THE GREAT WALLS OF INDIA

Reference: TOI article, September 12, 2019 Date: 9/9/19

By Sagarika Gose

With the abolishment of Article-370, the current Government is emphasizing much on One
nation, One Constitution. Even though millions of Indians welcomed this move and considered
it to be a beginning of constitutional equality, there still exist some people in the different
regions of our country who feel betrayed and snatched of their rights. Though the current
central Government tried to break the walls between India and Kashmir by taking away special
status from Jammu and Kashmir, it is unknowingly or knowingly trying to build a barrier
between Assam and India.

With the citizenship list being released in Assam, thousands of people still remain in a dilemma,
as they might have to live as illegal immigrants in the detention camps for the rest of their life.
Also, an amendment is being proposed in the Citizenship Act, according to which any Muslim
imprisoned in the other neighboring countries of India cannot take shelter in India. Of course,
there have been such instances in the past due to which we have been forced to classify people
based on their religion, but then by taking such a step aren't we amplifying the problem? This
is absolutely not the solution of the problem.

The amendment in the citizenship act which classifies people based on religion, takes me to
another question that what exactly is religion? Isn't religion today becoming the root cause of
conflicts among people in the name of God? According to me, belonging to the same religion
only symbolizes your faith in one God, and it is not at all meant to divide people in the name of
God.

If we look at the foundation of the Indian Constitution, it considers all human beings,
irrespective of their caste or religion as it's citizens. All of our great leaders like Tagore, Gandhi
and Ambedkar considered humanity to be a greater citizenship than any other citizenship
defined based on the boundaries between the countries created by humans.
 MOTOR VEHICLE ACT
Reference: TOI coverage, 13/09/19 Date: 13/09/19

With the new amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act from the first week of September, there is
an ongoing debate about the move. With the new act being enforced, there has been a high
increase in the fines charged for violation of traffic rules.

This increase in fines has caused long queues at RTOs to get valid papers, pollution under
control certificate, high-security registration (HSR) number plates, registration certificate (RC)
book and all such necessary documents. There is chaos everywhere owing to the fear of paying
hefty fines, and this is not the case just in Ahmedabad or Gujarat, but the entire country.

Though it appears like people have started following traffic rules but is it the only and the best
solution? This move has also received opposition throughout the country. People are calling it
to be a revenue generation scheme by the government. Hence most of the states are
considering to revise the amount of fine to be paid. The Gujarat Government too announced
changes in the amount of fine to be paid

Analyzing the situation, I feel that we need a middle way for the problem. Looking at the wide
income distribution spectrum in our country, imposing high fines puts a burden on a common
man’s pocket, while it does not affect much the wealthy people. So the question that arises is
that the government just trying to teach a lesson to a common man? The fact that people have
got traffic sense due to this act cannot be denied, and we cannot also afford 1.5 lakh road
accident deaths annually in our country.

It is also true that we don't want people to fear law, but we want them to respect it. So let's
create some distinction based on the kind of offense and the number of violations committed
so far. We need not be so harsh with everyone. Of course, repeat offenders should be
punished. Another point which bothers me is that people are still not completely aware of the
traffic rules and regulations. So the government needs to conduct some traffic awareness
programs and also make the process of getting the required documents from RTO smoother for
the people.
 EDUCATION OF SCHOOL KIDS IN KASHMIR
Reference: In uncertain times, Srinagar schools give video lessons Date: 14/09/19
The HIndu, by Peerzada Asique, 8th Sep’19, Page: 1

Kashmir has always been a sensitive Indian state ever since the partition of India and Pakistan.
The state, known as the “Paradise on the Earth” has become more a military base than a tourist
spot. The state faces severe terrorism and insurgency problem, due to which curfews and
strikes keep taking place in the region. Such events disrupt the life of the local people there,
and ultimately businesses and education centers suffer due to the political conflict.

Due to the abolishment of Article-370 recently, life has again come to a standstill in Jammu and
Kashmir. Several schools and other educational institutes have been shut down dueowing to
security reasons. Apart from everything, Education of school kids seems to be a serious concern
to me. How will the state progress if the children do not get proper education? The schools
there are mostly closed either due to extreme weather conditionscondition or due to some
military conflicts.

Some of the prominent schools in the state have now started giving study material in the form
of books and video lectures to the parents, to catch up with the time lost because of curfew
restrictions in the valley. Due to security concerns, the parents are not ready to send their
wards to school even after a month to abolishment of Article-370, and the shutdown of mobile
and internet services is causing communication problems between the school authorities and
the parents. The schools have, therefore asked the parents to bring pen drives and hard drives
to the school, and take away the study material for their children.

According to me, sharing video lectures and study material is a good step, and I feel that even
other schools in the region should follow this. The Government should take forward such
initiatives to every school in the valley so that we do not compromise with the education of the
upcoming generation. Also, the Government can take a step further by asking some localities to
take classes and teach the students in their neighborhood. With this, the educated localite will
earn a livelihood and the students will also get help with their curriculum when the schools
remain shut for many weeks. This initiative should be taken forward with immediate effect else
we will have some of the best brains of the country settling abroad.