Protests against NEET spill on to the streets of Tamil Nadu following the suicide of a Dalit girl in the State who scored high marks in the plus Two examination but failed to get an MBBS seat.
IF the suicide of S. Anitha, a 17- year-old Dalit student from Tamil Nadu, is anything to go by, the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) has been excruciating and traumatic for thousands of students of the Tamil Nadu Board of Higher Secondary Education. Anitha, who scored 1,176 marks (out of 1,200) in the State board Plus Two examinations, could score only 86 out of 720 in NEET, which is based on the tougher Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus. Unable to join the MBBS course, she hanged herself at her home in Kuzhumur village in the backward district of Ariyalur on September 1.
After the jallikattu issue in January 2017 when thousands of students massed on the Marina beach in Chennai, Anitha’s suicide became the rallying point for students and political parties agitating across Tamil Nadu with their demand to scrap NEET. As the protests gathered momentum, in a dramatic turn of events, the Supreme Court, on September 8, banned agitations against NEET.
In an interim order on a petition filed by the advocate G.S. Mani, a bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Mishra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud said the Supreme Court had ruled that NEET was the sole basis for admission to the MBBS and BDS courses and so protests and roadblocks against it and disruption of public life would amount to contempt of court. The court directed the State government to book anyone who instigated violence in the name of NEET.
This story is from the September 29, 2017 edition of FRONTLINE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 29, 2017 edition of FRONTLINE.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
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.
