The Hindu Editorial Analysis | 23rd September ’20 | PDF Download

A new world order

• 22-09-2020: 75 years of the United Nations
• PM Modi – reform – “outdated structures”
• World body faces “crisis of confidence”
• Particularly – Security Council
• The UN was born in the crisis of the World War era
• Today’s realities are all together different
• No P-Member in UNSC from African, Australian and South American continents

• India claims a seat at UNSC based on… Being one of the world’s largest economies Most populous countries With a track record in promoting a rules-based international order Contributing to peacekeeping through UN forces

• UN, the UNSC, and WHO have failed on many ocassions.
• The UN’s reform process, held through Inter Governmental Negotiations (IGN) has not made progress over decades, despite commitments.
• UN’s 75th anniversary declaration passed by all member countries this week pledges to “upgrade the United Nations” with a commitment to “instil new life in the discussions on the reform of the Security Council”.

• 5 major
• issues Enlarging the Security Council Categories of membership The question of the veto that five Permanent members of the UNSC wield Regional representation Redistributing the Security CouncilGeneral Assembly power balance

Precarious houses

• Bhiwandi – building collapse – killing at least 20 people
• Exposed – precarious condition of many dwellings in one of India’s more prosperous States
• Legal liability and responsibility – owner of the structure and some municipal officials
• These traumatic calamities, similar to many others in recent years, point to a worrying trend.
• Flimsy buildings, particularly those constructed in the 1970s, are in danger of collapse, while their owners and residents are unable to fund their maintenance.
• Start safety audits – create more teams
• Last year, Mumbai’s municipal government has identified, 499 to be in a dangerous state.
• On the other hand, building owners must be incentivised to carry out safety repairs, with support from the Centre and the State, making such certified expenditure tax-deductible.
• Proper checking of construction of building

E-learning in India, a case of bad education

• John Dewey, American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer, strongly argued that “[A]n environment in which some are limited will always in reaction create conditions that prevent the full development even of those who fancy they enjoy complete freedom for unhindered growth.”
• Another point he makes equally strongly is that for good education, one must lead the child’s current interests and abilities organically to logically organised human knowledge.
• This second point is an indicator of the quality of education.
• Our education system was never very efficient even in the best of times.
• COVID-19 pandemic – schools are shut – online teaching

3 issues

•  Exacerbation of inequality The pedagogical issues leading to bad quality education An unwarranted thrust on online education
• Calamities be they natural or man-made, affect the underprivileged the hardest
• In our society there is no large movement that may generate any hope of an improved situation in terms of equality and social justice.
• Therefore, any positive change that might come about will be a cumulative result of the development of capabilities and grit in individuals.
• NCERT – Learning Enhancement Guidelines – it says nothing about the quantum and depth of learning.
• Listening to lectures on the mobile phone, copying from the board where the teacher is writing, frequent disconnections and/or having blurred video/audio can hardly and organically connect the child’s present understanding with the logically organised bodies of human knowledge.
• In the science and mathematics videos, in particular, there are many misconceptions and ambiguities.
• The emphasis is more on ‘tricks’ to remember for success in an examination than laying the stress on conceptual understanding.
• As Michael Joseph Oakeshott who also wrote on education would say, it requires well-connected, regular efforts that are incrementally building to help the child focus his attention and to provoke him to distinguish and to discriminate, and develop a habit of staying on task.
• And this requires help from someone who knows the child as well as understands the objective of education.
• The importance of an institutional environment cannot be overemphasised when one thinks of online teaching.

Making the language of the law comprehensible

• Draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2020 – only English and Hindi
• Two High Courts have asked the government to publish the notification in all 22 languages mentioned in Schedule VIII
• Central government- it is not required by the law to publish these notifications in the 22 languages mentioned in Schedule VIII
• Other reasons offered by the central government – translations may result “in the meaning of the words being obfuscated and often even lost”
• Authoritative Texts (Central Laws) Act, 1973 which creates a legal mechanism to recognise authoritative translations of all central laws into languages mentioned in the Schedule VIII to the Constitution of India.
• This law extends to rules and delegated legislation issued under central laws.
• The Legislative Department of the Law Ministry hosts these translations on its website.
• The Official Languages Act, 1963 requires the publication of the law in only English and Hindi.
• Since Independence, language has been one of the main markers of political identity in India.
• The rise and success of several regional political parties.
• Central government offices such as the passport office, dealing with citizens across the country should give citizens the option to engage with the government in a language of their choosing.
• The Supreme Court of India in the past (Harla v. State of Rajasthan, 1951) has ruled that citizens are not bound by laws which have not been published and publicised.
• All EU-level official documents are made available in all 24 official languages of member States
• It is appalling that the Government of India does not have a similar policy in place.

Needless Booker brouhaha

• A kind of neo-colonialism or an imperialism of the mind is established when books and authors are considered important only vis-à-vis their mentions in the foreign press and nominations for ‘prestigious’ foreign awards.
• Lest it be forgotten it should perhaps be said that awards are always a reflection of a handful or a jury comprising certain individuals and their likes and dislikes.
• This award-obsessed culture is a trap to jettison conversation about reading and writing and further drown us in the cult of the celebrity, a permanent fetish.
• There are several awards in various Indian languages which regularly honour and recognise literary talent.
• Those awards barely find a mention in the mainstream media.
• We have to wait for translations to bridge that gap.
• While that is surely welcome, it should not hold our imagination hostage to foreign awards and juries which do precious little to improve our lives as readers and thinkers especially in a country known for its widely varied and constantly evolving literary cultures beyond the English speaking and writing sphere.

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