TOPIC-1:Time to deliver
on Women’s Bill.
By clockwork precision, talk
about the Women’s Reservation Bill has duly floated in ahead of March 8,
International Women’s Day. President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice-President Hamid
Ansari have called for reviving the Constitution (108th) Amendment Bill to
reserve for women one-third of seats in Parliament and the State legislatures.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been less forthcoming in revealing whether his government has any plans to
pilot the Bill through the Lok Sabha. This is particularly disappointing. The
Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in March 2010 amid obstructive theatrics from parties such
as the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party, but also with an unusual
level of cooperation among the national parties, especially the Congress, which
was leading the United Progressive Alliance government, and the Bharatiya
Janata Party. Thereafter they could not — or would not — overcome similar odds
in the Lok Sabha to deliver on their stated support for the Bill. Six years on,
Mr. Modi’s BJP commands a clear majority in the Lok Sabha. It is therefore in a
position not only to get the Bill passed by mopping up the support of just a few more MPs, but also to
force the Congress and the Left into reaching out across the aisle in a polarised Parliament to affirm fidelity to a long-voiced promise. Every
session of Parliament must serve as a reminder that the real stumbling block to the Bill has not been political
from parties opposed to it, but essentially patriarchal
within the very same parties that have affirmed support to it.
Also read: Women's Reservation Bill: The story so far
In the two decades since it was
first presented in Parliament, different governments have tried clearing it but
faced tremendous opposition, often
accompanied by manhandling and name-calling. It is obvious that despite the
pretty speeches and public posturing, the political space in the country,
regardless of the ideological divide, is uniformly and strongly chauvinistic. Opposition to the Bill has often
taken the form of a demand for the proposed quota to be diced along other parameters of disadvantage, such
as caste and class. Additionally, resistance has been rationalised as a caution
that women’s quota would be appropriated by relatives and proxies of powerful
politicians, neatly ignoring the fact that such a reality could well obtain
with regard to male legislators too. Women need to overcome gender prejudice
firstly in their respective parties before entering the wider electoral fray. It is also a
sign of lack of seriousness on the Bill that parties have not taken up a
considered discussion of the impact of the rotation of reserved constituencies envisioned, and purposefully debate its merits
against suggestions for double-member constituencies, proportional representation
and mandatory women’s quotas for parties while announcing candidate lists for
elections. To have more women in legislatures and the government is a big step
towards empowering women in society. The experience of several village
panchayats that have women as effective leaders bears testimony to this fact.
Affirmative action of this kind is the best way to usher
in social and gender justice.
VOCABULARY:
1.precision : the quality, condition, or fact of
being exact and accurate.
2.revealing : making
interesting or significant information known, especially of a personal nature.
3.amid
: surrounded by; in the middle of.
4.obstructive :
causing or tending to cause deliberate difficulties and delays.
5.theatrics :
dramatic performances; theatricals.
6.mopping : clean
or soak up liquid from (something) by wiping.
7.aisle : a
passage between rows of seats in a building such as a church or theatre, an
aircraft, or train.
8.affirm : offer
(someone) emotional support or encouragement.
9.fidelity :
faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty
and support.
10.stumbling :
trip or momentarily lose one's balance; almost fall.
11.patriarchal :
relating to or denoting a system of society or government controlled by men.
12.tremendous :
very great in amount, scale, or intensity.
13.chauvinistic :
feeling or displaying aggressive or exaggerated patriotism.
14.diced : play or
gamble with dice.
15.fray :(of a
fabric, rope, or cord) unravel or become worn at the edge, typically through constant
rubbing.
16.envisioned
:imagine as a future possibility; visualize.
17.usher :a person
who shows people to their seats, especially in a cinema or theatre or at a
wedding.
TOPIC-2:Staking
claim to Twenty20 supremacy.
India’s triumph
in the Asia Cup will have surprised no one. It would appear that not only are
M.S. Dhoni’s men the best Twenty20 outfit in world cricket, as evidenced by their No.1 ranking, they are also
close to impossible to master in the subcontinent. The win — India’s sixth Asia
Cup title and its first in this shortened format — was not merely a statement
of regional dominance. The India team would now assume that it has served
notice to anyone who might have designs on the World Twenty20, which will be
hosted in the country over the next four weeks. Bangladesh might have briefly
threatened a coup in the rain-shortened
final — it deserves great credit for its brave, attacking cricket all
tournament — but few teams are as adept at the chase under pressure as India.
The batting unit contains a mix of disruptive
firepower and nerveless skill, contest-ending weapons both. When deployed calmly —
with the certainty that comes from doing it repeatedly, as India’s batsmen have
in the Indian Premier League — no target is safe. As team director Ravi Shastri
said after the final, this is a unit that knows how to get the job done — a truism on the face of it, but, as Germany has
shown in international football tournaments, one that has been coined to
explain the unexplainable. In sport, there is such a thing as the ‘tournament
team’. Australia is the most obvious
example this era in cricket. Dhoni-led
teams haven’t been far off, however; indeed the current one enters the World
T20 as the overwhelming favourite.
This is not to say India is without vulnerability. As Mohammad Amir proved again in
helpful conditions, no batsman enjoys the combination of pace, bounce and
movement. The Pakistani left-armer’s spell was one of the moments of the Asia
Cup — heart warming and eye-catching in equal measure, given his road back from
perdition and the sheer spectacle great fast-bowling sets up. But it
was just that: a moment. For a side to subject India’s batting, it will need
more. And considering it is unlikely that India will play on wickets that
assist the pacemen to the same degree in the World T20, the chances of an
encore are remote. Mystery spin is the other thing that has challenged India in
the past; there doesn’t seem to be enough of it around this time, however.
Perhaps the greatest dangers to India’s batting comes from within: complacency and ego. The bowling still needs work;
it can unravel when attacked. But Jasprit Bumrah and his unique action offer
India a difference-maker, in support of R. Ashwin. The others will need careful
handling, but Dhoni, perhaps the finest reactive captain in the game, is adept
at it. The fielding moreover is world-class, so chances will be taken and
occasionally created. The Asia Cup was a title to be won, but also preparation;
having achieved both objectives in some style, India will be confident about
what lies ahead.
VOCABULARY:
1.triumph
:a great victory or achievement.
2.evidenced
: be or show evidence of.
3.coup :
a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.
4.disruptive : causing or tending to cause disruption.
5.deployed
: move (troops) into position for military action.
6.truism
: a statement that is obviously true and says nothing new or interesting.
7.obvious
: easily perceived or understood; clear, self-evident, or apparent.
8.era : a
long and distinct period of history.
9.vulnerability : capable of or susceptible to being wounded or hurt, as by a weapon.
10.perdition : (in Christian theology) a state of eternal punishment and damnation
into which a sinful and unrepentant person passes after death.
11.sheer
: nothing other than; unmitigated (used for emphasis).
12.complacency : a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's
achievements.
