THELIGHTOFANDAMANS: Inclusion in OBC May Fulfill Her Dreams

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Inclusion in OBC May Fulfill Her Dreams

THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS | VOL 35 | ISSUE: 19 | 18 NOV 2011

Inclusion in OBC May Fulfill Her Dreams

By Basudev Dass

Dr. Sanjita Bairagi after getting a degree in Ayurvedic system medicine decided to go for the most coveted stream of government service and initiated preparation for appearing in the Civil Service Examination. She cleared the Preliminary Exam and is presently undertaking the Main Exam.

Daughter of SC Bairagi and a resident of Uttara (Kadamtala) of Middle Andaman, Dr Sanjita is a progeny of Settlers family. A bright student with specific ambition in her life, she is hopeful of meeting her destiny.

While filling up the form for the examination, she claimed herself a member of OBC since settlers' class of people was brought under this. After she had applied, Dr. Sanjita came to know that all the class of OBCs identified for the islands were enlisted in the central list of OBC barring the 'Settlers'. Her request for an exemption to appear in the main examination for Civil Services was strongly recommended by the A&N Administration. "On the request of the administration the Union Public Service Commission has allowed her to appear in the examination under the OBC quota but subject to the condition that the result will be withheld if the group of Bengali Settlers of Andamans is not included in the central list of OBC before the declaration of the result." 'Inclusion of the Settlers in the central list may fulfill the dream of my daughter,' said Bairagi.

It is worth-mentioning here that the Govt. of India had recently included the 'Local Borns' and 'Bengali Settlers' in the OBC list of the A&N Islands and the 'Local Borns' in the central list as well.

"I have pleaded the situation to the Lt. Governor, A&N Islands also but is unaware of the steps taken in this regard by the Raj Niwas" said SC Bairagi. He added that he was not allowed a public hearing with Justice Ronojit Kumar Mitra , Chairperson, Andaman Nicobar Commission for OBC during his visit during the first week of November 2011. Justice Mitra was here to hear the pleadings and hold sitting of OBC. It heard the writ submitted by the Malayalee Settlers for their inclusion in the list of OBCs.

Dr. Sanjita and her parents are now looking for the winter session of Parliament if the Member of Parliament Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray can do something. Ms. Sushma Swaraj had also raised the issue and suggested action for inclusion of left out communities of A&N Islands in the list of OBC.

'If the people of the islands are not backward otherwise then why the government of India is not withdrawing its DANIC Officers to serve the Islands by allowing the inclusion of Union Territory Civil Service with local officers?' said a local officer and added that either we should be included in the central list of OBC or we should be allowed to serve without DANIC and DANIP officers being not so backward.

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About The Light of Andamans

The Light of Andamans’ was born out of the zeal and determination to fight against the suffocating Kafkaesque atmosphere on the society that existed even after 30 years of Independence under bureaucratic rule. It was a hangover of the ‘Raj’that extended much too long in the Islands.

The Light of Andamans’ was started in 1975. The paper had always been a crusader, taking up the causes that no other newspaper would touch. In doing so, it very often stepped on the toes of the authorities and had to face persecution in the form of denial of advertisements and numerous court cases against it. For a small stint, the publication came to a halt in 2003.

Gezira Publications Private Limited took over the paper in the year 2005 and transferred the title in a bid to revive the second oldest newsmagazine from extinction and also to carry forward the mission.

The Newsmagazine, under the new management, has undergone a sea change both in form and content. It turned into a full-fledged tabloid with 10 pages with plenty of photographs making both pleasing to the eyes and soothing for the mind. “It has acquired a position where it influences the policies in vital matters concerning the development of the islands, protection of aboriginal tribes and addressing the problems of the disadvantaged groups. The newsmagazine is known and appreciated for its bold, free, fair and balanced reporting.”

Late Govinda Raju and his team worked very hard to rebuild the reputation, goodwill and a healthy new image of the newsmagazine brick by brick. After the demise of Mr Raju in 2010, the magazine is now being edited by Zubair Ahmed and published by Basudev Dass. The newsmagazine continues its mission of highlighting policy issues pertaining to the Islands.