Editor,
The Supreme Court in its ruling of August 1, has rightly observed that a policy must be evolved by the State to identify the ‘creamy layer’ among SCs and STs and exclude them from quota benefits. Justice Gavi is right that this is the only way to achieve “real equality” as enshrined in the Constitution. ‘Creamy layer’ refers to a class of persons within reserved categories who are socially and economically advanced. At present, the concept of ‘creamy layer’ is applicable only to the reservation for Other Backward Classes. For OBCs, the creamy layer comprises households with annual income in excess of Rs 8 lakh a year. Justice Gavi brilliantly wrote in the judgement that, “Putting the children of parents from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes who on account of benefit of reservation have reached a high position and ceased to be socially, economically and educationally backward and the children of parents doing manual work in the villages in the same category would defeat the constitutional mandate.” This is a landmark judgement by the Apex Court and is a victory of the constitutional mandate. The ruling should help the depressed class or downtrodden.
Yours etc;
VK Lyngdoh
Via email
Medical doctors losing people’s respect
Editor,
I agree with Salil Gewali’s letter titled “Ethical Crisis in Medical Care,” (ST July 24, 2024) and want to add my thoughts to it. It is sad to see that some doctors and private nursing homes in our state are also behaving unethically. These medical professionals, whom we trust with our health, seem more focused on making money than on caring for their patients.
Many people, including my neighbours and friends, feel the same way. They worry that some hospitals are keeping patients on ventilators for extended periods to increase medical bills, even when the doctors know that the patient has no chance of recovery. This is especially hard on families who are already struggling emotionally.
For poorer families, the situation gets worse. They often have to borrow money to pay the hospital bills and even just to get the body of their loved one released after they have expired. This causes even more pain and stress for them. It is wrong that, in the name of medical care, these institutions are making things harder for people instead of helping them. For minor illnesses like coughs and colds or minor injuries, many doctors suggest long lists of unnecessary tests. For each test conducted by laboratories and nursing homes, doctors receive commissions. The government must take necessary action.
In conclusion, like Salil Gewali, I believe these medical practices have become a serious concern for poor people like us. We should all come forward to denounce such doctors who have abused their respected profession.
Yours etc.,
Marbud Pyrbot
Via email
India should leverage its demographic dividend in sports
Editor,
A country’s number of medals in the Olympics should ideally be in proportion to the number of young people in that country. India’s position in demography is more advantageous than even that of China. It is a different story that China is now taking all round measures to increase its population.
In the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, which was held later in July 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, India got 1 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze medals, closely followed by Hong Kong with 1 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze medals.
If we compare the number of young people in our country with that of Hong Kong, then we will realise that the latter is a success story that we should emulate.
But why is this difference? It would be totally wrong to infer that the difference lies in racial diversity. Black, white, yellow, and brown athletes have shown that talent is not a monopoly of a particular skin colour. They have totally debunked the theory of racial supremacy. So, the answer lies in somewhere else.
Only a small percentage of families in our country can afford to financially and logistically nurture the talent of their children. Now, imagine what would have happened if almost all the children of our country had the financial springboard either from their parents or from the state to aim for medals at the Olympics. India would have been at the top in the Olympics had it achieved a high ranking like Hong Kong’s fourth position in the HDI.
Here, a state can play a big role by trying to make an uneven field a little bit level playing, especially in regard to health and education. Those countries that give top priority on this issue, naturally score high on the human development indices. This is because the Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development like – a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable, and having a decent standard of living.
To become a competitive sportsperson, a child first of all needs good health and a decent standard of living, both of which are among the three key dimensions of human development. So, naturally there is a close connection between the rank of a country in the HDI and that of in the Olympics.
Now, let us compare a country’s position in the medal standings at the last Olympics in Tokyo with its rank in the latest Human Development Index.
In spite of having the demographic advantage of a relatively young population, India has to content with just one gold at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. The reason lies in India’s lowly 134th position in the HDI.
China’s second position at the Tokyo Olympics is reflective of its huge population. The United States of America with less population managed to surpass China to reach the top of the table because of its ranking of 20th in the HDI which is much better than China’s 75th.
The third placed Japan at the Tokyo Olympics has an HDI rank of 24. Great Britain, having 15th rank in the HDI, got the 4th place in Tokyo.
The need of the hour is to rescue India from the abysmal 134th position in the HDI. It would help achieve the Olympic motto, ‘faster, higher and stronger’, in every sphere.
‘Catch them young’ is an unavoidable roadmap for a country’s success in sports. The improvement in human development indices is in sync with this roadmap.
Just giving money and incentives to the sportspersons only after they get success in international arenas is like putting the cart before the horse.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata