The submission by a Government-appointed committee to the Supreme Court that the annual family income of ₹8 lakh is “a reasonable” threshold to determine if someone belongs to economically weaker sections to avail 10% reservations in admissions and jobs does not seem to hold water. The submission rejected the notion that the Government had “mechanically” adopted ₹8 lakh as the cut-off because it was used to identify the OBC creamy layer, by asserting that the income criterion was “more stringent” than the one for the OBC creamy layer. This justification, based on a few more criteria that exclude some income and occupational parameters from the OBC creamy layer, however, is not convincing as the Court’s key question remained unanswered satisfactorily. The Court had said that the OBC category is socially and educationally backward, and had therefore additional impediments to overcome, and had asked whether it “would... be arbitrary to provide the same income limit both for the OBC and
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The resignation of Sudan’s civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has pushed the country, already battered by political instability, anti-military protests and violence, into further chaos. Mr. Hamdok, who was ousted in a military coup in October and then reinstated as part of an agreement, failed to convince the protesters that he could form an independent technocratic government that would complete Sudan’s democratic transition. As violent clashes continued, Mr. Hamdok, who was called a “traitor” by the protesters, was left with no other option but to go. The crisis is of the military’s own making. Sudan was on a slow but steady transition towards democracy under the Sovereignty Council, which was formed as part of a power-sharing agreement between the Generals and the civilian leaders. But General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan disbanded the Council and ousted Mr. Hamdok. Ever since mass protests in late 2018, the Generals have tried everything to protect the military’s privileges. They
- 2hrs
