Violence in the name of ‘RELIGION’

“The essence of all religions speak of peace, compassion, justice and the interconnection of all life.”

-Ann Emerson

India is a country which manifests diverse cultures and supposed to be religiously tolerant. India is a secular nation as stated in the Constitution. In the literary context secular means “not connected with religious matters or not subject or bound by religious rule.” This meaning seems to be true only hypothetically. The actual scene is quiet contradicting. Religion has paved way for violence amongst fellow humans who belong to the same locality or city or state or country. Religion is dominating human existence right from the time when man fell prey to it.

In ancient India, it is known that various cultural and religious discrimination was prevalent. But it seems to be more prominent and wrong when it happens in the present day’s modern and technology-oriented world. Many lives were lost and still being taken all in the name of religion. Various spine chilling events have taken place in the recent past which requires attention from the government and people. The communal riots in Gujarat in 1969, considered to be the most deadly communal riots post independence claimed 660 innocent lives. In 1984, anti-Sikh riots claimed thousands of lives and displacement of many Sikhs from their homes. Likewise various anti-Muslim, anti-Hindu and anti-Christian riots have taken place which have created shock waves all across the country. Statistics show that during 2005-2009, an average of 130 people died every year from communal riots, and over 2200 were injured. In a more recent study in 2013, shows that over 107 people are killed in communal riots of which 66 were Muslims and 41 were Hindus. The world's average annual death rate from intentional violence, in recent years, has been 7.9 per 100,000 people.

Our constitution is so designed that we are a religiously tolerant nation i.e., secular. Freedom of religion is a fundamental right as guaranteed by Article 15 and Article 25 of the Constitution of India. Blasphemy and heresy are not recognized. Yet why does religious violence and discrimination still exist? What are we doing to protect our fellow brothers and sisters from being killed? This is still a debatable question. My opinion is always the same. The attitude of people should change towards caste and religion. Religion is only a way to lead a peaceful and disciplined life. No religion teaches us to kill other humans to show their domination. As rightly said by Ann Emerson the essence all religions is peace, compassion and justice. Whether Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Parse or any religion, everyone preach about togetherness. We should respect the beliefs of other religion and learn from them. It does not show low of ourselves by doing so. Stringent laws and people’s attitude are the only two governing factors that will help bring about change. We should always remember that we all belong to the same race called ‘Humanity’.

- Maheshwari M

Visit to Slums in Dadri :A lost world of little hearts yet to be discovered!!

A place far away from the city chaos filled with the joy and aroma of its own thrives me to pen drown the memorable experience of the visit to this place.This is a place quite different from the other city
dwelled slums.At first sight it looked quite untidy with garbage all around their surroundings and had all signs that an Indian slum is thought to possess.Walking through the streets of the slums and looking around the place caught my sight to a small school where few children with slates in their hands were eagerly waiting for the teacher to come.Their interest to learn was clearly visible in their eyes which had some magical spark,after waiting for a while the teacher came with books in her hand and started the days class .Moving further ahead I entered into an old market which had almost all the goods ranging from vegetables to household necessities,this market was quite different from the ones which in a way that it had all types of stores merged in a small yard of space this was an example of an effective way of utilisation of the space,a cute example of 'juggad ' Indians are famous for.Life at these slums is very different and difficult from the modernised cities which have every facility to ease the living of a common man but the ease of living degrades as we move downwards to the less improvised slums of dadri where lifestyle of living has not improved much.The main reason  of low rate of improvement of this place,on talking to people of these slums turned out to be the growing number of illiterate people and less educational opportunities.Education was the major concern raised by many people due to lack of resources as they find themselves trapped in the vicious cycle of the society and a problem that the Indian society faces i.e rich gets even richer and the poor gets even poorer.
After the visit to this lost world of little hearts filled with many desires yet to be fulfilled opened my eyes to this crude reality that the majority of the slums in India are in one or other way trapped in the vicious cycle of greedy people who make them vulnerable  and make their existence under serious threat.We as the responsible citizens of the society have to initiate a process of growth among these people and make them aware of the various policies that our  government has initiated for their improvement and help them to fruitfully use them to get out from this vicious cycle of greedy and rancour people who coexist in this diverse Indian society.

Transformative Learning:Perceiving Education the Right way!!

"Transformative Learning" sounds quite absurd and ridiculous at first sight but these two words contain in them the magic of change,these revolutionary set of alphabets can change the way we perceive things.Many define 'Transformative Learning' as the expansion of consciousness through the transformation of  basic world view and specific capacities of the self .This in-depth definition though sounds spine-chilling and horrifying contains in it the true meaning of education and answers the question of  the need for education.In an elegantly simple way we can redefine it as the idea of people changing the way they interpret their experiences and their interactions with the world.when someone undergoes such a change he has in essence "transformed" his view of himself or of the world or of how he interacts with others and his environment.This is exactly what every educational system should aspire to accomplish in their student's lives and in their learning.Through this process the student undergoes an affirmative transformation which opens the doors in building a successful individual ready to face the difficulties and the challenges the society faces.

In order to foster transformative learning the educator plays an important role in assisting learners to become aware and critical of assumptions This includes their own assumptions that lead to their interpretations ,beliefs, habits of mind ,or points of view ,as well as the assumptions of others. Educators must provide learners practice in recognizing the frames of reference. By doing so ,educators encourage practice in redefining problems from different perspectives. The main goal of the educators should be to create a community of learners who are "united in a shared experience of trying to make meaning of their life experience".

Nowadays, education has turned into a rat race where everyone steps in to win the race without the prior knowledge of knowing what their interests are,what they really want to see them as in the future.But this current educational system has tied them up to just getting good grades,cgpas etc which is quite a matter of deep concern as the future of the world as a whole is the current generation and their ideologies need to be directed in the right way for a directed and a cheerful society to live in.Education system has to realise the need for change in their functioning and has to set up a
system which would promote transformative learning and not rote memorizing and mugging up things for exams.The whole idea of education needs to change and become focused on bringing up "transformed" individuals who would surely contribute to the society in making it a beautiful place to live in.

The idea of promoting transformative education should be taken by each individual from now and become a medium to make others realise how important it is for an individual to grow in true sense transform into a valuable citizen for the society and realise that they are humans not factory made machines!!

Population Growth

Population Growth

The world today faces many problems despite the fact that it has taken long strides in science, technology and knowledge. One such problem is over population especially in developing countries. The population is growing so fast, that it grows in geometric progression whereas economic goods grow only in Arithmetic progression that demographers say there will not be literally any standing space on earth for her teeming millions. Let us find out the causes for such a growth, the problem or problems such a growth causes and the possible remedies.

The fast growth in population can be attributed to good health, lowering of mortality rate, combating famine when and where it occurs. With the knowledge of science many killer diseases have been literally conquered. For instance, smallpox which used to take a heavy toll of lives has been eradicated from almost all countries, so too has cholera, plague and so on. Even Tuberculosis is kept under control. The wave of flu which accounted for millions of death in 1919 was nothing but a common cold. Infant mortality has been reduced considerably by taking pre-natal and post-natal care. Child mortality is kept under check by protecting the child against Tetanus and Polio. Thus while the number of deaths is reduced, there is no control on birth as a result the population is increasing at a runaway speed.

Again periodic famine in certain countries used to take away the lives of thousands of people. Now with the better management of the world's food, in the matter of production, storage and distribution, no part of the world needs suffer from famine. Add to this the better methods of producing more food that are being adopted. By using better manures and fertilizers, high yielding seeds, by pest control and water management there has been a revolution in food production. These are some positive conditions which contribute to the growth of population.

Still the world may be saved from population explosion. May be there are more Green Revolution miracles up the sleeves. May be birth control miracles in the next ten years may save us. Right now the whole world seems bored with Family Planning. Can the world afford the luxury of such boredom?

- By

Pashmina Lakhanpal

Corruption

Corruption

There is no doubt that corruption is one of the biggest obstacles to the country's growth since independence. Corruption , over the last 60 odd years has deeply entrenched itself in every segment of Indian society.Earlier corruption was more synonymous with Government departments and officials.But today even their private sector has joined the race .

Dictionary definitions for corruption range from "lack of integrity or honesty" to "use of a position of trust for dishonest gain".For the Indian common man,corruption for decades was symbolized by the 'babu' of a government office.For any kind of work that needed to be got done from him, he had to be bribed.It did not matter whether the job was perfectly legal and part of his duty, or whether it was an illegal action that that required him to flout the laws.

The 'Babu' then went on to amass a large amount of wealth and lead a luxurious lifestyle.This model of corruption was seen in every sphere of activity, right from the sanctioning of loans to giving licenses, even for the booking of railway tickets. This was the story of the past.

Arrive 21st century. In the new age of globalization, where India has become an aspiring superpower with the second fastest growing economy in the world,Indian companies are raking in millions.Indian firms have globalized their operations and expanded their businesses to unprecedented levels. Sadly , this has led to a more devastating  form of corruption called 'corporate corruption'.While the old corrupt babu of the olden days dealt with thousands of lakhs of rupees, these high-flying modern corporates eat away millions.The most shocking case of recent times was that of the scam in the IT major Satyam. The corporates breed in many ways like tampering with their account books, evading taxes, showing inflated profit margins, bribing government officials to obtain permits and licenses  and manipulating the share market.Further by bribing  government officials for each of their needs the have also taken government level corruption to new level.The Cancer has now spread from the ministers to the bureaucrats ,the armed forces and even the judiciary. The latest corruption case like the 2G telecom scam, the commonwealth games scam and the housing society scams would put even the most backward militarist African nations to shame.

If all this money is put to use for developments purposes, we could easily feed our poor, treat our sick children build houses, roads and what not?

Some promising steps to root out corruption have come from successive governments recently.The CBI, Enforcement directorate, and vigilance department have been given extra powers to tackle this menace. Government departments have put in place processes to ensure transparency in their work. Officials are much more fearful than before about getting caught for corruption.The Media's role in highlighting corruption needs to be praised. A number of Investigative journalists through thier sting operations and reports have nailed down quite a few high profile individuals indulging in corruption.They have helped in instilling the fear factor among everyone.But still a lot more needs to  be done, especially to nab the officials at the higher levels and the corporate scamsters.

Each one of us can help in rooting out corruption by simply refusing to pay bribes to anyone, no matter how urgent our need is.With earnest efforts from the government  along with public cooperation , we can hope to drive out corruption from our country one day and ensure a better future for the coming generations.

- By

Pashmina Lakhanpal

Poverty

Poverty

Poverty is one of the major problems in India. It is the root cause of many socio-economic problems including population explosion, unemployment, and child labor and rising graph of crimes. Poverty alleviation should be the main target of the nation so as to make it a prosperous and developed country. Thus, poverty elimination is a matter of fundamental importance.

Poverty implies a condition in which a person finds him unable to maintain a living standard adequate for his physical and mental efficiency. He even fails to meet his basic requirements. Poverty is in fact a relative concept. It is very difficult to draw a demarcation line between affluence and poverty. According to Adam Smith, “Man is rich or poor according to the degree in which he can afford to enjoy the necessaries, the conveniences and the amusements of human life.”

Rather than getting drowned into swirling oceans of data we need to look into the factors which lead to poverty. Since India is predominantly an agricultural country, it is the largest source of employment. More than three-fourths of their populations depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Agriculture here is dependent on monsoon. Sometimes due to uncertainty and irregularity of monsoon, agriculture collapses. Food grains production declines. Often there is drought. All these adversely affect the income generation prospect. These combine to result in poverty. People do not have other means of livelihood; they are left with no other option except to starve.

Illiteracy constitutes a major cause of poverty. It is really very distressing that after more than 60 years of independence, about one-fourth of our population do not know how to read and write. Illiteracy is one of the constraints which deprive one from opportunities to seek other forms of livelihood. It in fact forces people to stick to ancestral jobs and prevents them from having job flexibility. Besides, caste system also puts constraints in the access to lucrative jobs to a vast majority of the people. Though constitutionally such institutions have been dismantled, their presence can still be seen in rural areas.

Furthermore, there has been increase in unemployment adding to the woes of poverty. Growing population isa great contributor to poverty. The average size of Indian family is relatively bigger, consisting of 4.2 members. All these factors make a vicious cycle of poverty and aggravate the problems related to poverty.

Poverty is a great pollutant. It is marked by an apathy that erodes self-esteem and any willingness to live life to the fullest. It is also an important factor in the creation of paradoxical situation, the lack of purchasing power amidst plentiful availability of food causing starvation deaths. Poverty makes education, balanced diet, health care facilities, etc. inaccessible. Obviously, all these deprivations immensely affect the personality development of a person, thus creating wide gaps between haves and have-nots.

As a consequence of attempts made by government, poverty showed a sharp decline in 1980s. This decline in poverty, to some extent, is also attributed to agriculture development of 1970s and 1980s resulting from the Green Revolutions. However, much more needs to be done, for India is the home to the largest poor population in the world. Basic necessities of life such as drinking water, health care facilities, etc. are still inaccessible to majority of population.

In this regard community participation and awareness campaign can make a difference. The media and the NGOs, besides other institutions have crucial role to play. The machinery involved in poverty alleviation need to be accountable, sensitized and sincere. New laws have to be evolved to ensure more accountability. The lack of transparency and accountability has hampered our economic development at all levels. A system of incentives and disincentives can also be of great importance. Thus, the situation is bound to change and society will be free from deprivation.

- By

Pashmina Lakhanpal

Illiteracy

Illiteracy

More than six decades have passed since India achieved independence from the British.Still India remains a backward country because more than forty percent of India's population is illiterate.Illiteracy is today one of the main problems facing the country and remain a major obstacle to national growth and development.

Though there has been a considerable increase in the number of schools and colleges,it has not kept pace with the rapid increase in population.As a result, large numbers of our children are denied education and hence remain illiterate. Another major reason for the wide-spread illiteracy in our country is the unaffordability of education , especially in the private schools.

The reasons for illiteracy are mainly financial.Since a vast section of the population lives below below the poverty line or just marginally above it,they cannot afford to send their children to private schools.In the backward interiors of the country , the number of government -run schools is very less, thus leaving a big gap between demand and supply resulting in widespread illiteracy..In addition , the poor need more helping hands at work, and so put they children to work at any early age.

The ill-effects of illiteracy are manifold. A nation whose large number of population are uneducated can never aspire to become developed and prosperous. It is only through education that people acquire knowledge and skills.Only when the population becomes skilled and employable , the industries can grow and create more jobs.
A country like the United states of America , owes its super power status and prosperity to its excellent education system.Quality education empowers the masses and inspires them to achieve bigger things.

It is not that the government  has been sleeping over the issue. Successive governments have introduced many schemes to improve the condition of literacy in India.In 1978,a nationwide adult-education programme was introduced to encourage adults to get themselves educated. . 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan'  and 'Midday meal programme  in schools have been other measures adopted by the governmants to bring girls and kids from poor families to school.These measures have started showing results , of late and the literacy rate of India has slowly started to climb.

But a lot more needs to be done, and the government, NGO's and people must put in combined efforts to make more and more people literate.Our aim should be to achieve 100% literacy by 2030, so that we do not remain left behind in the march to progress.

-By

Pashmina Lakhanpal

NIGHT SHIFT JOBS – A DEATH TRAP FOR WOMEN?

Long working hours, sleepless nights, reduced appetite and stress. These are the characteristics of every BPO (Business process outsourcing) and call centers which mostly work during the night. Sexual assaults, molestation, rapes and murders have added extra shine to these jobs. There is an increase in the number of night shift jobs being taken up especially by women. The mindset of women has changed over the years and they are starting to believe that they can do anything that a man does. But changeover is not that easily acceptable. There are certain spoil agents in our society that tend to cripple such positive thoughts of women. The crimes that are accompanying the night shift jobs is truly horrifying.

Everyone has come across the blood-chilling rape and murder of a BPO employee Prathibha on December 13^th, 2005 after leaving home from night shift by the cab driver. Why was she killed? The driver apparently was starving for sexual activity after his wife became pregnant. This is the ridiculous reason that the driver gave. This case awakened the entire country regarding the safety of women during the night shift. The argument was that women should not be allowed to work during the night as the surrounding is not secure. Well my question is, why shouldn’t we work during the night hours? Was it Prathibha’s mistake that she was brutally raped and killed? Every man should be first be taught to respect their opposite sex. Women should be treated as equals. But in the current mentality of our society it is difficult and challenging to achieve such equality. The government and many non-governmental organizations are striving towards this cause.

Currently there a lot of amendments being brought about in the labor law. Among the various amendments to labor law proposed by the Narendra Modi Government is one on allowing women to work on shifts between 7 pm and 6 am, “with adequate safeguards for safety and provision of transportation till the doorstep of their residence.” But the problem lies with poor compliance. Laws are just made but not followed properly. It is still debatable whether it is the negligence of the law makers or whether it is really that difficult to follow. There is no stringency in these laws. Many laws in various states are still denying women from working in the night shift.

We are brought up in a society where women are meant to be suppressed at home and away from the so called unfair world. We are considered to be naïve and delicate. Lately there is a full stop being put to such an attitude. Women are moving out of their restricted boundaries and making a change for themselves, well a positive change. No matter how much we are suppressed women are growing stronger and stronger every day. A recent article which I happen to come across in The Hindu said that women are starting to feel secure in night shift jobs. Women are very much needed to bring about an economic stability in every country. We should not be considered only as a sex material, we can work and achieve equally as men. All that should be done is initiate a change in the attitude of the society. We women should be the change we want to be.

- Maheshwari M

Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence can happen to anybody. Though it is often practiced against women, the problem is not gender specific. Domestic violence is defined as the “Willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another.” Domestic violence is not limited to physical violence but also involves instances of sexual assault and psychological abuse. It is experienced by people of almost ever colour, creed and religion. Domestic violence is often accompanied by dominating and controlling behavior on part of the abuser. The victim is often perceived as passive and weak and thus the abuser tries to intimidate the former.

It is not always easy to understand the nature of any relationship at an early stage and whether a person is abusive or not. Abusing tendencies of a person can develop over time due to a variety of reasons. Domestic violence often starts when a partner feels the need to dominate and control the other. The abusers always have a superiority complex feeding upon their sexist, racist or discriminatory attitudes. Domestic violence may initiate because a partner has low self esteem or confidence and turns to violent means to exert control. In traditional patriarchal societies, men believe that women are not to be treated as equals and see no harm in subjecting them to violence in order to remind them of their place and limits in the household. Often alcohol and drug abuse are claimed to be initiators of violence, however, studies have shown that people might be intensely abusive under their influence but these chemical substances are not likely to trigger domestic violence instances. Children who grow up witnessing domestic abuse start believing that violence is the only way to resolve a conflict. These young kids often mimic their parents in later stages of life.

Even though one cannot identify when a person might turn violence and start abusing, still there are a number of tendencies that often appear prior to an abusive behavior. When a partner starts showing signs of jealousy or displaced anger, it certainly means things are not in proper line. Before the actual act of violence, the victim may be accused of cheating, or stealing money. At times the abuser starts keeping account of every penny spent in the house and also refuses to give the money to the victim to pay their expenses. Often the abuser becomes so agitated that he/she starts keeping track of every movement of the victim by using devices such as GPS at times without the victim’s knowledge. When the abuser reaches his/her peak, she/he may force sex onto his/her partner, refuse to use protection during sex and even pressurizing for things that the victim may not be comfortable with.

The issue of domestic violence has been several times taken up in the Human Rights Council at the United Nations. Even though the agenda and resolutions passed at these conferences are not legally binding, they set international standards and norms. One of the most important resolutions on domestic violence is the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (DEVAW). DEVAW recognizes violence against women as “an obstacle to the achievement of equality” and a “manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women,” as well as a violation of fundamental freedoms including the prohibition against torture. The issue of domestic violence was also addressed in the Resolution 58/147 where it was recognized that domestic violence affected many areas of the victim’s life and also lead to economic deprivation and isolation in severe cases. Despite these initiatives, domestic violence is on a rise. Every minute a woman is abused at home. For any initiative to bear fruit we have to change. The society needs to wake up to the injustices happening to their next door neighbor and stop them. If we simply ignore the instances of domestic violence we come across, we are equally guilty of the crime. If we make an effort, the world will be a better place.

Nikita Tandon 

SOCIAL MEDIA– A BOON OR BANE?

“Social media has infected the world with a sickening virus called vanity”.

-Kellie Elmore

Gone are the days when a postal letter or telegram from close relatives and friends would make a person ecstatic. Gone are the days when during important occasions and festivals there would be a get together and quality time spent with family. Now all this has become history. Social media has reduced the essence of family culture. Just one message in Watsapp or Facebook has become enough to convey important messages irrespective of whether the person gets the message or not.

Gone are the days when we used to be dependent on the television and newspaper to gain knowledge and get updated about the outside world. Now we get timely updates in our mobile phones from the various android or windows or IOS applications. Gone are the days when we students used to be dependent on text books for preparing for exams. Most of us now get photocopies of notes in Watsapp or we can just download the text book from Google. It is easily accessible and cost effective. We students are neither dependent on teachers to clarify our doubts. We can just get the relevant information using various search engines.  Gone are the days when VCR’s (videocassette reader) and gramophones were the only source for watching a movie or listening to music. Well I don’t even buy CD’s now, as there is Torrentz to download movies, serials, games, songs, story books, text books and what not. Gone are the days when we used to get lost finding places we have never been to. Google Maps is the solution for this now. It even says where you have to take a right or left turn, which buses go to that particular destination and cautions us when we are going in the wrong direction. Gone are the days when parents sent their children outdoors to make friends and play with their peers. Well now friends are made easily on Facebook and Twitter. In fact now you can even judge a person by his Facebook profile or the number of likes he/she gets for his profile picture or the number of friends she/he has. As far as games are concerned we have temple run, candy crush saga, angry birds and many more. Now even these games are outdated, as there are new games invented every day. Right from a two-year-old to a sixty- year-old play these games.

I can go on and on about how social media has had an influence on our life style. As the saying goes “There are two sides to every coin”. Social media has its own positives and negatives. It depends on the individual whether to extract the positive resources from the Internet or become its victim. Lately there is a rise in Cyber Crimes. Social media has become a platform for harassment, financial theft, drug trafficking, racism and obscene or offensive comments. Mostly women are falling as prey to these crimes. At present, the number of cyber crimes in India is nearly around 149,254 and is likely to cross the 300,000 by 2015 growing at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 107 percent. According to the study, every month sees 12,456 cases registered in India.  Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra have occupied the top three positions when it comes to cyber crimes registered under the new IT Act in India. Since we are trending towards a society where Internet is believed more than humans, we have to protect ourselves from its hazards. We have to keep our family culture alive rather than being too dependent on technology. We have to adapt ourselves to the ever changing technology but not loose our morale for it. Well, Welcome to the ‘Social Media Age’.

- Maheshwari M

Female Foeticide

Female Foeticide

By:

Sushmita Paul

Female foeticide is aborting the female baby in the mother’s womb. Killing the Unborn in mother’s womb sounds itself so brutal then why the problems of sex selective abortions are carelessly being performed so frequently? The abiding truth of performing such brutal acts transcends throughout the country. India is already facing the critical issue of declining female population which in reality is a big reason of social tensions in the country which are spreading furiously like forest fire. Our Constitution provides the Right to Equality under Article 14 and Right to life with dignity under Article 21 and Sex – detection tests violate both these rights. The misbalanced sex ratio of India has reached its black days making it less than 800:1000 in few states of India. Surprisingly, firstly the practice is more recorded from urban area rather than rural area and secondly more common in literate section of society rather than illiterate and thus the most affected states are progressive states like Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Gujarat. Why the life of females is being taken so casually when they are the actual soul of the society? Female child is the root of society; they only further become responsible for being the daughter, wife, mother then alls favourite grandmother. But the patriarchal society of india still needs many brain washes to understand the importance of the root of society. This in turn becomes the reason of many social crimes against women. Why in country like india which became first to recognize man and woman equally under universal adult franchise such bloodiest form of cruelty can’t be stopped? Technologies of Modern science are becoming convict of this crime. With the determination of erasing the discrimination against female sex and for protecting the status and dignity of women government has passed the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques in 1994 to avoid the miss use of technologies. Practicing such acts is punishable under IPC 312-316 depending upon the nature of crime. The penalties range from seven years to life imprisonment for

fourteen years and fine. One needs to start the changes from individual’s level.  Human Development Survey Report has placed India at 124^th position among 173

countries. Actually eradicating the gender discrimination should be the prior agenda of development programmes. Although the process of removing the myths related to sons and daughters will take long time but we need to initiate it as early as possible for better future of india. At the end, all of us know the universal truth that every individual is born from his/her mother, the most respectable idol of life who is actually a female. 

SAVE GANGA

SAVE GANGA

By:

SUSHMITA PAUL

Ganga-the beautiful cultural and traditional image of India is getting ruin day by day. Borning from the lap of Himalayans’ glacier Gangotri, carrying the lifeline of crores of Indians, Ganga makes itself the bizarre of all. River Ganga- the national river of India, serving great value importance to the country is being threatened by all of us. The pride of India-River Ganga’s story made its existence since the Veda period. The whole story of Ganga prelects the story of India. Ganga runs through 52 cities and 48 towns providing livelihood to many at the cost of its life. This holy river is considered as the river of great ritualistic and spiritualistic importance. But unfortunately Ganga is on verse of losing its valuable existence.

Ganga submerges in itself litres of industrial waste, sewages and hazardous chemical. About 730litres of wastes are being drained daily in River Ganga, from which only about 400 litres are being cleaned taking the life of Ganga near the mouth of black hole. Apart from these major wastes slaying Ganga’s heart, this river always cries seeing the day to day people’s activities following its route by harming Ganga. The jamboree of human body waste, open defecations, dumping poly bags into the River further makes the situation very pathetic. Indians claim prelacy on Gangajal which is actually full of toxics now a days.

The Government of India has initiated different projects to Save River Ganga. The Ganga Action Plan (GAP) –started in 1986, by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi launched Rs 462-crore project to clean the Ganga. This project failed but phase II of the programe got approval by Feb 2014 and an expenditure of 939 crores was made to take up 524 different projects to clean Ganga. Then The National Ganga River Basin Authority (NRBA) under the headship of Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was launched as a regulatory body during February 2009 with an objective to reduce pollution in Ganga. But due to lack of accountability and commitment this Cell soon got dissolved. Supreme Court of India has already ordered the closure and relocation of industrial plants along the Ganges. The flow of the river between Gaumukh and Uttarkashi has been termed as ‘eco-sensitive zone’ in 2010. Another movement called the Save Ganga Movement started by social activists and saints also gained a lot of fame which works on Gandhian philosophy of non violence.  This time the Government of India has created few administrative changes to meet the success in saving Ganga. The River is now under the Water Resource minister Uma Bharti which was previously under the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Although these many programmes have been launched but there is least sign of betterment.

Actually we all need to inculcate our responsibilities in mind of being an aware and sensible citizen of India and understand the importance of Water Resources. Though the abiding truth of today’s Ganga makes the nation abash of its deeds but still it we can work together to save Ganga at our own level and make big differences.

The world is not 'maid ' for you, Maa !

          I am Pinki. I study in class 4^th.I go to school everyday because I want to be a big person one day. My favourite subject is Maths. My father is a labourer. He goes to work every morning. He comes home tired and shouts on us but that's okay, he is the main bread-earner. I study during day and help my mother with her chores at home in the evening. I want to help my family with income by completing my studies and doing a good job. But this is not about me. This is about my mother. My mother’s name is Sushma . She is a domestic worker at Saxenas, Sinhas , Mehtas, Shrivastavas and many more houses. She gets up at 5 am , prepares my two other sisters and me for school, makes lunch for us, packs food for Papa , does her daily chores of mopping the floor and washing utensils and after sending all of us to our work, she herself embarks on to her daily , hackneyed job.
         My mother is illiterate .She says it is a curse for her. She is not treated well by the society and I don’t like that. The aunties who employ her lambaste her if she doesn’t work up to their expectations. She doesn’t enjoy holidays on major festivals like Holi and Diwali like we do. Instead she has to work longer than usual during festivals. I have never seen her taking a break and giving time to herself. 

         Papa usually comes drunk at night because he says he has a lot of tension and alcohol is a way to attain peace for him. He often beats Maa when she disobeys him. I don’t like to see my Mother’s pillow soaked in tears overnight. Still she gets up, mustering the supressed, crushed , sobbing valour, like an iron lady to face the enemies all over again . When I sometimes ask her the cause of her plight, she smiles and lifts me up on her lap to say, “Complete your education and do something fruitful. The world will be at your feet. You little doll! You won’t understand what I mean now but some years later, you will know it all."
       This is the reality of life for not just Sushma, but thousands of other female domestic workers across the country. According to a Cabinet document about a draft national policy for domestic workers reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, domestic work is the largest female occupation in urban India. According to data from the ministry of labour and employment, the number of domestic workers in India vary from 4.75 million (Employment and Unemployment National Sample Survey 61st round, 2004-5) to 6.4 million (Census 2001). The data might be under-reported as domestic work is yet to be treated as ‘real’ work at many places, concede both NSS as well as census reports. This is one of the major reasons as to why domestic work largely remains ‘undeclared’.

        “The main issues that concern domestic workers are: lack of decent wages and work conditions, no defined work time, no weekly offs, loneliness, violence, abuse and sexual harassment in the workplace among others,“ the Cabinet note said.

Most domestic workers are from the marginalized sections of society and a large number of them are migrant workers. Workers range from full-time to part-time workers, skilled and unskilled workers.
         The root cause of all these troubles is illiteracy. Had these workers been given the basic education, they would not have been taken advantage of by their employers. Several studies have shown that a lower level of women literacy rates results in higher levels of fertility and infant mortality, poorer nutrition, lower earning potential and the lack of an ability to make decisions within a household. Women's poor educational level is also shown to adversely affect the health and living conditions of children. A survey that was conducted in India showed results which support the fact that infant mortality rate was inversely related to female literacy rate and educational level .The survey also suggests a correlation between education and economic growth.

         In India, it was found that there is a large disparity between female literacy rates in different states and regions. For example, while Kerala actually has a female literacy rate of about 86 percent, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have female literacy rates around 55-60 percent. Furthermore, the disparity of female literacy rates across rural and urban areas is also significant in India. Out of the 24 states in India, 6 of them have female literacy rates of below 60 percent. Rajasthan has a female literacy rate of less than 12 percent.

        Several positive steps are being taken in this direction to grant these female domestic workers the status and respect of a normal citizen. Tamil Nadu included domestic workers in their Manual Workers Act and created a separate board for them while Maharashtra is actively considering a law for them, with draft bills under discussion. Maharashtra has published a code of conduct. Under Section 27 (A) of the Maharashtra State Public Service Conduct Act, 1997, the Maharashtra government prohibits government employees from employing children below 14 as domestic workers. Such rules can be found in the rule books of 18 other states. Karnataka has notified minimum wages for domestic workers and Kerala has followed the suit. The Government of India has amended the Central Civil Service Conduct rules to prohibit Civil Servants from employing children below the age of 14 as domestics.

        The latest in a series of efforts to address the concerns of Domestic Workers are the two draft bills brought out in 2008 by the National Commission for Women and the National Campaign Committee of Unorganised Sector Workers also in 2008.

Literacy is the key to empower women of the country. Patriarchy has to end and give way for many Iron ladies like Sushma to rise and shine , without fear of being chained down by the shackles of the so-called superior gender.

The sun will rise from West

The mountains will move

The rivers will change the course

When the women of the country will be educated.

-Shivani Saxena

Can industrialization and socialization coexist?

“The problem of architecture as I see it is the problem of all art – the elimination of the human element from the consideration of the form.” 
  ― Evelyn Waugh, Decline and fall

Ever since industrial revolution started in the 1800’s, our society has evolved to become ‘Machine Oriented’ and ‘Materialistic’. When I use these two words I do not emphasize on an entirely negative notation about industrialization. From steam engines to the present day mobile phones, we have come to a stage where practically anything can be done or rather produced by technology. Rightly as we call ourselves techno-savvy, we are heading towards an automated world.

Now let’s see from a wider perspective. How is socialization affected by industrialization? Industrialization is all about transforming the society from agriculture dependent into machine dependent to increase economic activity. One of the major aspects of industrialization was to provide more employment, but it did not seem so. In the earlier stages of industrialization the need for work force was abundant due to reduced technological reach. Now with increase in innovative thinkers and technology, automation has come into picture, where human labor is less needed. Humans are starting to fear about unemployment. For most of the middle class families’ employment is the only way to lead a stable and a healthy life. Once machines started over powering manual labor, it threatened their jobs and eventually it led to people becoming insecure.

Before industrialization most of the countries were drawn towards agriculture for their revenue. Once industrialization evolved they transformed to being agriculture independent. Therefore, the farmers were losing income and were forced to migrate to cities in search of jobs. This led to largescale displacement to cities from towns and villages leading to the breakage of family ties. Another impact due to this was agricultural land acquisition to build industries. Farmers are even today forcefully made to sell their lands to multinational companies for expanding their empires. Now industrialization has shifted to being dominated by the ‘Rich’. To be more precise, ‘the rich is becoming richer and the poor is becoming poorer’. This led to the suppression of the financial stability of working class people. The concern about human development was declining and was more oriented towards self-improvement of only certain class of people. In a country like India, the consequences of industrialization is more widespread. Problems of infrastructure, poverty, increased taxes and corruption are prevalent.

Another impact of industrialization was its effect on the environment. With the increasing demand for goods, the usage of natural resources also rose. Technology and innovation demanded for scarping its resources from the environment leading to an ecological imbalance.

Now the question arises, can industrialization and socialization coexist? In my opinion, yes definitely they can. In a country like India, agriculture forms more than half of the revenue. To form a mature industrialized society we need to incorporate transformation in a harmonic way such that it does not disrupt the livelihood of the people. The local occupation of any place has to be encouraged and improved in such a way that their products can strongly compete in the international markets. The respective governments have to formulate policies to ensure equitable distribution of wealth, which is very difficult to achieve in the current political scenario.

Today, with change in the thought process of people especially the present age youngsters are seeking towards a more mature industrialized society with concern about humans and environment. Man is a ‘Social Animal’, this does not mean that man should be drawn towards his own self development. We should be concerned about us and our fellow human beings. We should therefore accept and invite positive and healthy changes in technology and industrialization without much hamper to the society.

- Maheshwari M

CHILD LABOUR

Child labour

 By:
Sushmita Paul

Mother gives birth to a child; a little innocent baby becomes the tree of juicy fruits full with hopes. Gradually he/she grows up and hopes from him/her increase its width and height. But what is happening is draining all the efficient potential of our strength of the nation. About whom is being mentioned is Child. Yes the future of our nation. Slaying the future of our nation by accepting the presence of child labour is very disheartening. All the bias of this evil practice should be penalized.

By indulging an innocent life into this practice and making braches of his/her innocent dreams is a matter of great pity for the whole nation. This practice is well defined by these many words of a simple sentence defining a v complex life type of a child---- What is child labour is: Those children who are doing paid or unpaid work in factories, workshops, establishments, mines and in the service sector such as domestic labour. Imagining this creates blood shocks in body. Now what with those actually practicing this in reality?  There are only two main causes of this Child Labour practice- A. Poverty And B. Illiteracy

Although in developing country like India this issue has been in concern of the Government but still we need a lot to get control over this typical problem but India continues to host the largest number of child labourers in the world today which is about 12 million in number.  Recent census has shown some decrease in level of this problem.  But we need to think that is it so difficult to eradicate poverty in India where there are so many government schemes running like The Children (Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933 The Employment of Children Act, 1938, The Minimum Wages Act 1948 and rules made there under by the government-The Shops and Establishment Act in Various States Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 etc. We all need to give this issue our genuine concern so that these act’s benefit can reach all its legal sufferers. If we the citizen of one nation at least try to educate one or two and this little effort can make huge difference. Whatever change may happen but at minimum after educating poor children they for sure will realize the needs of education and take benefits from Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)  Mid Day Meal Scheme to built up a better future for themselves and thus for the nation too. They should be make aware of article 21A- Right to Education AND 24- prohibition of employment of children in factories. No one of us should think of putting a child work in a hazardous condition. This not only creates health and mental problems but distract the future betterment of nation. We all should give our best to stop this critical problem creating hindrance at both micro and macro levels. This is indeed a challenging task, but can be attained with concerted effort and a clear perspective.

Drug Abuse

Drug Abuse

“We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy”

                                                                                                                 -Albus Dumbledore

Teenage and the transition from a child into an adult is particularly a difficult time in an individual’s life. There are hormonal changes, mental development, and physical development leading to a complex web of changes in the human body which makes this stage of development quite confusing. To escape this pressure of change, adolescents look out for alternatives and often fall back to drugs. Drug abuse refers to the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances i.e. ‘Drugs’. However, drug abuse is not limited to adolescents suggesting that people of any age may fall a victim to them. Individuals try drugs for a variety of reasons; some take them out of curiosity while others may take it to improve their athletic performance, or simple to cope up with the increasing pressures of anxiety, stress or depression. Often it is perceived that drug abusers have no moral character or lack strong will power. The lesser known fact is that the effects drugs have on the human brain make it very difficult to quit even if a person is ready to.

Our brain works on the pleasure principle suggesting that if any activity that we perform pleasures the brain in any way, you tend to do it again. Our life sustaining activities like eating pleasure brain receptors in such a way that the brain signals the repetition of the activity at regular intervals. Drugs play a similar role; they activate the brain’s pleasure circuit. Almost all drugs affect the way our brain works by affecting chemical neurotransmission. Prolonged use of drugs changes the brain in long- lasting ways and these long- lasting changes trigger drug addiction. Drug addiction is a complex disorder characterized by compulsive drug abuse.

Drug abuse doesn’t only alter the functioning of human brain but also affects the abuser, his/her family, the society and babies who are not even conceived as yet, in a number of ways. Drug abuse weakens the whole immune system of our body making it susceptible to diseases. It also affects the cardiovascular system increasing the incidence of attacks and other heart related problems. Apart from our body, drug abuse also affects our feelings and emotions. Drug abusers show higher rates of hallucinations, delusions, insecurity, paranoia, impaired judgment, loss of rational decision making and even loss of self- control. Drug abusers not only play with their lives but also the lives of their generations to come. In the United States about 4% of pregnant women are addicted to drugs like marijuana and cocaine leading to a great deal of abnormalities in their fetus. The infants of drugged parents often suffer from a number of defects ranging from mental disorders to physical disabilities. Such children are frequently characterized by slow mental growth as compared to their peers and may even be emotionally unstable. A United Nations report estimated that drug abuse kills about 200,000 people per year and estimated an expenditure of $250 billion per year for providing rehabilitation to all the addicts and abusers.

Drug abuse can be sensed in a number of ways. Early signs of drug abuse involve changes in patterns of sleep, sudden weight loss or weight gain, bloodshed eyes, deterioration in physical grooming etc. In terms of behavior, a drug abuser may have a sudden change in his/her social circle, they might start getting themselves into trouble and even engaging in secretive activities. Psychologically, a person abusing drugs might show sudden mood swings, a change in attitude or personality and a lack of motivation. Drug abuse can also be identified by increased irritability, anger outbursts and unusual hyperactivity.

It is normally believed that there is no hope for a drug addict, however, drug abuse and addiction can be effectively treated to helping patients live a meaningful and successful life. Recognizing that one has a problem is the primary step which takes the most effort and courage. Once a person accepts the problem, he/she is more than ready to seek a solution. Treatments generally cater to the specific needs of a patient. The most effective treatment includes counseling and therapies in individual and group sessions where individuals are motivated to introspect about their problems and break the shell. Sometimes, medications are also prescribed in order to supplement the therapy sessions to avoid any relapses. Since ‘prevention is better than cure’, a number of organizations work to spread awareness about drug abuse. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a global leader in the fight against drug abuse. UNODC works to educate people throughout the world about the dangers of drug abuse and to strengthen international action against illicit drug production and trafficking and drug-related crime. To achieve those aims, UNODC has launched a range of initiatives, including alternatives in the area of illicit drug crop cultivation, monitoring of illicit crops and the implementation of projects against money laundering. Drug abuse is a problem that can be faced by anyone. It doesn’t come with a name tag. All of us need to accept the situation and work towards a complete eradication of harmful drugs and walk towards a better world.

Nikita Tandon