“Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without.”
James Dobson
“विवाह उनसे न करें जिनके साथ आप रह सकते हैं; विवाह उनसे करें जिनके बिना आप नहीं रह सकते।”
जेम्स डॉब्सन
Monday, December 04, 2023
Quote of the Day December 4, 2023
Empowering Women
The analysis of election data about women elected representatives reveals that women have expanded their representation to unreserved seats. The important question that needs to be probed further is the relationship between the ‘politics of presence’ of women and the ways in which these are translated into meaningful processes in the decentralization of democracy and engendering of development and politics
The Indian Parliament has finally enacted a law providing for one third gender quota in Parliament and State Assemblies after a series of unsuccessful initiatives for nearly three decades. UN Women India, a global champion for the empowerment of women and girls, applauded the Reservation Act, and hopes it will “leapfrog India into one of 64 countries” who have reserved seats for women. Conceptually, quotas represent a shift from one concept of equality of opportunity to the concept of equality with emphasis on results, ‘a sort of fast track method’, ‘a qualitative jump into a policy of exact goals and means.’ More than one hundred countries across the world including Pakistan and sub-Saharan African countries have introduced reservation. According to a UN Women report, it has been possible to have 40 per cent women in legislatures in 23 countries through the introduction of a quota system. In countries such as France, South Korea, and Nepal, a quota as high as 50 per cent has been reserved for women. Under-representation of women in democratic bodies like Parliament around the globe has been an issue of open debate and discussion ever since the Women Development Decade (1975-85) initiated at the instance of United Nations, brought to light that the scales of world equality are out of balance ~ men ride high on power while women are endowed with responsibilities. The Human Development Report 1995 made a strong plea for engendering development by correcting gender equality, without which development will be endangered Scholars like Anne Phillips have argued that ‘women bring different types of skill in politics and provide role models for future generations’. Besides, their inclusion in politics facilitates representation of the specific interest of women in state policy, and revitalises democracy by bridging the gap between representation and participation. It can also help in reducing gender inequality, and thus promote one of the key sustainable development goals and bring about an improvement on women’s health, well-being and overall quality of life. In India the protagonists of a quota in Parliament believe that it will add a new dimension to the debates and discussions and it will bring a more ‘civil pattern’ of interactions Besides, larger numbers of women will mobilize and help redirect the political agenda towards greater social good and reduction of corruption. These are proved by empirical studies conducted in panchayats. Historically speaking, Sarojini Naidu and Margaret Cousins led a group of women to demand before the British Parliament equal rights of representation for the fair sex in the Indian Provincial Legislatures long ago. The Second Round Table Conference (1931) took cognizance of it but ended without positive results because of lack of consensus. Our Constitution seeks to guarantee equality in different Articles including provision for positive discrimination (Article 15.3). In the Constituent Assembly women leaders did not demand quota because political equality and complete universal suffrage was now offered to all citizens. Women activists perceived it ‘as a retrograde step’. Despite the absence of the perception of women as actors in development in almost all the Plan documents, it was the National Perspective Plan for Women which argued for introducing a 30 per cent quota for women at all levels of elective bodies. In 1992, twin constitutional amendments accepted one third gender quota in all local bodies. Now there are nearly 46 per cent women in panchayat bodies. More significantly, during the last few years, 20 states have amended their legislations to make room for 50 per cent reservation of seats for women in rural local bodies. The studies have brought quite a few dominant challenges which elected women leaders in panchayats are experiencing. They can be located at three levels, namely individual and family, society and polity and law and institutions. At the individual level lack of experience in participation in political institutions has emerged as an important factor. At the social and political level there is a strong tradition of patriarchy which gives birth to a new class of male village leaders popularly known as sarpanch pati, sarpanch sasur, sarpanch bhai and sarpanch jeth. Political Weekly, Vol 32 (26): WS13-20, April 26-May 2, 19 conducted on women members of 84 GPs in Kerala found that apart from education and land holdings, other variables like age, occupation, and income are crucial for women to enter into politics. Arora and Prabhakar (1997) in their study focused on why some females are more interested in politics and found that women representatives who were highly educated and were from upper caste or dominant castes were more interested in politics. They also pointed out that women representatives who often met and discussed with their friends had significant political interest. Further, Nilekani (2010) found domestic violence against women, wage disparities, sexual harassment and abuse, discrimination in the supplement of nutrition, and low female literacy rates to be widely prevalent in India. Significantly, women have been able to bring about some change in the popular social perception about them ~ that they are incapable of running the government ~ by dint of their remarkable performance. Studies have exploded the popular perception that women are not interested in politics. The analysis of election data about women elected representatives reveals that women have expanded their representation to unreserved seats. The important question that needs to be probed further is the relationship between the ‘politics of presence’ of women and the ways in which these are translated into meaningful processes in the decentralization of democracy and engendering of development and politics. Major obstacles to women’s participation in the public domain in South Asia, as American sociologist Gail Omvedt has observed, can be traced to patrilineal and patrilocal kinship structures where women get ‘socialised to be mothers, wives and workers under others’ authority’. The competitive nature of politics where it becomes a profitable source of income and power that men tend to control appears to be another hindrance. Ideally, what we need are more efforts to collectively mobilise not only women, but also men in support of greater equality. Scandinavia presents the most hopeful case. If we go back 100 years there, we observe a radical activism jump-started by women but with great support from men as well. That was the secret of their success. If properly implemented the gender quotas stand out prominently as an effective strategy of positive discrimination even in the so-called Least Developed Countries in Sub Saharan Africa, such as, Rwanda, Burundi, and Mozambique. According to the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index 2023, women hold 61.3 per cent of Rwanda’s Parliament, a first in the world for women’s representation in the national parliament. The empirical studies on local bodies in India bring out that hard rock patriarchy is the most dominant challenge. True, it cannot be broken overnight but the fact remains as evident from studies on the local bodies that women have started collecting rock-breaking chemicals although the process is still very slow because of patriarchal resistance. The decade of the 1990s marked political churning which led to some mainstreaming of the marginalised sections including women as reflected in the debates on the women’s reservation bills. Earlier undifferentiated reservation was opposed on the ground that reservation would continue the perpetuation of upper caste domination which is the breeding ground of the leaders; while it has some substance, the fact remains that regular democratic seed-drilling at the local level weakens the caste system, and in course of time, women from lower castes will emerge as leaders. The provision for gender quota gives women a piece of land which belongs to them as a group. The construction of houses is now the most challenging job. Rabindranath Tagore raised this issue in Strir Patra and Jogajog. ‘Kumudini and Mrinal needed a house of their own where they will be enjoying some freedom’. Around the same time, in 1929, Virginia Woolf hinted at the same thing in her A Room of One’s Own. Will the ‘patriarchal’ state come forward to help women construct their houses? It is very difficult for the state any longer to ignore the demand of women because democracy is a game of numbers. In the villages and towns where more than one-third women live, the process of challenging patriarchy has already begun. Women, who are more enlightened today, matter.
FR. JOHN FELIX RAJ & PRABHAT KUMAR DATTA
respectively, Vice Chancellor of St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata, and Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Xavier Law School, St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata
Source: 2/12/23, The statesman
International Postgraduate Merit Scholarship 2024
The University of Sheffield , UK is delighted to offer 125 International Postgraduate Taught Merit Scholarships in 2024.
Each scholarship is a competitive award worth £5,000 towards the original tuition fee for a postgraduate taught programme starting in September 2024. The scholarships are available to all new international students who meet the eligibility criteria.
You must hold an offer to study at the University of Sheffield.
Key dates.
- Scholarship applications will open in late Autumn 2023.
- The deadline for scholarship applications is 1.00pm (UK time) on Monday 13 May 2024.
- Scholarship results will be announced on Monday 10 June 2024.
- If you are offered the scholarship, we’ll ask that you confirm acceptance of your scholarship and your offer by a fixed date.
Eligibility criteria
Your programme must commence at the University of Sheffield in autumn 2024.
- Distance learning courses are ineligible for a merit scholarship.
- You must receive an offer for a course studied in full at the University of Sheffield. Masters programmes split between the University of Sheffield and a partner institution are not eligible to apply for a scholarship.
- All Crossways courses and Erasmus Mundus courses are ineligible for a merit scholarship.
- For tuition fee purposes you must be self-funded and required to pay the overseas tuition fee.
- You must not be a sponsored student.
For further terms and conditions please visit —https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/
Current Affairs- December 1, 2023
INDIA
- The Union government approved defence acquisition projects at ₹2.23 lakh crore that included procurement of 97 Tejas light combat aircraft and 156 Prachand combat helicopters.
- Three anti-submarine warfare ships for Indian Navy were launched.
- Indian Space Research Organisation has announced a plan to launch its first X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat).
- Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys, K P Singh, chairman emeritus at DLF, and Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha, have been named on the 17th edition of Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy list.
- Nagaland celebrates its Statehood Day on December 1.
- Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurated the 5th edition of Global Ayurveda Festival in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
ECONOMY & CORPORATE
- India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at 7.6% in the July-September 2023 quarter, as per initial estimates from the National Statistical Office.
- Cab aggregator Uber announced the launch of its global flagship electric vehicle service Uber Green in Bengaluru.
- The government’s fiscal deficit at the end of October stood at ₹8.03 lakh crore, or 45% of the full-year budget estimate.
- Ministry of Textiles will host the plenary meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) in Mumbai from December 2 to 5.
WORLD
- On the first day of the 28th Conference of Parties or COP-28 here, member countries agreed to make operational a Loss and Damage (L&D) Fund.
- International Labor Organization (ILO) Report: Employment is fast evolving as a major cause of death, especially among men.
- New Zealand’s new government will scrap the country’s world-leading law to ban smoking for future generations to help pay for tax cuts.
- Nepal becomes the first South Asian country to officially register same-sex marriage.
- The US government has successfully concluded a pilot project for issuing paperless visas.
- The 193-member UN General Assembly cast their vote over Israel’s control of Syria’s Golan Heights, India voted in favour.
SPORTS
- Olympian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar has won the 35th Jimmy George Foundation award for the best sportsperson of Kerala.
- Cricket: Uganda qualifies for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
Current Affairs-December 2, 2023
INDIA
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address at COP-28, offered to host the 33rd edition of the annual summit due in 2028 in India.
- Supreme Court said the Tamil Nadu Governor cannot refer re-enacted Bills to President.
- Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin unveiled a statue of late anti-caste activist Iyothee Thass Pandithar.
- World Bank recalls its paper on decline in toilet usage in India.
- India co-hosts with UAE the Global Green Credit Initiative at COP-28.
- India and Sweden co-host the Phase-II of Leadership Group for Industry Transition at COP-28
ECONOMY & CORPORATE
- Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) shows Manufacturing sector activity rebounded slightly in November.
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Bank of England (BoE) agree to exchange information on Clearing Corporation of India Ltd.
- India’s gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues grew 15.1% in November to hit nearly ₹1.68 lakh crore.
WORLD
- World AIDS Day is observed on December 1 with the theme of “Let Communities Lead”.
- The UAE, host of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP-28), announced a $30-billion commitment to an investment fund called ALTÉRRA.
- Philippines inaugurated a new coast guard monitoring base on an island occupied by Filipino forces in the disputed South China Sea.
- China and Vietnam are working on a possible significant upgrade of their underdeveloped rail links.
SPORTS
- R Vaishali becomes India’s third female chess Grandmaster, after Koneru Humpy and D Harika.
- Jaipal Singh knocked out Commonwealth Games silver medallist Sagar Ahlawat to claim the +92kg crown in the National boxing championships.
History of UNLF, Meitei insurgent group that signed peace deal with Centre
The UNLF was formed on November 24, 1964, and is the oldest valley-based insurgent group — distinct from the insurgent groups active in the state’s Naga-dominated and Kuki-Zomi dominated hills.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah Wednesday announced the signing of a peace agreement with the Meitei separatist group United National Liberation Front (UNLF) in Manipur, terming it a “historic milestone.”
The Home Minister also expressed the hope that this would encourage other valley-based insurgent groups (VBIGs) to participate in a peace process.
What is the UNLF?
The UNLF was formed on November 24, 1964, and is the oldest valley-based insurgent group — distinct from the insurgent groups active in the state’s Naga-dominated and Kuki-Zomi dominated hills. It was formed with the demand of secession from India under the leadership of Arembam Samarendra Singh, who was the general secretary of the group. Two of the top central committee leaders — Khalalung Kamei and Thangkhopao Singsit — were a Naga and a Kuki. The UNLF is believed to have received its initial training from the NSCN (IM), the largest Naga insurgent group. Its armed wing, the Manipur People’s Army, was formed in 1990 and over the years, it has carried out multiple attacks targeting Indian security personnel. There are now two factions of the UNLF and jointly, government estimates place the number of cadres at 400-500. Its area of operation includes all the valley areas of Manipur, as well as some villages in the Kuki-Zomi hill districts. A proscribed group, banned under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, it has largely been functioning from camps and training bases in Myanmar’s Sagaing Region, Chin state, and Rakhine state with the patronage of the Myanmar military. However, it is now on the backfoot there, with mounting attacks against the military junta by various Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) and People’s Defence Forces (PDFs).
While the UNLF has weakened over the years, pushed across the border to Myanmar, there have been concerns about its increased activity, along with other VBIGs, during the course of the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur. The two UNLF factions are believed to have trained around 500 new recruits in the past months.
What is the precedent for the peace agreement?
The VBIGs have never entered into an agreement with the Centre or participated in any peace talks. Author and former fellow at Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Malem Ningthouja, however, said it was not possible to definitively state that this was the first group to come to an understanding.
“In the past, there have been some groups like the UPPK, KCP and Maoist Communist Group — though their strength may have been insignificant — which have been either disbanded or rendered into insignificance. And we don’t know under what terms they did so. Even in this case, we don’t know the terms of the agreement but this has a spectacular impact since it’s considered to be a major group. At a recent flag raising event in Manipur, more than 1000 people attended, and it has its mass organisations,” he said.
The UNLF underwent a formal split in the mid-1990s, when N Oken broke away, and his faction became the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL, another proscribed group).at is the precedent for the peace agreement?
After Samarendra was assassinated in 2000, the UNLF leadership was taken up by R K Meghen, who was arrested in 2010. While Meghen was imprisoned, Khundongbam Pambei became chairman.
There was another split in 2021, when Pambei broke away from the rest of the central committee. So now, there are two factions, one under the chairmanship of Pambei and the other under the chairmanship of NC Koireng. Pambei has been open to talks, and the process to begin ceasefire negotiations goes back to 2020.
What about the other groups?
While the UNLF is the oldest of such groups, several other Meitei insurgent groups have come into being in subsequent years. The UNLF is one of the seven “Meitei Extremist Organisations” banned by the Union government.
The UNLF faction under Koireng continues to be opposed to talks.
On the other hand, a tripartite Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement between the Centre, Manipur state and the Kuki-Zomi insurgent groups had been reached in 2008.
In March this year, the Manipur government pulled out of the agreement with the Zomi Revolutionary Army and the Kuki National Army, saying they were “influencing agitation among forest encroachers”.
Written by Sukrita Baruah
Source: Indian Express, 30/11/23
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