PM IAS MARCH 22 EDITORIAL

1. Principle of Reasonable Accommodation

GS Paper – 1,2 Fundamental Rights, Judiciary, Government Policies & Interventions, Women’s Issues.

Why is it in the news?

Earlier this year, the Karnataka High Court decided in favour of the state’s circular requiring students at educational institutions to only wear uniforms that were specified by the school. The ruling came in response to the hijab dispute.
Accordingly, the ruling effectively supported the restriction of access to students who were wearing the hijab.
When it came to Muslim females wearing head scarves, the court rejected an argument based on the concept of ‘reasonable accommodation’ in favour of the practise.

The ‘Reasonable Accommodation’ principle is defined as follows:

Information about reasonable accommodation: ‘Reasonable accommodation’ is a principle that promotes equality, allows for the giving of positive rights, and prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability, health condition, or personal belief.
Its primary application is in the field of disability rights.
It highlights the affirmative duty of the state and private parties to give additional help to people with disabilities in order to enable them to participate fully and effectively in society.
It is impossible for a disabled person to claim the constitutionally established fundamental rights to equality (Article 14), the six freedoms (Article 19), and the right to life (Article 21) without receiving the additional support that helps to make these rights real and meaningful for themselves.
Article 2 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) states that it is necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments that do not impose a disproportionate or undue burden on persons with disabilities in order to ensure that they can enjoy or exercise all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with others (including voting).

In India, what is the legal status on this issue?

“Reasonable accommodation” is defined as “necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments, without imposing a disproportionate or undue burden in any particular case, to ensure that persons with disabilities can enjoy or exercise rights on an equal basis with others” under the Rights of People with Disabilities Act, 2016.
The term “denial of reasonable accommodation” is included in the definition of “discrimination” in Section 2(h).
As a result of Jeeja Ghosh and Others v. Union of India and Others (2016), the Supreme Court of India determined that equality does not only mean preventing discrimination; it goes beyond that to include remedying discrimination against groups that are subjected to systematic discrimination in society.
This entails adopting the notions of positive rights, affirmative action and reasonable accommodation in tangible terms.”
According to the court’s decision in Vikash Kumar v. UPSC (2021), benchmark disability, which is a defined disability to the amount of 40%, is exclusively connected to special reservation for the handicapped in work and does not have to be a restriction for other types of accommodation.
It further stated that failure to make reasonable accommodations amounted to discriminatory treatment.

2. World Happiness Report:

Context:

In spite of the fact that India has one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, it is one of the world’s unhappiest countries.
The World Happiness Report 2022, released ahead of the United Nations International Day of Happiness, which will be marked on March 20, ranks India 136th, ninth from the bottom of the list.

The World Happiness Report

The World Happiness Report is a publication of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network that is based on data from the Gallup World Poll and is released every year.
Beyond economic and social characteristics, the study, now in its 10th year, makes use of worldwide survey data to report on how individuals perceive their own lives, in addition to economic and social parameters.
In order to arrive at these rankings, They used average data from a three-year period between 2019 and 2021.
The World Happiness Report assesses levels of happiness throughout the world by taking into consideration characteristics such as GDP, social support, personal freedom, and degrees of corruption in each country.

The following are some of the report’s highlights:

According to the 10th edition of the World Happiness Report, Finland topped the list for the fifth year in a row, surpassing the United States.
Finland came in first, followed by Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Finland was the only country to make the top five.
When it comes to other western countries, although the United States came in at number 16, Britain was at number 17 and France came in at number twenty.
India’s performance in the World Happiness Measure remained weak, with its place improving just barely to 136 from 139 the previous year, according to the index.
Only Afghanistan, which is administered by the Taliban, performed worse than India among the South Asian countries.
Afghanistan has been rated the world’s unhappiest country, placing last on a global happiness rating that includes 146 countries.
Pakistan (121) and Sri Lanka (127) managed to improve their positions on the list, but Nepal (84), Bangladesh (94), and Pakistan (121) did not.
The Happiness Research also revealed that India was one of the nations that had seen a decline in life ratings by more than a full point on a scale ranging from 0 to 10 over the previous ten years, according to the report.

Significance:

Over the years, happiness has emerged as a critical indicator to measure not just for countries, but also for corporations.
The report’s main purpose is to identify the most important drivers of well-being.
This information is anticipated to assist governments in developing policies that will result in happier communities.

Interconnections between law, government, and happiness: Why is it important to consider these connections?

Happiness has become widely recognised as a desirable objective of public policy. A new narrative in which the links between law, governance, and happiness are being explored has gotten a boost from this conversation.
According to the findings of various countries, the countries with larger GDP and per capita income are not always the happiest countries, and that there is a relationship between the condition of happiness and the rule of law.
Over the years, the WHRs have revealed that persons tend to have the following characteristics:
Mental illness is a problem.
A low level of subjective well-being is indicated.
Despite high income levels, there is a negative opinion of government and law and order.