UP ELECTIONS: DECODING THE MYTH

Small is Big when it comes to electoral outcomes in Uttar Pradesh, where every vote counts in a highly-divided polity. UP is one of the most important states, when it comes to forming government at the centre. There is a famous saying in the political corridors, which aptly explains the situation- “Delhi ka rasta, UP se hoke jata hai”. Caste is the most important factor when it comes to Elections in UP. Let look at the players first- The Bhartiya Janata Party, a party which indisputably is the biggest political party of the country. It won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls quite comprehensively, getting 42.3% of votes, almost double of that of the SP (22.2%) and the BSP (20.3%). The Samajwadi Party, led by its vibrant young leader and the youngest CM in the whole of India, rides mainly on the OBC votes, Yadavs in particular. The Bahujan Samaj Party, which came in power on the back of the law and order problem. And then there is the Indian National Congress, the most successful political party in the history of India, which many claim, has lost its significance after the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections. Should the Elections be a triangular contest- which presumes that the Congress will not be a player of significance, the winning party will need about 32-35 % of votes, and it is here that the votes of numerically smaller communities come into play.

Broadly speaking, the political loyalties of the dominant and more populous caste groups are by and large fixed- which means the extremely backward castes (who are non-yadavs) and the Non-Jatav Dalits, often hold key to power. OBCs are roughly 44% of the UP Electorate, Dalits 21%, Muslims 19% and Upper Castes 16%. However, around 200, Non-Yadav communities make up more than double the Yadav population. Among the Dalits, Parsis and the Valmikis are the large Non Jatav Communities. Yadavs vote by and large for SP, and Jatavs for BSP. Muslims have been voting for the party that is by and large seen capable of defeating the BJP, thereby switching between the SP and BSP. Upper castes have traditionally backed BJP. These four social groups make up around 65% of the Electorate and therefore all eyes are on the remaining 35%- EBC and non-Jatav Dalits.

For BJP to win the elections, it needs to concentrate on the non-yadav OBCs, which it has been doing quite profoundly. Addition of Swami Prasad Maurya, to its ranks and making Keshav Prasad Maurya its State president goes a long way in doing just that. For SP to win the elections, it needs to reach out to the Non-Yadav OBCs. Addition of Beni Prasad Maurya, a friend turned foe and a prominent Kurmi leader, is a step in the right direction. For BSP to win the election, it needs to strengthen the lower caste groups which it has been losing, in recent times to the BJP. The law and order is again their agenda, which gives them place in the minds of the liberals.

To sum it up, Yadavs, Jatavs, upper castes have shown fairly stable political loyalties, and Muslims have largely gone with the party most likely to defeat the BJP. But one thing that I have learned from the book “Gathbandan ki Rajneeti”, written by one of India’s finest PMs Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee is that the road to Lucknow passes through successful social Coalitions.               

EMERGENCY: WHAT IT ACTUALLY MEANS

Fundamental rights which the constitution guarantees to the citizen of India are called fundamental because they are the basic to the development of human personality. These rights are guaranteed to the citizen of India by the Constitution and no one can encroach upon them and infringe the right of a citizen. Our legal system also provides remedies to those citizens whose fundamental rights have been violated. But only when an emergency is declared in the country, these rights can be suspended by the Central Government. These rights of the citizens can be suspended only up to the law which is related to the emergency and is mentioned in the Presidents order. But even during the period of emergency there are two rights which cannot be suspended are right to life and personal liberty under Art 20 and 21 of the Constitution of India. These rights can be enforced during the period of emergency by moving the court under Art. 32 of the Constitution of India. So, it is the duty of the citizens of India to protect the country from any kind of war, external aggression, armed rebellion or internal disturbances. The citizens should take initiatives for the development of the country and protect the country from every harm. It is easy to see what the purpose was behind making such provisions in the Constitution of India in the first place. But it is important we also realize that even if these provisions are provided for security of the nation and its people, the provisions in themselves give a lot of drastic discretionary powers in the hand of the Executive. It affects the Federal structure of nation, essentially turning it into a unitary one, while it seeks to safe guard the interests of state and its people. Though the need for that is understood, I still think a system of Checks and balances should be brought into place so that unlike in the 1975 emergency, there is no misuse of power by the Legislature or the Executive. Though suspension of Fundamental Rights has been time and time again tried to be Justified, I think they are the most basic to the very existence of the citizens in a democracy. Although the 44th Amendment did add some safety measures to the constitution, there is still chance for unjust violation of Fundamental Rights. Therefore, as there is a provision in the other federal Constitutions, such as Canada and Australia, the Courts should be given power to agree to extent, to which centre can expand its power. It will act as an In-built mechanism to check the arbitrary use of power the discretionary power available under the emergency provisions to the parliament and the executive. I would like to quote Babasaheb Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar, whose words have always inspired me, to show why every citizen's role is important for the proper functioning of the democracy:

“On 26 Jan 1950, India would be an Independent Country. What would happen to her independence? Will she maintain or will she lose it again? This is the first thought that comes to my mind. It is not that India was never an independent country. The point is that she once lost the independence she had. Will she lose it a second time? It is this thought which makes me most anxious for the future. What perturbs me greatly is the fact that not only India has once before lost her independence, but she lost it by treachery of some of her own people.

Will history repeat itself? It is this thought which fills me with anxiety. This anxiety is deepened by the realization of the fact that in addition to our old enemies in the form of castes and creeds,
we are going to have many political parties with diverse and opposing political creeds. Will 
Indians place the country above their creed or creed above their country? I do not know, but this much is certain that if the parties place creed above country, our independence will be put in jeopardy a second time and probably be lost forever. This eventuality, we all must resolutely guard against. We must be determined to defend our independence with the last drop of our blood”

JUVENILE DELIQUENCY : An Analysis

The term juvenile delinquency applies to violation of criminal code and certain patterns of behaviour that are not approved for children and young adolescents. It may be grouped as individual delinquency (in which only one individual is involved and the cause of delinquent act is traced to individual delinquent), group supported delinquency (committed in companionship and the cause is attributed not to the personality of the individual but to the culture of the individual’s home and neighbourhood), organized delinquency and situational delinquency. A delinquent young person is disobedient and wayward, runs away from home and school, cannot be controlled by the parents and teachers, is not amenable to any kind of discipline, is self-willed and habitually acts in a manner injurious to the welfare and happiness of others and himself.

Youth nowadays, regardless of gender, social origin or country of residence, are subject to individual risks but are also being presented with new individual opportunities—some beneficial and some potentially harmful. Quite often, advantage is being taken of illegal opportunities as young people commit various offences, become addicted to drugs, and use violence against their peers.Statistical data indicate that in virtually all parts of the world, with the exception of the United States, rates of youth crime rose in the 1990s. In Western Europe, one of the few regions for which data are available, arrests of juvenile delinquents and under-age offenders increased by an average of around 50 per cent between the mid1980s and the late 1990s. The countries in transition have also witnessed a dramatic rise in delinquency rates; since 1995, juvenile crime levels in many countries in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States have increased by more than 30 per cent. Many of the criminal offences are related to drug abuse and excessive alcohol use. Different scholars have classified juvenile delinquents on different basis. Hirsch classified them in six groups on the basis of kinds of offences committed: Incorrigibility (for example, disobedience and keeping late hours), Truancy (staying away from school), Larceny (ranging from petty thefts to armed robbery), Destruction of property (both public and private), Violence against individual or community and sexual offences ranging from homosexuality to rape. Eaton and Pole, classified delinquents into five groups according to the offence: Minor violations (disorderly conduct and minor traffic violations), Major violations including thefts, Property violations, Addiction, and bodily harm including homicide and rape. Trojanawicz classified them as accidental, ill socialized, aggressive, occasional, professional and gang-organized. Psychologists have classified juvenile delinquents on the basis of their individual traits or the psychological dynamics of their personality into five groups: mentally defective, psychotic, neurotic, situational and cultural.

Sociological theories of juvenile delinquency put emphasis on the environment, social structures and the learning process. However, it is generally agreed that a number of factors that play an important part in a youngster’s delinquent behaviour can be divided into two groups, individual factors and situational factors. The individual factors include personality traits like submissiveness, defiance, hostility, impulsiveness, feeling of insecurity, fear, lack of self-control and emotional conflicts while situational factors may be attributed to family, companions, movies, school environment, work environment etc.

Just as the causal factors of delinquency are diverse and numerous, so are the definitions. Sociologists define deviance as any behaviour that members of a social group define as violating their norms. This concept applies both to criminal acts of deviance as well as to non-criminal acts that members of a group view as unethical, immoral, peculiar, sick, or otherwise outside the bounds of respectability. According to another definition, delinquency is a condition arising in the matrix of socio-personal disorganization in the sequence of experience and influences that shape behaviour problems. It is the product of dynamic social process, involving numerous variables and the failure of personal and social controls. It is a symptom of deep socioeconomic and social ailments.According to the legal concept, a delinquent juvenile is one who commits an act defined by law as illegal or delinquent, and who is adjudicated ‘delinquent’ by an appropriate court.

Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 was the first central legislation on Juvenile Justice, prior to which each state had its own enactment on juveniles, which differed in the way they were treated by different state legal systems. The Indian Constitution provides for the fortification of Juveniles in Article 15(3), article 39(e & f), article 45 and article 47. However, since it did not yield the expected result, the government proposed an act called The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2000, which replaced the earlier Juvenile justice act 1986. It has been enforced in the entire country, except the state of Jammu and Kashmir, from 1 April 2001. On 20 November 1989, The United Nations General Assembly adopted the convention on the Rights of Child (right to survival, protection, development and participation). The Government of India, ratified the said UN Convention and re-enacted the existing law. After the 2012 Delhi gang rape, it was found that one of the accused was a few months away from being 18. So, he was tried in a juvenile court. On 31 July 2013, Subramanian Swamy, a BJP politician filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court of India seeking that the boy be tried as an adult in a court. In July 2014, Minister of Women and Child Development, Maenka Gandhi said that they were preparing a new law which will allow 16-year-olds to be tried as adult. She said that 50% of juvenile crimes were committed by teens who know that they get away with it. The bill was introduced in the Parliament by Maenka Gandhi on 12 August 2014. On 22 April 2015, the Cabinet cleared the final version after some changes. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 has been passed by Parliament of India.It aims to replace the existing Indian juvenile delinquency law, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, so that juveniles in conflict with Law in the age group of 16–18, involved in Heinous Offences, can be tried as adults. The Act came into force from 15 January 2016. It was passed on 7 May 2015 by the Lok Sabha amid intense protest by several Members of Parliament. It was passed on 22 December 2015 by the Rajya Sabha.

CONCLUSION

Juvenile Delinquency and the problems related to it have been faced by all societies, all over the world, however, in the developing world the problems are all the more formidable. The process of development has brought in its wake a socio-cultural upheaval affecting the age-old traditional ways of life in the congenial rural milieu. In fact, various scientific advances and concomitant industrialization and urbanization have ushered in a new era, which is characterized by catastrophic changes and mounting problems. Cities have sprung up with heterogeneity of population, cultural variations, occupational differentiation and overcrowded conditions. As a result, social disorganization and maladjustment have taken place following a perennial influx of people from their rural habitat to the urban squalid slums. Juveniles are adversely affected by these changing conditions. At the same time, the traditional social control system that served as a preventive check against any antisocial activity is gradually giving way. Consequently, the problem of juvenile deviance and antisocial propensities is rearing its ugly head – a situation that needs to be checked.
Violence against children endangers their fundamental human rights. It is therefore imperative to convince individuals and institutions to commit the time, money, expertise and other resources needed to address this global problem.

Educational programmes are helping young people learn how to engage in positive self-appraisal, deal with conflict, and control aggression. The programmes debunk the myth of gang glamour and help young people find alternatives to illegal behaviour. Some work with troubled youth to help them develop the social and cognitive skills necessary to avoid conflict and control aggression. Children raised in strong families, quality schools and healthy communities typically develop these skills as a matter of course. Recreation and youth development activities are directly encouraged in the Riyadh Guidelines: “A wide range of recreational facilities and services of particular interest to young persons should be established and made easily accessible to them”. In a number of towns in the United States the establishment of basketball programmes for adolescents led to a 60 per cent decrease in crime rates. Researchers at Columbia University in New York City found that having a Boys’ or Girls’ Club in a public housing project reduced the level of crime by an average of 13 per cent. In Stevenage, a town in the United Kingdom where a large youth centre and playground were built and several youth clubs organized, young people have largely avoided delinquent activities.
Institutional programmes aimed at providing social and psychological support for individuals and groups include camps, group homes, alternative schools and shelters. Provided within this context are educational, behavioural and psychological evaluation and diagnostics; health attention and assignment to medical facilities; individual educational planning; individual, group and parent counselling; and the organization of leisure activities.