GS – 2
The fatal violence is a cruel reminder of just how little unshackling has happened in the domain of policing. Critically comment 250 Words
In the News:
- The newest episode of sensational brutality has gripped public imagination. Righteous indignation abounds on social media and the press.
- Underneath that gloss, grief and agony probably crowd out every other emotion. The seemingly senseless act of violence inside a police station in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, evokes extreme weariness.
Judiciary as Beacon:
- The essential public sphere should be freed from the demons of its heritage and become an active participant in sustaining a democratic polity and not a colony.
- The Madras High Court acted in the best traditions of constitutional courts in India, which have often passed various directions to try and ameliorate the problem of police violence.
- The Supreme Court of India is the only institution working towards police reforms in the Indian state.
- This acclaim largely comes from the top court’s interventions in the 1990s through cases such as Joginder Kumar v. State of UPwhere guidelines were passed to try and secure two rights in the context of any state action — a right to life and a right to know.
- It took a decade, and in the form of amendments, as the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2008 to give statutory backing to these judicial guidelines; it remains part of the law today.
Systemic failures:
- Constitutional courts have seemingly tried to change our reality of police brutality for well over two decades. There is a reason why the judiciary is commonly called the weakest branch: All the noble intentions in the world cannot help transform the mere words of a court order into reality.
- This needs money and a power of immediate implementation, neither of which courts have.
- In fact, the gap between the highest court and the lowly police officer in India has been demonstrated through studies which show how despite criminal laws being struck down as unconstitutional, they continue to be enforced in various parts of the country by local police.
- Rather than expend energies in only passing more guidelines, constitutional courts must seriously contend with the concrete cases that come their way and expose how hard it is for a common man to get justice against police violence, either through compensation claims or prosecutions.
The state’s language law points to a homogenized nationalism overtaking minority linguistic and cultural aspirations. Explain 250 words
In the News:
- The Assam government recently decided to promulgate a law to make the Assamese language compulsory in all schools, both public and private, including the Kendriya Vidyalayas, from Classes I to X.
Data and Politics:
- Statistical data have often been used as a tool to construct the linguistic hierarchy and homogenisation in a region. This in turn becomes an element crucial for constructing and stabilising the regional political economic hegemonies.
- We have seen that happen in north India with the census-driven communal split of Hindi-Urdu, presuming Muslims to be Urdu speakers, while Hindus to be Hindi speakers.
- Crucially, this politics marginalised languages such as Magadhi, Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Garhwali with their rich literary and linguistic traditions as mere dialects of the Hindi language.
- Census data are often used to portray a ‘danger’ to the Assamese language — the ‘infiltration’ of Bengali-speaking communities is considered to be the primary reason.
- It has to be noted that most tribal communities speak Assamese but return their own respective languages as their mother tongues.
The CAA factor:
- The anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) movement could have been a point of departure in the ‘Assamese Nationalism’ discourse. During the course of the movement, a new definition of ‘Assamese indigenous’ was seen emerging.
- However, at the core of the movement, was also the fear of infiltration that the CAA bill promoted. Such fear and insecurity have an imminent tendency to straitjacket heterogeneous aspirations and scuttle the inclusive nature of the movement.
As a job requirement:
- The moves for making assumes compulsory for job requirement are clear indications of a non-inclusive homogenised Assamese nationalism taking precedence over the inclusion of minority linguistic and cultural aspirations.
- By bringing in such a law, the State government is seeking to overcome the legitimating crisis that its support to CAA had created.
- This law will only increase the marginalisation of these communities, triggering social conflicts once again. It is time for progressive sections in Assam to go beyond the politics of fear and assert the inclusive ethos of Assam.
Future Officers 