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24th January 2024 (7 Topics)

24th January 2024

QUIZ - 24th January 2024

5 Questions

5 Minutes

Editorials

Context:

AI is now part of electoral processes, necessitating a fundamental redesign of civil society's core functioning.

AI Reshaping Political Landscape

  • AI-Generated Multilingual Content: Examples like HeyGen's AI video generator showcase the viral impact of AI in politics, translating voices seamlessly for broader reach.
  • Disinformation Challenges: Generative AI fuels disinformation campaigns, manipulating and micro-targeting voters, distorting truth and creating hyper-realistic fake content.
  • Global AI Impact: From AI clones in virtual rallies to experiments like The Synthetic Party in Denmark, the AI era reshapes democracy globally, challenging reality.

Silencing Civil Society

  • Targeted Silencing: Political and technological forces intentionally silence civil society, hindering discussions on power imbalances and suppressing dissent.
  • Shift to Funded Organisations: Funding-driven organisations replace grassroots movements, focusing on programs rather than mobilizing people's power to challenge systems.
  • Citizens as Clients: Civic space silencing is a risk; citizens must recognize their power extends beyond voting, emphasizing collective action for a resilient civic infrastructure.

Nurturing People-Powered Civic Action

  • Platform Safety and Regulation: AI-powered election antidotes involve improved platform safety and government regulations, providing short-term solutions.
  • Long-Term Inoculation: Civic association's capacity to represent voices, needs, and experiences offers a lasting solution, emphasizing the importance of community building and leadership.
  • Building Collective Power: Social media enables mass aggregation, but the true power lies in relational community building, drawing inspiration from models like Obama for America's grassroots army.
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Editorials

Context:

While educational opportunities for girls in India have increased, the disparity in educational achievement has deteriorated over the years.

Gender Parity in Learning Outcomes

  • National Achievement Survey (2017): Data reveals equal learning levels between boys and girls in elementary and secondary classes nationwide.
  • Subject Scores: Minimal differences in average test scores across genders, with the maximum difference rarely exceeding one percentage point.
  • Learning Equity: While this analysis suggests gender equity in learning outcomes, it may overlook prevalent gender discrimination in education.

Worsening Gender Gap in Educational Attainment

  • Increasing Mean Years of Schooling: Girls' mean years of schooling tripled from 1.7 (1990) to 4.7 (2018), but the gender gap in attainment worsened.
  • Boys' Educational Attainment: Boys' average educational attainment doubled from 4.1 to 8.2 years during the same period.
  • Growing Gender Gap: Despite improvements for both genders, the gender gap increased from 2.4 to 3.5 years, deviating from global trends.

Focus on Early Childhood Education (ECE)

  • Enrollment Disparities: More boys enrolled in private institutions, while girls' enrollment preferences align with free government schools, revealing gender biases.
  • Importance of ECE: Early childhood is where gender norms take root; addressing biases in ECE can eliminate long-term gender gaps.
  • Policy Implications: Urgent need to focus on ECE, with regulatory frameworks, funding, and legislation for universal access to tackle gender disparities.
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Editorials

Context:

Basic Structure doctrine is one of the strongest safeguards for Indian democracy.

Evolution of Basic Structure Doctrine

  • Shankari Prasad and Sajjan Singh (1951, 1964): Validated parliamentary amendments, upheld legislature's authority to amend without limitations.
  • Seeds of Basic Structure Doctrine in Sajjan Singh (1964): Judges questioned majority's approach, indicating concerns about fundamental rights as the "plaything of the majority."
  • Golaknath Case (1967): Challenged Parliament's power to amend Part 3, hinted at inherent limitations; birthed the Basic Structure theory.

Kesavananda Bharati (1971)

  • Legal Battle Origins: Challenged 24th-26th amendments; KB, head of a mutt, represented by Nani Palkhivala, brought implied limitations doctrine.
  • Implied Limitations Accepted: Six judges acknowledged implied limitations on Parliament's amending powers, rejecting alteration of Basic Structure.
  • Justice H R Khanna's Decisive Role: Dissenting from implied limitations, he held fundamental rights amendable but protected Basic Structure, endorsing Conrad's core doctrine.

Legacy of Basic Structure Doctrine

  • Enduring Principle: KB judgment entrenched Basic Structure, establishing that even a constitutional amendment could be unconstitutional if it violated the Basic Structure.
  • Impact on Jurisprudence: Applied in subsequent cases, it became a powerful safeguard against constitutional aberrations and tyranny.
  • Significance Beyond Borders: Other Commonwealth countries, like Bangladesh, adopted the Indian judicial invention, highlighting its global influence and admiration.
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