regret the long outage. Our partner bank (Yes Bank) was placed under moratorium by RBI. Entire team’s been working all night to get services back up asap. We hope to be live in a few hours. Thanks for your patience. Stay tuned for updates!

— Sameer.Nigam (@_sameernigam) March 6, 2020

The RBI asked the depositors of Yes bank not to worry adding that the ground reality is quite different.

The YES Bank has been at the forefront of creating a fintech ecosystem in the country and it recently launched multiple API banking services to help startups. Also, the bank surpassed all leading private banks in UPI transactions contributing more than 39 per cent of it in January this year.

According to the RBI, the withdrawal cap is Rs 50,000. However, there are a few exceptions to the rule. In case of a medical emergency, higher education, for marriage, and other unforeseen emergencies the withdrawee can withdraw up to Rs 5 lakh. But by witnessing the current situation it seems that it will take time to get things back on the tracks.

Maha CM directs state chief secretary to see that government funds are deposited only in nationalised banks

Afternoon Voice

March 6, 2020

The Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has instructed the chief secretary to see to it that government funds are deposited only in nationalised banks and not private lenders. This was informed by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar who also happens to be the finance minister.

“The CM has instructed the chief secretary and other secretaries to deposit government funds in nationalised banks, particularly ones protected by the Centre,” Pawar said.

Pawar’s statements came in the backdrop of a controversy over the transfer of salary accounts of the police department to Axis Bank, a private lender, allegedly by the previous BJP government led by Devendra Fadnavis.

Incidentally Fadnavis’s wife Amruta holds a senior post in Axis Bank.

The Bombay High Court, on Thursday, sought Fadnavis’s response to a petition questioning the transfer of salary accounts of the police department to the Axis Bank. A senior official had stated last year that salary accounts of police personnel were with the UTI Bank later renamed as Axis Bank since 2005, much before Fadnavis became the state chief minister in 2014.

Women coming up in all spheres of life

Dipti Joshi

March 6, 2020

“It is impossible to think about the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is impossible for a bird to fly on only one wing.” — Swami Vivekananda

“A man and a woman are like two wheels of a cart. The cart can move fast and safely too when both of them pull it in the same direction and with equal strength. Hence no developing country or society can afford to ignore the role of women if they have to progress.”

In modern times, women in India are given freedom and rights such as freedom of expression and equality as well as right to get education.

Women in Contemporary India are doing the same what a male can do.

Various prestigious positions are held by Indian women.

They are enjoying the `ladies first` facility in various fields.

But still, problems like dowry, female infanticide, sex selective abortions, health, domestic violence are prevalent in the society.

Several acts have been passed to demolish all these problems. But illiteracy and lack of awareness are the obstacles in the path of Indian women to stand against these follies.

The main reason why women neglect in society: the customs and traditions prevalent for centuries, The high percentage of illiteracy among women, ignorance of their rights, patriarchal society, economic system, unchecked male domination in all walks of life.

We can now see women employed in all fields not only in clerical jobs, but also in I.A.S., I.P.S. and Indian Air Force. There are reservations in legislatures too.

The Central Government has introduced a bill in Parliament reserving one third of the seats in Parliament and other elected bodies for women.

Today, the modern woman is so deft and self-sufficient that she can be easily called a super-woman juggling many fronts single-handedly.

Women are now fiercely ambitious and are proving their metal not only on the home front but also in their respective professions.

Women in India are coming up in all spheres of life. They are joining the universities and colleges in large numbers. They are entering into all kinds of professions like engineering, medicine, politics, teaching, etc.

A nation’s progress and prosperity can be judged by the way it treats its women folk. There is a slow and steady awareness regarding giving the women their dues and not mistreating them, seeing them as objects of possession.

Despite progress, the very fact that women along with being achievers also are expected to fulfill their roles as wives or mothers, prioritising home against anything else.

The path towards total gender empowerment is full of potholes. Over the years, women have made great strides in many areas with notable progress in reducing some gender gaps.

Yet realities of women and girls getting trafficked every year and increased practice of dowry, rape and sexual harassment hit hard against all the development that has taken place. Thus, if on one hand women are climbing the ladder of success, on the other hand, she is mutely suffering the violence afflicted on her by her own family members.

As compared to the past, women in modern times have achieved a lot but in reality they have to still travel a long way.

Women may have left the secured domains of their home, but a harsh, cruel, exploitative world awaits them, where women have to prove their talent against the world who see women as merely children producing women.

The Indian woman has to make her way through all the socialised prejudices against her and the men yet have to allow and accept the women to be equal participants in the country’s way forward.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

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Muslim reservation put in cold storage

Play Holi with caution

Letters to the Editor: 08 March, 2020

Spread awareness, not panic

Crisis at Yes Bank alarming

Stop nuisance on beaches

New varnish-coated 100-rupee notes to be introduced shortly

On Women’s day women want security and respect

Of eroticisms and emotion

#YesBankCrisis: After PMC, RBI caps Yes bank withdrawal limit; moratorium hits PhonePe

Maha CM directs state chief secretary to see that government funds are deposited only in nationalised banks

Four booked for storing hazardous chemicals without permits

Women coming up in all spheres of life