Established 1946 1 Pages 20 Price : Rupees Five Vol. 72 No. 36 A Plea for Justice – Women Reservation October 1, 2017 Rajindar Sachar Are Refugees Outsiders? Sonia Gandhi has written to Prime Act would be its first priority. But Kuldip Nayar Minister Modi to get the Women instead one had total silence on the Bill Reservation Bill passed in the in the President’s speech on the opening Abject Failure of a Vice Chancellor parliament and is reported to have day of the Parliamentary session. This Sandeep Pandey promised full support. This has led to was an open and clear notice to the war of words between Congress and women activists that the Bill, which had India’s Quest for Security Council Permanent Membership BJP as to whose fault is it that this Bill been so proudly projected as a D. K. Giri has not been passed in spite of both commitment to gender equality, has parties professing their support for it. been quietly buried, and is not likely to Gandhi’s Message to Our One is reminded of a picture in be revived in conceivable future. Troubled World newspaper in March 2010 flashed in Bharat Dogra all newspapers where, one saw fiercest Thereafter the Women Reservation political opponents Sonia Gandhi and Bill was referred to Parliamentary Gandhi on Princely and Sushma Swaraj in a happy embrace in Standing Committee but nothing Temple Property the precincts of the Parliament. What happened till 2010, when women K. Venkateswarlu was the occasion for this un-precedent reservation bill or the constitution (108th spectacle and close bon homie. Amendment Bill 2008) which was proposed to amend the Constitution of Constitutionalism, Social Justice Though introduced by former Prime India to reserve 33% of all seats in the and Black Money B. Sudershan Reddy Minister Deve Gowda for the first time Lower House of Parliament of India, on 12 September 1996 in the Lok the Lok Sabha, and in all State Sabha, no concrete action was taken Legislative Assemblies for women. by various governments to effectuate Editor : the legislation on Women’s Reservation The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on G. G. Parikh Bill in Parliament and the state 9 March 2010. It was this event that Managing Editor : Guddi legislatures. Everyone expected the made Sushma Swaraj and Sonia legislation to be passed immediately. In Gandhi embrace each other so D-15, Ganesh Prasad, fact, Prime Minister I.K. Gujral emotionally. However, the Lok Sabha Naushir Bharucha Marg, promised his earliest priority in passing never voted on the Bill. The Bill lapsed after the dissolution of the 15th Lok Mumbai - 400 007. this Bill but nothing concrete happened. Sabha in 2014. Email : [email protected] When the UPA government came to Website:www.janataweekly.org power in 2004, it announced that the Every time from 1998 to 2014, 2 JANATA, October 1, 2017 whenever Parliament met, women I know the Delimitation Commission Any suggestion by opponents of the representatives were assured in all has already marked the constituencies bill by creating hurdle by suggesting that solemnity by each major political party on the basis of single member seats. women quota be further sub-divided by that it hoped to pass the Bill in that very But I do not think it is necessary to reserving proportionate number of seats session. In reality, this was a tongue- redraw the constituencies to make it for OBC and SC women separately is in-cheek operation, because no further double. cheap trick to deny women a real share progress was made in the matter of in power. women reservation. By a rule of thumb the top one third of the constituencies having the Let me point out that biggest The reality is that male chauvinism maximum voters in each state could be supporter of Dalits and backward will never reserve seats for women declared double-member. If the castes Dr. Lohia had opined that because it will take away 1/3 of the legislators are sincerely genuine they reservation for women was an present strength of parliament for could even submit an agreed list. instrument of social engineering – he women. I therefore feel that way out could never have suggested splitting the can only be by increasing the strength At present, of course, a fresh strength of women’s quota by further of Lok Sabha to 750 and making 1/3 process has again to be initiated in splitting them in sub quotas. of seats to double member Parliament, because the previous constituencies with one seat therein to Reservation Bill lapsed with the At present there are only 61 Women be reserved for women. Of course the dissolution of the previous Lok Sabha Members in Lok Sabha. The shame of women will be eligible to contest from in 2014. discrimination against women can only other than reserved seats and may be corrected by providing reservation therefore increase their number beyond In the just finished election for women’s share in the legislatures – 1/3 of the total parliament seats. propaganda in Uttar Pradesh, not one both in Parliament and State party, including the so-called seculars, Assemblies. Thus, Lok Sabha membership can with the exception of the Socialist Party be easily increased to 750, with a (India), included the item of reservation provision that one woman candidate will for women in their election manifestoes. Janata Subscription mandatorily be elected from those Can such male chauvinism be allowed double-member constituencies, and, to exist in our country? depending upon the votes received, it may be that even both elected candidate With the 2019 Parliamentary Annual Rs. : 260/- could be women. This law was laid elections coming, is it not time for the down by the Supreme Court decades women leadership in both the Congress ago in former President V.V. Giri’s case. and BJP, through Sonia Gandhi and Three Years : 750/- The same principle will apply in the case Sushma Swaraj to jointly clench their of elections to the state legislatures. fists and warn all the parties that they will no longer tolerate this injustice and Space in Parliament is not a problem. neglect to continue? They may Demand Draft / Cheque Shivraj Patil, once Union Home legitimately continue their differences on Minister, is on record in admitting on other subjects in the light of their own that space is not a problem if respective programmes. Mumbai Bank in favour Parliament decides to increase the of number of seats. Now that Sonia Gandhi has promised full support to the Bill, Modi The alternative of double member who claims to stand for Swatch Bharat JANATA TRUST constituencies can be done by amending (which is a programme to enhance the Article 81(2) of the Constitution by dignity of the women in the country) D-15, Ganesh Prasad, increasing the present strength, which cannot have any objection. His request Naushir Bharucha Marg, can be easily done if political parties to Mamata Banerjee and Mayawati Mumbai 400 007 are genuine in their commitment to the should invoke immediate positive Bill. response from those leaders. JANATA, October 1, 2017 3 Between the Lines Are Refugees Outsiders? Kuldip Nayar Communist leader Jyoti Basu ruled non-Bengalis, had sprung up to resist that the number of Rohingya refugees West Bengal for two and a half ‘Bangladeshi infiltrators’ and ‘Islamic who have fled Myanmar into decades. He fought relentlessly terrorists.’ Bangladesh since late August has now against the communal forces. It is topped 480,000,” he said. “This brings surprising how the RSS has All these added to the communal the total number of Rohingya refugees penetrated and practically taken over cauldron that was already boiling, in Bangladesh to more than 700,000. the state. Chief Minister Mamata thanks to a steady exodus of Hindus The Rohingyas are denied citizenship Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is in from Bangladesh in recent times. The under a 1982 Myanmar citizenship law. power in the state at present but even upper caste Hindus, who were a part The Myanmar government recognizes her adherence admits that they are of Bangladesh before the country was them as illegal immigrants from fighting a losing battle. liberated from West Pakistan, had neighbouring Bangladesh. migrated to India and even today they The RSS has moved into the interior maintain two houses, one in Bengal and The exodus of Rohingyas has also of the state and its morning shakhas are the other in Bangladesh. Their children posed a problem to New Delhi since being held in every park. How and why study in Indian schools and have even some of them have infiltrated into India it has happened is for a case study. acquired identity and become citizens through the northeastern states which Communist ideology is what the Left of India in some cases. are sharing a long border with pursued. In sharp contrast is the RSS Myanmar. Even as the government is preaching, completely archival and However, the rising Islamic trying to prove to the court their conservative. The rich Bengali culture radicalism and the steady attacks on association with Pakistani terrorist is today sandwiched between the RSS Hindus in Bangladesh have led to fresh groups, BJP MP Varun Gandhi has and communists. exodus over a decade. Unable to find advocated asylum for Rohingya a living, the economically poor are Muslims who have escaped the Mamata is accused of trying to mostly confined to the border districts, violence in Myanmar. This is a view that appease the Muslims when she vainly eking out a living through odd jobs. is in contrast to what the government banned the immersion of Durga idols Understandably, the Bengalis harbour has advocated.