“THE right to equality is a right to rationality,” observed a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court on February 17 while ruling on the appointment of women officers in permanent commissions of the Indian Army and in command positions. The landmark verdict, delivered by Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Ajay Rastogi, ruled that all serving women officers on the short service commission (SSC) would be considered for the grant of permanent commissions on the same terms as their male counterparts. Even those women officers who did not opt for a permanent commission but had completed 14 years of service could continue in service until they reached the point where they would be eligible for pensionable benefits. The judgment, with its wide-ranging observations on gender equality, is being seen as a blow for women’s rights and has been hailed by women’s organisations. Women SSC officers with over 20 years of service who were not granted a permanent commission would retire with pension benefits, the bench ruled.
The court pulled up the Central government for delaying the implementation of a March 2010 Delhi High Court order that ruled that women officers in the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army should be considered for permanent commissions. Terming the exclusion of women from all except staff appointments as indefensible, the bench held that if the Army had cogent reasons for excluding women from a particular command appointment it could present them to future courts if necessary. It held that the blanket nonconsideration of women for criteria or command appointments was unsustainable in law and said that the Army could provide “no justification in discharging its burden as to why women across the board should not be considered for any criteria or command appointments”. The arguments for denying women command positions by both the Union government and the Army were rejected by the court.
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Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
