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It is a grea t misfortune to see tha t unt ouchability and its associated perils still persist in this countr y . This is extr emely ram pan
in ru ral India. First and foremost, th ere should be an awa reness campaign a cross India about th e crimin al consequences of such
discrimination. Ev ery one should know how they migh t suffer if they discrimina te a SC/ST person. Secondly , one should work fo
the upliftment of poor SC/STs. Th e reserv ation quota should be utilised well, by all economic classes of the oppressed sections.
In this case, I shall sternly shout at m y gran dmother for doing such a h orrible act. I will ask her imm ediately to apologise to my
friend. I shall also apologise to him in front of ev ery one. I am sur e that h e will understand and will forgiv e my gra ndmother.
Aft er a ll, he is m y best fri end a nd h e would respec t h er for h er a ge a tleast . I sha ll th en t ell ev ery one in th e house a nd t he v ill ag e
how untoucha bility is abolished and how discrim ination is criminalised and one must respect another hum an being for what h e
is and for not the comm unity he is born in.
Reply
Aditya JhaOctober 31, 2013 at 7 :20 pm
Ak an d,
Your gr an dmother h as com mitt ed a cr im e, one th at ent ai ls fin e and i mp risonm ent . Would y ou con done h er of h er m ista kes
just bec au se she i s y our fam ily mem ber ?
What if a ny one else in th e v ill ag e would h av e com mitted t he sam e cr im e?
You a re a publ ic ser v an t a nd y ou m ust be ‘i mp ar tia l’ i n y our deal ing s. Law appl ies to ev ery one.
Reply
Akan d SitraOctober 31, 201 3 at 11 :03 pm
I understand wh at y ou are sayin g. But, I would respect one’s age also. She is 85, ev en if she were not my gran dmother,
any old lady any where wh o is around 85, I would be sympathetic.
I would m ake her a pologize and tell h er she did a mistake. I would leav e the police complain t decision to my friend. If he
feels he was really offended and feels that the old lady should be punished, he may very well go ahead and complain. And
I would support an d respect tha t decision.
But, I my self would not proactively go and file a police complain t aga inst an old lady. We should respect her fragile an d wea k body an d un der stand h er ign orant mi nd. I guess a ny one w ould do the sam e.
Reply
Anjali
October 31, 201 3 at 11 :35 pm
Aka nd, my v iew s ar e sam e as y our , I wr ote in my an swer th at only , lat er I r ead y ou v iew s. Its easy to aspire to be a n
idealist but practically it takes time to reach at th at lev el.
Reply
Azra Abdu llaNovember 1, 2013 at 1:59 am
There can be cases where one clenches to his traditional v alues inspite of being war ned of legal consequences, and
this sort of perceptions are still th e root causes of such discrim inations here!If the gra ndmother is not apologizing
after the warning,then disregarding her age she should be made liable to the law.After a ll, first imparting
knowledge and then if found not following,w e are bound to mov e legally .
Reply
AnjaliNovember 1, 2013 at 3:18 am
Azr a, If y ou tell y our gr an dmother , th at if she cont inu es to do so, th en y our job will be in dan ger , bec au se its
y our u y o sa egu ar n eres o ev ery sec on o soc e y . eop e w comp a n ag a ns y ou or no o ow ng
law, a nd govt will suspend y ou, then will she not listen to you? deal emotionally with fam ily members,
definitely t hey support y ou.
Reply
Aditya JhaNovember 1, 2013 at 10:10 am
We both ac know ledg e th at she i s ign orant . A nd, ha d y ou been a n or dina ry cit izen, y our cour se of ac tion wou ld be
laudable.
But, for a moment consider y our duties and r esponsibilities. What if someone comes to know about y our act ions?
Would th ey tr ust y ou a ny more w ith th e la ws?
You a re a civ il ser v an t a nd y ou ju st saw a cr im e bein g c omm itted. Despite al l t he odds y our fir st r esponsibil ity is to g o
ahead and register a complaint proactively.
Abou t h er ign orance: Th e SC r ecen tl y ru led t ha t t he la w w ould appl y ev en i f th e per son is una wa re of l aw s.
Abou t h er ag e: Ev en t hou gh th e la w a pplies to ev ery one, i t i s appl ied different ly . Th erefore, consider ing her a ge, th e
legal sy stem would itself ask her for a m inima l fine. She would not be sentenced to prison.
My point essentially is that we can a ct with in the fram ework of the legal system. It has the desired flexibility.
An d, t hi s act ion w ould defin ite ly set a prec eden t, deter ri ng fut ur e v erbal/non -verbal at ta cks a ga inst th e SC/ST.
But, y ou hav e a different perspective towar ds the case and I appreciate it.
Reply
sidwhoNovember 1, 201 3 at 9:20 pm
i know that is the answer one would write in exam ..
but frew th ing s th at one m nu st be a cqu ain ted w ith is its not y ou w ho ca n fi le a compla int but y our fri end.
and if the la w w as the only social change determinant ,untouchability would hav e gone by t oday .Protection of
Civil Rights Act, 1 955. SC/ST act 19 89.. t hat s quite some tim e since the law s hav e been passed!!!
one must be apprised of the social conditions and personal mindsets and historically and cult ura lly established v al ues , wh ich ha v e prett y muc h en ter d th e DNA of some people in indi a
wh at one cou ld do is t ry to per sua de y our gr an dmother an d v ill ag ers a rou nd . by cit ing exam ples m ay be of
gandhi , krishna sudama..
a phy iscal gesture of holding y our friends han d or giv ing him a h ug an d telling that t his doent not polute
him..telling he would eat at their place.etc etc..
tha t sends a signal mu ch powerful than a l aw can ev er be..and with th e position of respect you hav e recently
achiev ed ,,, your actions are just unignorable. th is wont just ma ke the so called upper castes think a bout it but als
give y our friend and commu nity t he much deserv ed respect they ah oud hav e
my two cents– revolutions did not come with laws but enlightened mindsets
Reply
1st RANKER November 1, 2013 at 3 :19 am
I will try to handle the situation gently as victim is my friend and being an officer people will listen my w ord.
i will ma ke them understand about th e my ths of untouchability and persuade grandmother to say sorry to my friend in this
wa y wi ll tr y to h eal th e sent im ent s wh ich wa s offended du e to utter use of w ords by my gr an dma ,
here compromise should be the preffered action and still if they r efuse to fall in line and continuously try to offend him then
he mu st lodge complain aga inst them and let law should take its own course.
The fact tha t the adm inistrators of today are pragm atic ha s resulted in a situation wher e no one
respects the la w. It seems as if one can escape the clu tches of law because it is tough for any
administra tor to ta ke decisions.
An swer a sim ple quest ion of m ine: What if a ny one else un know n t o y ou h ad broken th e sam e la w
abusing y our ST friend? Would you hav e compromised even then?
Your wor ds refl ect th at y ou tak e th is offenc e v ery lig ht ly to be sort ed out wi th comprom ise andintegra tion. This is clearly not the case. Discriminat ion based on caste is against the FR of any citizen. If
y ou do not ta ke FR seri ously , t he noth ing can be ta ken more ser iously . The question al so men ti ons th at
y our gr an dma h as com mitted a n offen ce. So, it is not subj ect to the int erpr eta tion of y our fri end.
If you know about th e actual implementation of laws in the country, y ou would know tha t they are
applied with due regard taking ev ery thing into account. The grandma would not be put in jail a s she is
v ery old, bu t onl y fined. Thi s prov ision i s cal led equa l pr otect ion of la ws -Ar tic le 1 4.
An d, if one does not ta ke a cti on in such cases, one does n ot h as t he apt itu de to be a c iv il ser v an t. Th e la c
of aptitude in today’s civil servants had led to a situation where everything can be compromised.
Impartiality is the primary trait of a civ il servant, n ot necessarily of an ordinary citizen.
Besides, an adm inistrat or and a citizen are different in a n um ber of respects and y ou should know that .
My course of action would obviously be different from tha t of a citizen.A cit izen is supposed to respect th
laws, not uphold it. A civ il serva nt upholds the laws and the constitutional v alues. It is necessarily
double standard th at is giv en in the constitution considering the pract icality of situations.
Balancing decisions is different from wh at y ou hav e mentioned. It is not about compromising, but
hav ing sensitiv ity to all while deciding a course of action. And, at times sensitiv ity for one party would
outweigh the others.
Laws should not be implemented mech anicall y . This would be evident to you if you see my answer
wh ere a l ady is in need of b lood tr an sfusion, but t he laws do n ot a llow it. But , h ere th e ca se is tot al ly
different.
I also understand th at w e hav e different v iew points but th at does not mean one of them has to be
necessarily wrong. It is about th e perspectiv e from which y ou see it : short-term or long-term;
individua l or society ; laws or customs; responsibility or relations etc.
Also, go th rou gh th e Prel im s Q papers a nd UPSC solu ti ons for 2 01 1 an d 201 2. You wou ld fin d th at often
conflicting and contrasting decisions are giv en as answers. You would understand the above para graph
them. Read through my reply to Anjali then, y ou would be crystal clear about what to do and, what
not?
Endless argu ment s can be posed against a ny one course of action. Ultima tely one has to opted for and of
y our choice, but wh at ma tt ers ev en m ore is t he justifi cation for it .
Reply
NikkuNovember 11 , 2013 at 6:52 pm
Adit y a,
I like your lin e of argu ment . Wanted to know your t hought s on the following:
1. Isn’t booking grandm a a sort of treat ment for the sy mptom an d not the disease?
2. Your friend ha s been liv ing in th e villa ge from childhood. He must be awa re of the societal
relations and norms prevalent. What if he is actually not offended, but rather just looks at you and
smiles in a fashion conv eying “ there y ou go again ;)”.
3. Your booking grandma could potentially create a ru ckus and make a m ountain of a mole hill.
Something, t hat could hav e possible been addressed and signed off with a simple apology, migh t now
becom e a maj or issue. Thi s could cost t he ta xpa y ers m oney an d cr eat e “u nn ecessary ” l aw an d order
problem. Is that justified? The job of an IAS officer is to mainta in law and order, not create la w a nd
order situat ions
Btw, just play ing devil’s advocate her e, as my r esponse to the problem was quite similar to yours..
But, y our course of action also finds a place in the l egal sy stem. It provides for th e desired flexibility when dealing
wi th th e weak an d old. For, th e la w a pplies to ev ery one, but not equa lly . Ev en i f y ou g o and reg ister a c ompl ai nt , she
wou ld n ot be sen ten ced, only fin ed m ini mal ly .
I understan d your concerns.
Thanks.
Reply
Prasoon Kaushik October 31 , 2013 at 1 1:29 pm
Adeeb ! y ou w rote a won derful an swer . Proposing idea s wh ich ar e differ ent from commonly perc eiv ed answ ers r equir es a w e
evolved thought faculty.
I will meanwhile share St.Augustine. He say s,”an unjust law is no law a t all.”
Al l t he best
Reply
Adeeb PathanNovember 1, 2013 at 12:45 am
Prasoon,
Than kx a l ot ! Much n eeded encouragem ent before mains ! Wonderful case studies. Div erse and thought compelling. If
and wh en I become successful in my efforts, I will owe it partly to you !!
Reply
Prasoon Kaushik October 31 , 2013 at 11 :19 pm
Idealism is better pract iced than professed and public service cal ls for hig hest sacrifices ev en if personal. A s a civ il serva nt in
India, th e responsibility of interpreta tion and commissioning of rules and regula tions are diversely dema nding.
In the particular case my action shall necessarily justify that personal concerns of any magnitude are a lway s outweighed by t h
law s of the land. I‘ll apologize to my fr iend in public and I‘ll ask my gra ndmother to extend him her apologies. I will next ma ke
her known to my duties. Then after I‘ll proceed with putting a formal complaint against my grandmother.
Reply
Venu KesamNovember 1, 2013 at 3:02 am
First I will m ake an a pology to my childhood friend for the beha v ior of my beloved grandm other wh o is at an age of 85.
Untouchability is a social evil an d is there for centur ies in our society . Despite hav ing strong penal provisions in law ,unt ouchability still being observed, in this remotest villa ge, signifies tha t att itudes of the people didn’t chang e with th e time.
Being an IAS officer and given t he fact th at la rge nu mber of people v isiting me, would definitely pla ce me in a respectable
position to assert the im porta nce of fundam ental h um an v alues like equality and freedom in upholding hum an dignity . I will
ma ke use of exam ples from the life of Gandhi wh o worked for th e prevent ion of untoucha bility .
Through discussions, along with the need for recognizing the human values I will remind my grandmother, rather strongly,
and the people visiting me about the strict penal provisions that are there in PCRA 1955 and PoAA 1989 with respect to
untouchability.
I will ask th e District Magistra te and SP to conduct awar eness cam paigns in and around our v illages regarding t he PCRA 1 955
As a civ il ser v an t, it w ould be m y prer ogat iv e to el im ina te t hi s kin d of dast ar dly ac ts st ill bein g pr ac ti ced. I would expla in t o my
gran dmother th e crime she has commit ted albeit in a soothing way after al l she is not awar e of the law and its repercussions.
I would mak e sure that she apologises to my friend and then i would proceed to lodge a complaint aga inst her. She m ay be my
gran dmother but before justice ev ery body is equal.
One should clean t he m uck at home before going to do it outside. It would show to the v illagers th at no one is abov e law a nd
wou ld en cour ag e th e oppressed t o compl ai nt ag ain st t he p erpetr at ors and a lso would disc our ag e th e so cal led u pper castes fr om
bein g in consider at e to their fell ow h um an bein gs.
Reply
AaruNovember 1, 2013 at 12 :01 pm
This is my 1st answer to a case study.
An y body plea se feel free to com ment upon my short coming s.
Reply
Prasad
November 1, 2013 at 12 :23 pm
I am happy tha t th is happened at m y h ouse first. As a friend first I shall a pologise such conduct of my family mem bers. I shall le
my gran dmother know about the laws perta ining to such behav iour, And as a public serv ant, shall u tilise the occasion to
conv ey a positive messsage in such an augu st gathering.
We n eed to hig hl igh t t he i mportan ce of sy mbols of dem ocra cy “Libert y Equal ity & Fra ter nit y ” a dopted 6 2+ y rs a go, bu t m ak e
them awa re tha t how tra ditional beliefs hav e conditioned our society …Gandhi also had a cha nge in v iews on caste in the three
decades with influence from different tjinkers like Ambedkar etc… I’d giv e grandm a a benefit of doubt that she was unaw are of
the strict rules for such conduct, but n ot hesitate to inform her of consequences if such a ction repeats.
Al l of thi s ha s to be done in a v ery infor mal ma nn er but wi th hu mor w hen nec essar y , bec au se it is a h appy momen t t o cher ish.
Please review m y answers.
regards
Prasad
Reply
neerajNovember 10, 2013 a t 6:11 pm
This is a situation wh ere i mu st hav e a bala nce between personal a nd professional relat ionship. On one hand, a s an IAS officer I
hav e to uphold the law and on the other hand is my octogenarian gr andmother in whose mind untouchability is firmly
entrenched.
Of course she has violated the la w. But h ere the situat ion dema nds an instant solution to placate both. Firstly , I would ask my
gran dmother politely not to be rude to guest, as we in India hav e a policy of “Atith i Devo Bhav a”. Also, I would firmly tell her
not to act in such a r ash way with an yone. As, she is very old and v alues and habits are v ery hard to change at th is stage, its no
a good thing to argue w ith her on this issue at the m oment. Also, since I am u nder her roof, i I would hav e to take care of her
feelings.
I would aoplogise to my friend on her beha lf and leav e the house with m y fr iend and talk to him a s a friend. I hope he will forgiv
my grandma.
Aft er r etu rn ing back, I would ta lk t o my gr an dma a bout th e in ciden t a nd t ell her t ha t sh e ca n be ar rest ed as it i s illega l t o
practice untouchability in a ny way . Also, I would try to get her to change her thinking.
Reply
Anu rag Th aku rNovember 12, 201 3 at 2:42 pm
In my opinion, a legal act ion for v iolation of the fundam ental r ights is necessary . For a m oment, ev en if my friend doesnt file a