Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for October, 13, 2023. If you missed the October, 12, 2023 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here THE FRONT PAGE Diplomatic tightrope: Delhi red-flags terror, reiterates stand on Palestine Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s Interest Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story-On October 7, hours after the Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a statement on X expressing his deep shock at the “terrorist attacks” and that “we stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour.” Five days later, in its first official statement on the Israel-Hamas war, New Delhi has sought to nuance this. Ministry of External Affairs’ official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, in response to questions at the weekly briefing, said that there is a “universal obligation to observe international humanitarian law,” and there is also a global responsibility to fight the menace of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. • What “universal obligation to observe international humanitarian law” phrase indicates? • Does “global responsibility to fight the menace of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” is a strong signal of support to Israel? • Is India's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict well defined or is it attempting to maintain a balanced approach? • “Israel is a key strategic partner of India on one side and allies in a divided Arab world on the other including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Iran and Egypt”-Discuss • What specific statements or positions did the Indian government or officials express regarding the ongoing developments in Israel? • “The India-Israel relationship has blossomed in the last decade or so in the framework of a robust strategic partnership, and the personal chemistry between Modi and Netanyahu has been visible in their bilateral engagements”-Examine India and Israel bilateral relations • “The political focus on India’s current solidarity with Israel masks the extraordinary transformation of Delhi’s ties with the Arab world in the last decade”-Connect the dots between India, Arab world and Israel • What is India’s Middle East policy? • What are the diplomatic challenges for New Delhi in the context of Arab-Israeli relations? • What has been the response of the Arab world to the recent confrontation between Hamas and Israel? • What was India’s diplomatic policy with Palestine? • Why was India’s diplomatic policy leaned towards Palestine in the initial years? • Did establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel alter India’s support for the Palestinians? • Has India of late embraced Israel at the expense of the Palestinians. Why? • Should India worry about a backlash to its pro-Israel stance in the current escalation? Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Explained: How has India’s policy on Israel and Palestine evolved over time? 📍How India-Israel ties progressed: from Palestine-leaning to a strategic embrace of the Jewish nation Retail inflation eases to 5.02%, IIP output hits 14-month high Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment. Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story- India’s industrial output jumped to a 14-month high of 10.3 per cent in August, primarily driven by a base effect along with an uptick in manufacturing, mining, capital goods and consumer durables. Inflation rate for consumers, or retail inflation, also eased to a three-month low of 5.02 per cent in September with a sharp moderation in food prices, especially of vegetables, and the impact of the LPG price cut, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Thursday showed. • What else data released by National Statistical Office (NSO) says? • What is factory output? • What made India’s industrial output jumped to a 14-month high of 10.3 per cent? • For Your Information-Factory output gained on the back of a 9.3 per cent increase in manufacturing, which accounts for 77.6 per cent of the weight of the IIP (Index of Industrial Production). Manufacturing output had grown by 5 per cent in July and had contracted by 0.5 per cent in August 2022. In absolute terms, it improved to 143.5 in August from 141.8 in July and 131.3 in the year-ago period. As per the IIP data, seven of the 23 sectors in manufacturing registered a contraction in August, with furniture, apparel, and computer and electronics among the significant non-performers. Among the performing sectors, fabricated metal products, electrical equipment and basic metals fared better. “Garments and chemicals witnessed negative growth. This can be attributed to lower growth in exports as these two are export dependent. The electronics industry also witnessed negative growth, which again can be linked to existing high stocks and lower export demand,” Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, Bank of Baroda said. In terms of the use-based industries, consumer durables output returned to positive territory for the second time this fiscal with 5.7 per cent growth in August, reflecting a pickup in consumption demand. However, it came on the back of a 4.4 per cent contraction in consumer durables output in the year-ago period. Primary, infrastructure/ construction, and capital goods recorded double-digit growth rates in August at 12.4 per cent, 14.9 per cent and 12.6 per cent, respectively. • How is the Industrial output measured by? • What is Index of Industrial Production (IIP)? • What Index of Industrial Production (IIP) signifies? • By how much and where has industrial output increased? • What does Industrial output mean? • What are the Eight core sector industries in the Indian Economy? • What is the weight/weightage of the different core sectors in the Index of Industrial Production? • The Office of Economic Adviser (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) and Eight Core Industries (ICI)-Connect the dots • Index For Industrial Production-Know its components • Is service sector part of Index For Industrial Production (IIP)? • Who releases Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data? • Who uses Index For Industrial Production (IIP) data? Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍ON THE UPSWING SC: We cannot kill child, need to balance out rights of unborn child Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc. Mains Examination: • General Studies II: Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary-Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity. • General Studies IV: Ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story- Stating that the rights of a woman “must trump” when it comes to a request for Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP), the Supreme Court said Thursday it will also have to “balance out the rights of the unborn child”. • Abortion rights of a woman vs rights of the unborn child-What exactly Supreme Court said? • Supreme Court-“We can’t kill the child,” said Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud who was heading a three-judge bench that took up a married woman’s request for ending her 26-week pregnancy, a day after a two-judge all-woman bench disagreed on giving the go-ahead for the MTP procedure and referred her plea to the CJI. The bench of CJI Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked the woman if she was willing to wait a few more weeks in which case the child would have a better chance of being born healthy and could be given for adoption if she wished. Taking up the woman’s plea, the CJI said, “In these matters, consistent as we are about the need for maintaining her autonomy, we can’t be oblivious of the rights of the unborn child… We also need to balance out the rights of the unborn child. Undoubtedly, the autonomy of the woman must trump… She has rights under various provisions of the Constitution. But equally, you have to be conscious of the fact that ultimately, whatever you are doing is going to affect the rights of an unborn child.” Referring to the AIIMS report that the foetus was normal but ran the risk of being born with physical and mental deformities if taken out now, the CJI said, “We have to also balance out because, let’s put it very bluntly, either we kill the child or we ensure that the day the child is delivered in a state where the child is bound to be born deformed and deformed for life. We can’t kill the child.” “Of course, in a given case we may exercise that overriding discretion, for instance, a child who has been subjected to sexual abuse, a girl who does not know she has been subjected to forcible sexual intercourse, and doesn’t know what is happening to her… The judge’s task is all about balancing rights. Balancing duties, balancing what is in the social good. I find it very difficult to come to terms with this order (allowing abortion) actually,” he said. “You are conscious of the fact that if the child is born alive right now, there is a very high risk that, the doctors say, the child will be born with serious physical and mental deformities. Not because the child has a genetic defect but because we are pursuing a delivery at this point of time. The doctor says wait for some more weeks and then, in all probability, it will be a normal child… Now the question is whether she can wait for two more weeks. We are not compelling her to keep the child. The State doesn’t say that you must keep the child. But having waited for 26 weeks… to put the child to death is the only other option. All that she has to do is wait another two weeks,” the CJI said. The woman’s counsel said the petitioner is not able to even take care of herself and learnt of the pregnancy only in the 24th week as she has been suffering from lactational amenorrhea and depression. To the bench’s query if the petitioner was willing to wait for some more weeks, her counsel said which mother would agree to part with her child after waiting for a full 9 months and delivering. The CJI said, “What about a mother who knows that if I deliver today and don’t keep the baby for another two weeks, I am going to deliver a child who is destined to be abnormal physically and mentally. It’s a Hobson’s choice.” Noting that the woman had already said no to allowing foeticide but didn’t want to keep the child even if it survived, he said, “She doesn’t want the child and wants to do an abortion. Then why doesn’t she do it a few weeks down the line? In that case, the child will have a better chance of survival. It’s a viable child. It’s not strictly speaking an MTP. They are saying look, we can in that sense do an MTP only by stopping the foetal heart, which is really that they are going to put an end to the life of the child. That’s why AIIMS had a serious ethical dilemma.” • What are the rights of the unborn child? • Does a foetus have rights in India? • “The term foetal rights came into wide usage after Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case that legalized abortion in the United States”-What was the Roe v. Wade Case? • A woman faces a true “moral dilemma” or “moral conflict” when it comes to pregnancy termination-Discuss Rights vs Ethics in this scenario • Discuss Pro-life versus pro-choice dilemma. • The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 and The new Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021-Compare and Contrast • Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021-Know the key provisions • Significance and importance of Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021? • Issues and Challenges associated with Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021? Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍UPSC ethics simplified: abortion rights vs ethics EXPLAINED GIANT OZONE ‘HOLE’ FOUND OVER ANTARCTICA: REASON TO WORRY? Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization. Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment. Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story- Satellite measurements over Antarctica have detected a giant hole in the ozone layer. The hole, which scientists call an “ozone-depleted area” was 26 million square kilometers (10 million square miles) in size, roughly three times the size of Brazil. • Where is the ozone most depleted? • What is the area of ozone depletion? • For Your Information-The European Space Agency Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite made the recordings on September 16, 2023, as part of the EU’s environmental monitoring program. Claus Zehner, the agency’s mission manager for Copernicus Sentinel-5P, told DW that this is one of the biggest ozone holes they’ve ever seen. “The satellite measured trace gases in the atmosphere in order to monitor the ozone and climate. It showed that this year’s ozone hole started earlier than usual, and had a big extension,” said Zehner. Experts believe the hole in the ozone is not likely to increase warming on the surface of Antarctica. “It’s not a concern for climate change,” said Zehner. • Ozone holes grow and shrink every year-Why so? • What is ozone and ozone layer? • Do You Know-The ozone layer is a trace gas in the stratosphere, one of the four layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. It functions as a protective gas shield that absorbs ultraviolet radiation, protecting humans and ecosystems from dangerous amounts of UV. Most skin cancers are caused by exposure to high amounts of UV radiation, so anything that shields us from UV rays helps reduce cancer rates. Scientists believe this year’s big ozone hole could be due to the volcanic eruptions at Hunga Tongain Tonga during December 2022 and January 2023. “Under normal conditions, gas released from a volcanic eruption stays below the level of the stratosphere, but this eruption sent a lot of water vapor into the stratosphere,” said Zehner. The water had an impact on the ozone layer through chemical reactions and changed its heating rate. The water vapor also contained other elements that can deplete ozone like bromine and iodine. “There isn’t much evidence the ozone hole is due to humans,” Zehner said. • What caused the giant ozone hole this year? • Human-caused ozone holes-What experts say on this? • Is climate change reopening ozone holes? • What are the key points of the Montreal Protocol? • What Montreal Protocol says about Ozone holes? • What was the Kigali Amendment? • For Your Knowledge-The 1989 Montreal Protocol is meant to protect the ozone layer of the upper atmosphere. It wasn’t originally an instrument to fight climate change. A set of chemicals, mainly the chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs, which were being used in the air-conditioning and refrigeration industry earlier, were found to be damaging the ozone layer of the upper atmosphere. Their extensive use had led to depletion of the ozone layer, and formation of an “ozone hole” over the Antarctic region. The Montreal Protocol mandated the complete phase-out of CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances (ODS), which it has successfully managed to do in the last three decades. CFCs were gradually replaced, first by HCFCs, or hydrochlorofluorocarbons, in some cases, and eventually by HFCs which have minimal impact on the ozone layer. The transition from HCFCs to HFCs is still happening, particularly in the developing world. HFCs, though benign to the ozone layer, were powerful greenhouse gases. With global warming emerging as one of the biggest global challenges in the new millennium, the use of HFCs came under the scanner. HFCs still form a small part of the total greenhouse gas emissions, but with air-conditioning demand showing a significant increase, especially in countries like India, their use is rising at about 8% every year. If left unabated, their contribution to annual greenhouse gas emissions is expected to reach up to 19% by 2050. Because HFCs were not ozone-depleting, they were not controlled substances under the Montreal Protocol. They were part of the problematic greenhouse gases whose emissions are sought to be curtailed through climate change instruments such as the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 and the 2015 Paris Agreement. But the Montreal Protocol has been a far more effective and successful agreement than the climate change instruments. It has already resulted in the phase-out of 98.6% of ozone-depleting substances. The remaining 1.4% are the HCFCs that are in the process of being transitioned. Accordingly, it was decided to use the Montreal Protocol to phase out HFCs as well, rather than leave them at the mercy of climate change agreements. For that to happen, an amendment to the Montreal Protocol was required. In 2016, countries agreed to include HFCs in the list of controlled substances under Montreal Protocol and decided on a schedule for its phase-down. Before the middle of this century, current HFC use has to be curtailed by at least 85 per cent. Countries have different timelines to do this. India has to achieve this target by 2047 while the developed countries have to do it by 2036. China and some other countries have a target of 2045. While the reductions for the rich countries have to begin immediately, India, and some other countries, have to begin cutting their HFC use only from 2031. If implemented successfully, the Kigali Amendment is expected to prevent about 0.5°C rise in global warming by the end of this century. No other single intervention to cut greenhouse gas emissions comes even close to this in terms of returns offered and the ease of implementation. It is thus considered crucial to achieving the Paris Agreement target of restricting temperature rise to within 2°C from pre-industrial times. And the Montreal Protocol has a fairly good track record on ensuring climate benefits as well. CFCs, the predecessors to HFCs, were also greenhouse gases, apart from being ozone-depleting. Their phase-out has already avoided an estimated 135 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions between 1990 and 2010. This is three times the current annual greenhouse gas emissions. The UNEP estimates that, with Kigali Amendment, the avoided emissions could touch 420 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by the end of the century. • What is India’s efforts on Ozone holes? • Why is the Ozone layer important? • What steps are being taken to repair the ozone layer? • Do You Know-The depletion of the ozone layer, first noticed in the early 1980s, used to be the biggest environmental threat before climate change came along. Ozone (chemically, a molecule having three Oxygen atoms, or O3) is found mainly in the upper atmosphere, an area called stratosphere, between 10 and 50 km from the Earth’s surface. It is critical for planetary life, since it absorbs ultraviolet rays coming from the Sun. UV rays are known to cause skin cancer and many other diseases and deformities in plants and animals. • The elimination of ozone-depleting substances has an important climate change co-benefit as well-What are they? • The success of the Montreal Protocol in repairing the ozone hole is often offered as a model for climate action. It is argued that emissions of greenhouse gases can also similarly be curtailed to arrest rapidly rising global temperatures-Discuss Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Explained: What to read in ozone hole size 📍Earth’s ozone layer is on track to recover completely in four decades Hamas and Israel Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance. Mains Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora. Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story- The military conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip-based militant group Hamas began exactly 14 months after the truce that ended the brief confrontation between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad on August 7, 2022. But the ongoing battle is seen as unprecedented since the establishment of Israel in May 1948. This is because of the way Hamas was able to stage a surprise attack by breaching some of the world’s most advanced border fencing mechanisms, and intelligence and surveillance capabilities. Among the several questions that the new outbreak of hostilities have raised, two are key: the timing of the attack by Hamas and its attributing factors, and the seeming failure of Israel’s famed intelligence capabilities. • Who are Hamas? • For Your Information-Hamas is the largest Palestinian militant Islamist group and one of the two major political parties in the region. Currently, it governs more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The organisation, however, is also known for its armed resistance against Israel Hamas as a whole, or in some cases its military wing, is designated a terrorist group by Israel, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and other countries. Hamas is essentially “the internal metamorphosis” of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, which was established in Jerusalem in 1946, according to the book, ‘Hamas: A Beginner’s Guide’, by Khaled Al Hroub, professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Northwestern University of Qatar. “The Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood remained on the margins of Palestinian politics for decades till the 1980s and the reason for this was their strategy, which was non-confrontational… They believed they needed to Islamise the Palestinian society and it was a prerequisite for an engagement with the wider battle against Israel. In brief, they didn’t use armed struggle,” Khaled told Al Jazeera in an interview. But in 1987, when the first Palestinian intifada took place, the organisation decided to transform itself — and “established Hamas as an adjunct organisation with the specific mission of confronting the Israeli occupation,” the professor wrote in his book. The main reason for Hamas’ creation was a deep sense of failure that had been set within the Palestinian national movement by the late 1980s. This primarily happened after the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) — involved in the armed struggle against Israel from the mid-1960s to ‘liberate Palestine’ — made two massive concessions. Hamas gained prominence after it opposed the Oslo Peace Accords signed in the early 1990s between Israel and the PLO, the body representing most Palestinians. The accords aimed to bring about Palestinian self-determination, in the form of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. • What are the group’s origins? • How is Hamas funded? • How do Palestinians view Hamas? • How does Hamas challenge Israel? • Map Work-Israel, Palestine and Gaza Strip • What is Hamas’ position on Israel? • Is Hamas a terrorist organisation? • What could have triggered Hamas to launch its invasion on October 7? • For Your Information-The answer lies in a mix of internal, political, religious, and geopolitical reasons. First, there has been no movement on the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks for several years now. Barring the failed Trump Peace Plan (billed as the “deal of the century”) of January 2020, no serious efforts have been made to resolve the longstanding dispute. Also, as moderate Arab countries increasingly move to normalise ties with Israel, the Palestinians have got the impression that the historical Arab-Israeli conflict is now more of an Israel-Palestinian issue. This has frustrated the wider Palestinian population — and Hamas has sought to bring the ‘ignored’ Palestinian cause back in the spotlight. They fully understand the consequences Israel’s military campaign will bring — and they have proved that the security of the Middle East, let alone that of Israel, cannot be guaranteed without settlement of the Palestinian issue. Second, Israel’s government, formed in late December 2022, is considered the most hardline in its history. It has talked of allowing the expansion of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land, and of the possibility of annexing part of the West Bank. This was part of Netanyahu’s deal with the Jewish ultra-nationalists who helped him form the ruling coalition. Earlier this year, Israel’s minister for national security Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa mosque complex in Jerusalem and declared that Israel was “in charge” of the disputed site that is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. A similar visit by Ariel Sharon (then an opposition leader) to the site is considered to have triggered the Second Intifada or the Al-Aqsa Intifada (September 2000 to February 2005). Hamas codenamed the current military assault “Al-Aqsa Flood”, suggesting that it was retribution for the desecration of the holy site. It was also a surprise attack like the one that started the Yom Kippur or Ramadan War almost exactly 50 years previously on October 6, 1973, when combined Arab forces led by Egypt and Syria launched a military campaign in the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights, both of which had been captured by Israel in the 1967 June War. Symbolically, Hamas wanted to convey to the Israelis and the international community that Jerusalem is undividable. Third, there is a growing perception in Palestinian society that Israel’s diplomatic recognition and political acceptance are on the rise in the wider Middle Eastern region. After the normalisations of the Abraham Accords, political-diplomatic signals about the possibility of Israel and Saudi Arabia signing a normalisation agreement — also backed by the US — have grown louder. Striking Israel at this juncture, and provoking the inevitable heavy retaliation which would likely draw regional and international condemnation, could be part of Hamas’ plan to derail the probable Israeli-Saudi agreement. The normalisation process will be kept aside for now, even if its revival in the future cannot be ruled out. • Do the attacks show a failure of Israel’s intelligence mechanisms? • What is ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’? • Know the legacy of Al-Aqsa Mosque Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Violence of pure identity THE IDEAS PAGE Best of both sides | Yogendra Yadav writes: Even critics of reservation should support census Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc. Main Examination: • General Studies I: Salient features of Indian Society • General Studies II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections. Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story- Yogendra Yadav Writes: Caste census is relevant and necessary for any well-designed policy to reduce social inequality • What are the points author have raised in favour of caste census? • “We have here five considerations for endorsing or opposing an investigation or evidence collection exercise like the caste census”- What five considerations for endorsing or opposing? • “Caste appears to be an issue in Indian society”-Comment • What is Caste? • How Caste is different from ‘Jana’ and ‘Jati’? • What is Varna? • How Varna is different from Caste? • What are the evils of the caste system in India? • How did Caste System originate in India? • What are the occupation based on caste in India? • What is caste census is and what it does? • What are the key findings of the Bihar caste survey? • For Your Information-The EBCs are the biggest social group comprising 4,70,80,514 individuals, or 36.01% of the state’s population. The OBCs number 3,54,63,936 (27.12%), and the Scheduled Castes (SCs) 2,56,89,820 (19.65%).’ Scheduled Tribes (STs) number only 21,99,361 (1.68%), the bulk of the tribal population having become part of Jharkhand after the bifurcation of the state in 2000. The “unreserved” category comprises 2,02,91,679 individuals (15.52%). Bihar’s population, according to the survey, is 13,07,25,310, compared to the 10.41 crore recorded in the 2011 census. Hindus comprise 81.99% of the population, and Muslims 17.72%. The populations of Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and other religious denominations are minuscule. According to data released by Development Commissioner Vivek Singh, Bihar’s total population now stands at a little over 13.07 crore, up from 10-odd crore in the 2011 Census. The EBCs make up 36.01% of this, and OBCs an additional 27.13%. The survey also found that Yadavs, the main vote base of the RJD, are the largest group, accounting for 14.27% of the total population. The Dalits, or Scheduled Castes, account for 19.65%, higher than expected, while STs comprise 1.68%. Those belonging to the “unreserved” category, or the “upper castes”, who dominated politics till the Mandal wave of 1990s, comprise 15.52% of the total population. These groups, who are believed to be BJP voters, are 2-3% more in number than the general opinion regarding their numbers. The Muslims, the second leg of the RJD’s M-Y plank, comprise 17.70% of the population. The other religious minorities have a minuscule presence. • When and how was the survey undertaken? • Why Bihar conducted caste census? • What is meant by caste census? • What is the purpose of caste census? • What is the importance of caste census? • Has a caste census ever been conducted? • What is the significance of the Bihar caste survey findings? • How can the caste survey findings impact the coming elections to Lok Sabha and the Bihar Assembly? • The EBCs & Why they matter? Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Counting the gains: How the survey puts Nitish back in focus 📍Bihar data can reopen debate on SC’s 50% quota ceiling in 1992 Best of both sides | Manish Sabharwal writes: Bihar caste survey is a cynical attempt to expand reservation — India needs a different approach Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc. Main Examination: • General Studies I: Salient features of Indian Society • General Studies II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections. Key Points to Ponder: • What’s the ongoing story- Manish Sabharwal writes: Reservation is a valuable tool but India is ready for something more universal, for the simultaneous pursuit of justice, equality, excellence • “A good democracy doesn’t weigh citizens but counts them. Everybody is equal and judged as individuals, not as a member of groups”-Analyse • Is it possible to discriminate in favour of one group without discriminating against another? • “The Bihar caste survey is a cynical attempt to do so — is unfair to future generations and divisive”-Comment • Author’s Argument to not to count-Laws that make discrimination based on caste, gender, and religion illegal (which should always exist) find it hard to coexist with reservation policies that discriminate based on caste, gender and religion (which should always be temporary, if justified). An argument against reservation doesn’t imply the 299 remarkable innovators who wrote our Constitution did something wrong or unnecessary by introducing reservation. They recognised that voting was only one step in creating equality and that some discrimination, though undemocratic, was temporarily necessary. I have also heard reasonable arguments that 75 years are insufficient to right centuries of historical wrongs. As every doctor knows, the dose makes the poison. Anything powerful enough to help has the power to hurt if the dosage is too small or for too long. The many decades since Independence need us to expand our goals to pursue equality and excellence. Equality without excellence is neither sustainable nor satisfying. Pursuing both means a new definition of equality. That means equal treatment, unbiased competition and impartially judged outcomes, not equal outcomes achieved by unequal treatment, biased competition and preferential judging. This pursuit needs to shift from discriminating between children based on their parents to creating the infrastructure of opportunity that allows the pursuit of excellence and judging them on the sweat of their brow and the courage in their heart. Gandhiji believed that Sarvodaya (development of all) would be accomplished through Antyodaya (welfare of the weak). Philosophers have built on his thinking and concluded that if you were designing the world without knowing your place in it, you would ensure fairness for all. Reservation is a valuable tool for social justice but after years of Poorna Swaraj, it’s time to discard something often subject to political manipulation for something more universal over the next few decades. India is ready for the simultaneous pursuit of justice, equality, excellence. Indians should create a glide path to reach 100 years of Independence with 100 per cent reservation for 100 per cent of its people. • “Rebooting our infrastructure of opportunity requires accelerating reforms to our 3Es of education, employability, and employment”-Discuss Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍Social justice, more robust For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@indianexpress.com The Indian Express UPSC Hub is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest Updates. Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week.
