 |
Newscan |
|
Newscan |
|
Now nothing but Tamil will do On November 16, the DMK government in Tamil Nadu announced that all nursery and primary schools following the state syllabus would have to switch to Tamil as the medium of instruction from the next academic year. Tamil itself would be a compulsory subject in all schools in the state at the primary level. Chief minister, M. Karunanidhi also announced that no unrecognised primary school would be allowed to operate in the state from the next year. Currently, only 2,100 primary schools are recognised, while over 20,000 unrecognised nursery and primary schools are operating in the state. The announcement would mean that any school seeking recognition from the state would have to switch to Tamil as its medium of instruction. The controversy comes at the heels of several others related to the issue of ‘Indianising’ the education system. In October, the RSS–run Vidya Bharati had demanded the deletion of one chapter and one poem from the CBSE Std. IX English course. They objected to The Highway Man, a poem by Alfred Noyes and The Muscular Son–in–law, a story by P.K. Mukhopadhyay, on the basis that they contained sexual overtones and did not conform to ‘Indian values’. Storming the male citadel in Arunachal Arunachal Pradesh is finally seeing a concerted campaign against multiple marriage, wife battering, sexual slavery and child marriage, all practices sanctioned by the customary laws of the land. The OWA (Oju Welfare Association) and the APWWS (Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society) have now joined hands to bring pressure on the state government to take steps to stop the mistreatment of women. The state legislative assembly had earlier passed the Protection of Customary Laws and Social Practices Bill, which would not only legalise polygamy and child marriage, but also deny women the right to property, divorce and even child custody. The APWWS’s protest campaign, however, succeeded in persuading the President of India to withhold assent. Secretary-general of the APWWS, Jarjum Ete said, "The bill, which has been rightly sent back to the state government for review, literally equates women with cattle". Their struggle faces tough opposition from the government of the state, whose chief minister, Gegong Apang, himself has four wives. He has even been quoted as having stated in the state assembly, on International Women’s Day, "physical thrashing is necessary to discipline errant wives"! The government’s propaganda machinery meanwhile, has painted Ete as an enemy of the indigenous people for nationalising an internal issue of tribesmen. Apang had even attempted to have Ete’s passport impounded in order to prevent her "vilification" campaign from being taken abroad. Exchange worth promoting In mid–November, India for warded a list of 22 proposals to Pakistan for the improvement of mutual ties. The list largely includes proposals for the exchange of artistes from various fields for a period of four to five weeks. Officials in certain quarters felt the sixth session of talks had been of particular significance and could facilitate "great strides in people–to–people interaction, leading to easing of political tension". The exchange of artists was termed "a substantive attempt to improve cultural ties". The proposal includes the exchange of two or three musicians, one painter, one sculptor and five writers. India has also suggested the organisation of one major seminar annually, "on mutually–agreed" aspects of Indo-Pak cultural relations. The seminar may be organised alternatively in India and Pakistan, with the host country inviting up to 10 experts or intellectuals for the seminar. Both sides would also exchange at least one exhibition of contemporary fine arts every year and arrange for one visiting painter and sculptor to hold workshops in the neighbouring country. A seminar on literary topics, exchange of two archivists from each side, and exchange of publications between the National Archives of both countries are among the other proposals. Although Pakistan did not forward any concrete plans itself, it has promised to consider India’s proposals towards greater amity. A commission none takes seriously The National Commission for Minorities re–constituted in 1996, convened a two–day meeting in November, to take stock of its achievements and failures over the last two years. The Commission complained that the Union as well as several state governments failed to act on its reports and recommendations to safeguard minority rights. The chairman of the commission, Dr. Tahir Mahmood, accused the government of Maharashtra in particular, of being the "least supportive" of the commission’s recommendations. "We usually do not receive replies from the authorities, on our recommendations, and the few replies we receive", he said, "are in the negative". He also asserted that the rights of minority communities were not actually in full force in the country and these safeguards were often violated "under various pretexts including arbitrary police and presumed administrative expediency". He said none of the three central governments the commission had faced, and almost none of the state governments, had taken their recommendations, which "carry great political and moral weight" into full consideration . |