KPSC reservation: Is it enough to fix errors?
The government has finally admitted to its errors and has decided to continue with the arrangement of SC/ST/OBCs to avail seats under general category on merit basis in KPSC exams.
This is not a mistake that happened by oversight or something. If this order was implemented without any discussion or publicity, this would have caused much injustice to the KPSC aspirants under those categories.
Reservation is given to those students who have been unable to compete with students from more favourable background capable of acing education and related sectors. Turning this topsy-turvy, a conspiracy was being hatched to give away the seats reserved for lower class and caste students to general ones. The commission was almost on the threshold of taking this decision. If this was done, reservation would have been a mockery of things that it was intended to fix.
If talented and hardworking Dalits were to be selected in their own category, what’s the point of their striving harder to prove their merit? The hardworking ones would get selected even if they don’t use the reservation provision. Don’t the higher authorities know this fact? What’s even more shocking is that this issue came up during the rule of a secular party and its coalition partner that claim to ensure social justice for all. How could this happen with Siddaramaiah, Kumaraswamy and Parameshwar were at the helm of affairs?
Though the error has been fixed, the government needs to introspect on this issue for sure. This is not an accident or oversight for sure. There are many forces that are working to ensure this circular was drawn up and implemented, if possible. Those forces want reservation to fail and the upper caste lobby to win. So a circular was sent out without bringing it to the notice of the CM, on the advice of AG executed by Chief Secretary.
If this was an error, why have those who were responsible for this have not been punished? An inquiry and penalization has to be initiated to ensure such discrepancies do not occur in the due time. But the government does not seem interested in doing that.
Unfortunately, the Dalits had to take to streets for the order to be withdrawn. The leaders of coalition had to raise their voice in solidarity to ensure social justice was upheld. Finally the government admitted its mistake. But on the other hand, the government is protecting the officer who make a mistake like one would protect an innocent child.
Such a mistake had happened during Siddaramaiah’s time as well. Karnataka didn’t support the ban on Gau Rakshaks when the Supreme Court sought the opinion of states. Our state had written a rather neutral answer that could work in the favour of keeping Gau Rakshaks without being banned.
But later it was revealed that the then CM Siddaramaiah didn’t know about this particular development. He was given wrong information about this response. The same ‘higher authorities’ had acted on this one as well. Today, the home minister of state may be a secular man. But there could be Sangh Parivar agents in police departments and one would be forced to go by the data and opinion they provide to bolster the claims.
The past government had trusted the information provided by the police department to celebrate Tipu Jayanti and shared the same with the media. This had become a major cause of embarrassment for the then home minister Parameshwar. Today, the country seems to be ruled by ‘legislative’ pillar. But in reality, this is not the case. Looks like the executive pillar is calling the shots at the end of the day.
Less knowledge about the system, innocence about what is appropriate and lack of experience has led to people in offices being misled. If an executive wing is implementing its agenda, the completion of administration for the assigned five years term of a CM would be a miracle.
Nobody trusts the government to complete its term now since people’s representatives would take years to even understand the administration and their departments. This can happen only with the help of officers. It’s important to remember officers didn’t cooperate too well with Siddaramaiah either during the beginning of his term when he tried implementing the flagship schemes.
All officers have their own agenda too, though they are bound to serve the people. They want particular parties to assume power. Hence they ensure some important and ambitious schemes to fail at implementation to bring bad repute to the government. This way they ensure the public opinion is never in favour of the ruling dispensation that they are not fond of.
Though ministers are elected by people, they sometimes fear these officers who have been sitting in vantage positions since long and that they can cost the ministers their public opinion. As soon as a secular government comes to power, they have to ensure they have a set of officers who are aware of facts and can help the government tread its chosen path. Only then the government would win people’s confidence. Else the government would carry the blame of something that it wasn’t responsible for. Now, such a culprit needs to be identified and sent away for betterment of the state.
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Junior Hockey World Cup: IndiGo crisis disrupts travel plans of players' families, fans
Chennai (PTI): For Kate, the dream was simple -- to watch her son Fahy Noah play for the Australian team in the Junior Hockey World Cup here and visit the Taj Mahal.
But her plans, like those of many others, have been upended by the operational crisis that has hit IndiGo, India's largest domestic airline.
"I am here for the first time and India is so kind and welcoming. We were hoping to see the Taj Mahal, but with the IndiGo problems, we are a bit scared now," Kate, who has come from Brisbane, told PTI outside the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here.
"One family went on a rest day and got stuck overnight. I think we will have to cancel all our travel plans now, though seeing the Taj Mahal was on my bucket list for long," she said.
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This is the first time that 24 teams are participating in the Junior Hockey World Cup, being held in Chennai and Madurai from November 28 to December 10. For most players and their families, it is their maiden trip to India. Many NRIs have also flown in to support the Indian team.
However, the widespread flight delays and cancellations have thrown schedules into chaos. IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights last week, citing regulatory changes in the pilots' flight duty and regulations norms. This resulted in lakhs of passengers getting stuck at airports across the country.
Laura, who has come from Belgium with her entire family to support her son, said they are now travelling by road.
"We are happy to be here in this beautiful country. We went to Munnar and Madurai, and now we are planning to go to Puducherry and Mahabalipuram by road," she said.
"We had taken IndiGo flights earlier, but some other families who travelled on different days got stuck and somehow managed to come back by train. So we are not flying anywhere in India now. Road travel only and then back to Brussels next week," she said.
For 87-year-old Kenyan hockey legend Avtar Singh Sohal, a four-time Olympian and a lifelong supporter of Indian hockey, the crisis was particularly distressing. He spent 12 gruelling hours at the Chandigarh airport on December 4 before finally reaching Chennai just in time for the quarterfinals.
"Our IndiGo flight was delayed by 12 hours. We were at the airport from 7 am to 7 pm. They kept giving excuses -- the aircraft has not arrived, the pilot is not available. We had no idea what was actually happening," he said.
Accompanying Sohal was 85-year-old Tarlok Singh Mandair, a former treasurer of the English Hockey Association, who had flown in from London.
"It was a horrible experience. They kept changing the timings from 12 noon to 4 pm and we finally took off at 7:20 pm. They gave us sandwiches which were not even good," Mandair recalled.
"Our return flight is also on IndiGo, but now we are exploring other options," he said.
Jujhar Singh Plaha, 86, from London, who was on the same flight, said his excitement has turned into anxiety.
"We were so excited about this trip; hockey is our first love. But this (IndiGo crisis) spoiled our mood. Now we are worried about returning because at our age, we cannot travel long distances by train or road," he said.
Jason, the father of Australian player Roger Lachlan, has had an eventful trip to India so far -- beginning with the rain in Chennai triggered by Cyclone Ditwah.
"We are from Hobart -- home of Ricky Ponting and David Boon. We arrived after a cyclone, which caused heavy rain. Now the sun is out and we are enjoying ourselves," he said with a smile.
Jason, too, has shelved all further travel plans.
"No sightseeing now. We will just eat, swim and head back. I am loving masala dosa, masala tea and curries," he said.
Some fans from Bengaluru, who had booked their flight tickets months in advance, decided not to take a risk. They opted for refunds and drove down to Chennai on Sunday to catch the semifinal.
"With flight uncertainty and trains full, we drove down. We did not want to miss India in the semis," said Vinod Chinnappa, who drove for six hours to come here.
Even officials have not been spared by the flight disruptions.
Digvijay Singh, an official of the Hockey India League franchise, waited eight hours at the Patna airport to catch a flight to Chennai.
"I did not want to miss the India-Belgium quarterfinal, so I waited. I finished all episodes of (web series) Family Man at the lounge," he said.
"I had gone to Patna from Delhi for a meeting earlier in the day and then needed to connect to Chennai," Singh said.
With the World Cup set to wrap up in two days, uncertainty about people's plans to return home looms large.
With prices of alternative flights rising and train seats nearly impossible to find, fans, officials, families and journalists are monitoring travel apps as closely as match updates.
If the situation does not improve soon, returning home could be as challenging as winning matches on the field.
