AN APPETITE FOR REFORM

The Indian public seems more amenable to socio-political reform, but with caution. Encouragingly, a majority of the respondents say they feel free to express their opinions

- AMARNATH K. MENON

The call for change, ushering in people-centric reforms and schemes in various sectors, from education to agriculture, echoes loudly across India. But while the respondents of the India Today Mood of the Nation (MOTN) August 2024 poll welcome reforms, they remain cautious about certain changes, such as the three new criminal laws, and favour robust checks and balances. The spectre of paper leaks looms large, putting a question mark on the conduct of multiple recruitment and entrance exams. The MOTN poll reveals that the most widely held perception - 28.2 per cent - is that the central government is primarily responsible for the paper leaks earlier this year, followed by the authorities tasked with conducting the tests (21.2 per cent).

That the state governments are responsible is the view held by a significant 18.8 per cent of the respondents while 13.3 per cent believe the individuals involved in the process of paper preparation and distribution are culpable. Just 7.3 per cent suspect the role of organised gangs in question paper leaks.

What is disconcerting is that less than half of the respondents polled in any of the past eight MOTN polls feel that India has become safer for women, a sad reality only reinforced by the brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Despite the fact that the poll was conducted before the incident triggered a national debate on women's safety, just 42.3 per cent thought India has become safer for women, a tad lower than the 43.1 per cent of the respondents in the Feb. 2024 poll. That another 37.9 per cent of the respondents feel India has become less safe for women while 15.7 per cent say it has remained the same testify to the challenges in ensuring gender sensitivity and justice.