Many of us are raised with the common myth that we will become weak if we don’t eat fish or meat. But we can discredit this myth if we look at an elephant that not only survives on just leaves and branches but also thrives in good health.

Many of us are raised with the common myth that we will become weak if we don’t eat fish or meat. But we can discredit this myth if we look at an elephant that not only survives on just leaves and branches but also thrives in good health. 

Like elephants, some of the strongest animals of the world are strictly vegetarian. When a person realises this, his spiritual nature begins to awaken; he starts experiencing many changes from within. One of them is the development of 
a sensitivity through which the relationship between his body and his soul takes a new meaning and importance.

The inner vision of the soul reveals aspects to his personality that he did not know or felt before. His subtle energies become more tangible and he begins to judge for himself whether the food his body has ingested is really healthy for him or not. 

The question that arises now is “Why follow a vegetarian diet?” The answer is simple. Human beings by nature are non-violent. The true nature of the human soul is peace and tranquility.

Spiritual energy accumulates while practising non-violence. In this world, there is so much anxiety, tension, irritability and injustice which can be attributed to the dietary habits of human beings, because some of the food that one eats has all these vibrations of violence and negativity.

Hence, it is advisable to avoid eating food that comes through violence or the act of killing. A healthy body is one that is kept clean both from within and outside. When we feed the mind as well as the body with love, the atmosphere around us will also become peaceful and loving to live in, because our mental state has a definite and direct impact on the atmosphere around us. There are many benefits in preparing food in a peaceful and happy mental state. And, when we eat food prepared in such a manner, we will feel happy and positive. That will surely, in turn, improve the quality and longevity of life.

Kashmiri Hilal Ahmed Rather was the India’s first pilot to fly Rafale. The first batch of the much-awaited five Rafale fighter jets that took off from France and reached India. The first batch of five Rafale fighter jets arrived at Ambala air base today. The aircraft flew out of the Dassault Aviation Merignac airbase in French port city of Bordeaux on Monday July 27 2020, to arrive in India covering a distance of nearly 7,000 km.

The man behind the quick delivery of Rafale jets is touted to be Air Commodore Hilal Ahmad Rather, who is currently serving as an Air Attaché to France. He was Born in the south Kashmir’s Anantnag district to middle-class parents, Hilal’s father, late Mohammad Abdullah Rather retired as a deputy superintendent of police (Dy SP) in J&K police department. He has three sisters and is the only son of his parents. Hilal studied in Sainik School in Nagrota town of Jammu district.

He was commissioned in IAF as a fighter pilot on December 17, 1988, became flight lieutenant in 1993, wing commander in 2004, group captain in 2016 and air commodore in 2019.He graduated from defence services staff college (DSSC). He also graduated from air war college (USA) with distinction. He won the sword of honour in NDA. Hilal is also the recipient of Vayu Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva medal.

India and France had inked an inter-governmental agreement in September 2016 for 36 Rafale jets worth Rs 59,000 crore.  Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had gone to Merignac airbase on October 9, 2019 to perform ‘Puja’ to get the early delivery of the first batch of Rafale fighter jets purchased by India.

At that time it was said that it would take a minimum for 2-3 yrs for the plane to arrive in India. Thanks to Air Commodore Hilal Ahmad Rather the momentous moment for India has arrived earlier than expected.

The key person in fast forwarding the Rafale delivery is Air Commodore Hilal Ahmad Rather and his team who played a big role in weaponizing the jets as per Indian conditions and they worked upon further enhancements of the planes and made it ready for delivery in a record time.

Air Commodore Hilal Ahmad Rather is a decorated officer of the Indian Air Force and has the distinction to be the first IAF officer to fly a Rafale jet. He hails from the Bakshiabad area of Anantnag district of Kashmir.

Rather, he was commissioned in IAF as a fighter Pilot in the Flying branch on 17 December 1988. He was promoted as Flight lieutenant in 1993, Wing Commander in 2004, Group Captain in 2010 and Air Commodore in 2016.

Air Commodore Rather is a Fighter Combat Leader and a qualified Flying Instructor. He has more than 3000 hours of accident free flying on MiG-21s, Mirage-2000 and Kiran aircraft. He has commanded a Mirage-2000 Squadron and also a front-line Air Force Base.

Rather received the Vayu Sena Medal as a Wing Commander in 2010. He received the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2016 as a Group Captain.

Air Commodore Rather has won several awards. He has won the Sword of honor in NDA Khadakwasla, Pune.  He has graduated from Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) Wellington where he later served as a Directing Staff. He further graduated from the Air War College in the USA with academic distinction.

India has ordered 36 Rafale fighter jets from France in a deal worth Rs 59,000 crore in September 2016. All the jets are expected to arrive in India by September 2022. , The Indian Air Force has made preparations for receiving the Rafale jet planes. It is ready with required infrastructure and training of pilots and other such perquisites.

The Rafale is a twin-jet fighter aircraft able to operate from both an aircraft carrier and a shore base. The manufacturers describe it as a fully versatile aircraft which can carry out all combat aviation missions to achieve air superiority and air defence, close air support, in-depth strikes, reconnaissance, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence.

The Rafale fighter jets are being projected as a “game changer” in the region in the realm of air combat. It is seen as a shot in the arm for Indian defence forces amid the ongoing crisis with China.

The Union Cabinet has given a green signal to National Education Policy 2020. The Cabinet has also approved the change of Union HRD Ministry’s name to ‘Ministry of Education’.

Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave a nod to India’s new National Education Policy 2020, which provides for major reforms in higher education, increased focus on non-academic skills and increased inclusion through language diversity and course fluidity. The new academic session will begin in September-October – the delay is due to the unprecedented coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak – and the government aims to introduce the policy before the new session kicks in.

“Cabinet under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given approval to new education policy for the 21st century. It is important, as for 34 years there were no changes in the education policy.”

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said

The Cabinet has also approved a proposal to rename the Ministry of Human Resource Development as the Ministry of Education.

The NEP 2020, which proposes several structural changes in the early as well as the higher education system, has been developed after consultations for nearly five years with stakeholders and the general public.

The new policy aims to achieve 100 per cent youth and adult literacy in India. While announcing the policy details, Amit Khare, Secretary, Higher Education said that the government aims to increase the public investment in the education sector from the current 4.3 per cent to reach 6 per cent of GDP at the earliest.

Here’s are the highlights of India’s new National Education Policy 2020:

School Education:

Universal Access: The NEP 2020 has provisions to ensure universal access to school education at all levels- pre school to secondary.

Some of these provisions include infrastructure support, innovative education centres to bring back dropouts into the mainstream, tracking of students and their learning levels, facilitating multiple pathways to learning involving both formal and non-formal education modes and association of counselors or well-trained social workers with schools.

The NEP 2020 also provides for open learning for classes 3, 5 and 8 through NIOS and State Open Schools, secondary education programs equivalent to Grades 10 and 12, vocational courses, adult literacy and life-enrichment programs.

Through NEP 2020, the Centre hopes to bring back about 2 crore out of school children into main stream.

Early Childhood Care & Education: The 10 and +2 structure of school curricula is to be replaced by a 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years respectively. This will bring the uncovered age group of 3-6 years under school curriculum, which has been recognised globally as the crucial stage for the development of mental faculties of a child. The new system will have 12 years of schooling with three years of Anganwadi/pre-schooling.

NCERT will develop a framework of the early childhood education of children up to the age of 8.

Attaining Foundational Literacy and Numeracy: A National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy will be set up by the MHRD. States will prepare an implementation plan for attaining universal foundational literacy and numeracy in all primary schools for all learners by grade 3 by 2025. A National Book Promotion Policy will also be formulated.

Reforms in School Curricula and Pedagogy: The school curricula and pedagogy will aim for holistic development of learners by equipping them with the key 21st century skills, reduction in curricular content to enhance essential learning and critical thinking and greater focus on experiential learning. Students will have increased flexibility and choice of subjects. There will be no rigid separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams.

Vocational education will start in schools from the 6th grade, and will include internships.

Multilingualism and the Power of Language: The NEP 2020 advocates for mother tongue/local language/regional language as the medium of instruction at least till Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond. Sanskrit to be offered at all levels of school and higher education as an option for students, including in the three-language formula. Other classical languages and literatures of India also to be available as options. No language will be imposed on any student. Several foreign languages will also be offered at the secondary level.

Assessment Reforms: With NEP 2020, the Centre hopes to shift from summative assessment to a more competency-based regular assessment which tests analysis, critical thinking and conceptual clarity. All students will take school examinations in Grades 3, 5, and 8. Board exams for Grades 10 and 12 will be continued, but redesigned with holistic development as the aim. A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), will be set up as a standard-setting body.

Equitable and Inclusive Education: NEP 2020 provides for setting up of Gender Inclusion Fund and also Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups. Children with disabilities will be enabled to fully participate in the regular schooling process from the foundational stage to higher education, with support of educators with cross-disability training, resource centres, accommodations, assistive devices, appropriate technology-based tools and other support mechanisms tailored to suit their needs.

Higher Education:

Increase GER to 50% by 2035: NEP 2020 aims to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education including vocational education from 26.3 per cent (2018) to 50 per cent by 2035. At least 3.5 crore new seats will be added to higher education institutions.

Holistic Multidisciplinary Education: The policy introduces broad-based, multi-disciplinary, holistic undergraduate education with flexible curricula, creative combinations of subjects, integration of vocational education and multiple entry and exit points with appropriate certification. UG education can be of 3 or 4 years with multiple exit options and appropriate certification within this period. For example, certificate after 1 year, advanced diploma after 2 years, Bachelor’s degree after 3 years and Bachelor’s with research after 4 years.

An Academic Bank of Credit is to be established for digitally storing academic credits earned from different institutes so that these can be transferred and counted towards final degree earned.

Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs), at part with IITs, IIMs, to be set up as models of best multidisciplinary education of global standards in the country.

The National Research Foundation will be created as an apex body for fostering a strong research culture and building research capacity across higher education.

Regulation: Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) will be set up as a single overarching umbrella body the for entire higher education, excluding medical and legal education. HECI will function through faceless intervention through technology, and will have powers to penalise higher education institutions for not conforming to norms and standards. Public and private higher education institutions will be governed by the same set of norms for regulation, accreditation and academic standards.

Rationalised Institutional Architecture: The definition of the university will allow a spectrum of institutions that range from Research-intensive universities to teaching-intensive universities and autonomous degree-granting colleges. Affiliation of colleges is to be phased out in 15 years and a stage-wise mechanism is to be established for granting graded autonomy to colleges. Over a period of time, it is envisaged that every college would develop into either an autonomous degree-granting college, or a constituent college of a university.

Financial support for students: Efforts will be made to incentivise the merit of students belonging to SC, ST, OBC, and other SEDGs. The National Scholarship Portal will be expanded to support, foster, and track the progress of students receiving scholarships. Private HEIs will be encouraged to offer larger numbers of free ships and scholarships to their students.

Open and Distance Learning: This will be expanded to play a significant role in increasing GER. Measures such as online courses and digital repositories, funding for research, improved student services, credit-based recognition of MOOCs, etc, will be taken to ensure it is at par with the highest quality in-class programmes.

Online and Digital Education: A dedicated unit for the building of digital infrastructure, digital content and capacity building will be created in the MHRD to look after the e-education needs of both school and higher education.

Technology in Education: An autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), will be created to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration. Appropriate integration of technology into all levels of education will be done to improve classroom processes, support teacher professional development, enhance educational access for disadvantaged groups and streamline educational planning, administration and management.

Promotion of Indian Languages: To ensure the preservation, growth, and vibrancy of all Indian languages, NEP recommends setting an Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation (IITI), National Institute (or Institutes) for Pali, Persian and Prakrit, strengthening of Sanskrit and all language departments in HEIs, and use mother tongue/local language as a medium of instruction in more HEI programmes.

Professional Education: All professional education will be an integral part of the higher education system. Stand-alone technical universities, health science universities, legal and agricultural universities etc will aim to become multi-disciplinary institutions.

In India, even today, millions of children go without any access to education. Education is the most powerful tool which empowers communities to turn around their lives, If any member of a family is educated, especially women, it can help coming generations to break the inter-generational cycled of poverty. Unprivileged children, who are the world’s poorest children living in slum areas and on the streets, lead a life where in there is no money, no education, lack of sanitation facilities, food and safe drinking water and no proper houses. All this leads to problems like child labour, child marriage, major health issues and crime, posing a threat to urban society and development of the country. The same conditions are passed on to the coming generations of slum dwellers, making their upliftment difficult in the society. It is the primary responsibility of a society to help children to fulfill their dream. Developed countries like US and China know the importance of it that is why these countries give special attention to skills and education.

Education is a great enabler – it makes people skilled and equips them to engage in meaningful professions and thus contribute to their own and society’s socio-economic well-being. In India, even today, millions of children go without any access to education. As many as 8.4 crore children in India continue to remain out of school. It’s a major social problem plaguing modern-day India and strong measures are needed to ensure the benefits of education touch everyone. Over the years, Save the Children has emerged as a trusted Non Governmental Organization which has provided lakhs of disadvantaged children the access to quality and enabling education. The organization’s work has made it possible for gifted and hard working children to have access to opportunities they could not have imagined before. The NGO is closely aligned with the government’s vision for education, jobs and prosperity for all.

When it comes to education, girls lag behind boys significantly. This situation arises due to the patriarchal mindset of a lot of families in India. Girls are often viewed as future housewives and family caretakers. They are often deprived higher education and in some cases even school education. Being educated gives an equal opportunity to women to be skilled workers who use their learning as a boon that will help better the future of their families and their communities. NGOs like Save the Children have projects dedicated to fostering girl child education. Educated girls also help end unfair social evils like child marriage and dowry and improve maternal health.

As aware and responsible citizens of the country, we need to ensure that businesses are sensitized towards the harms of child labour and they refrain from hiring children for work which will, in turn, discourage parents and children to choose money over education. The need of the hour is to make communities aware of their rights and proud of child’s education. Educated communities will not just create better citizens but also ensure better employment and enterprise. In 2015, the NGO touched the lives of over 1 lakh children in the city of New Delhi via the Childhood Care and Development programme which was involved in street children rehabilitation, child labour rescue, and maternal and newborn care. In 2016, Save the Children brought almost 90,000 children into the fold of education. It marked a new beginning in the lives of these children. In Bengaluru, the NGO has advocated for implementing the Right to Education for the street children with various school authorities and also helped in building up capacities of 26 Anganwadi centres and 60 primary schools that benefitted 7,000 children. In Kolkata and Mumbai, Save the Children operates Mobile Learning Centres where dropouts, child labourers, slum children and street children come and are mainstreamed into education.

NGOs like Save the Children need the support of government bodies, corporations, and most importantly, individuals. Along with enthusiasm and support from the common individual, it is heartening to see hard-earned donations and sense of public concern power an NGO’s influence and reach across India. To play your part, you should also donate to NGO to give India’s children a future.

We can see that children who are the future of tomorrow’s India have an immense power in themselves. With little support these stars can shine brightly in this world and touch success ladder with each passing time.

Few days ago, i was reading an article on Mother Teresa. I came to know that on October 17th, 1979, Mother Teressa was awarded Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work for the needy. She had devoted herself to them.

Don’t you agree that in today’s world very few people are available to help the needy?

The key thing to remember is that beauty is in harmony. The happiest are those who are ready to help others. Nevertheless, we should not let interfere what we cannot do with what we can do.

One should get involved in social services so that a needy or a poor person gets to meet his basic needs. In short, one should strive to be a philanthropist.

In the end, it is us who can make the world a better place.

Racism has been a part of our society for many years. The sad truth is that it is more prevalent than ever. It seems every day you hear the stories of racism being played out in every corner of our society.

The fact is that as long as people ignore it and act like it doesn’t exist, the worse it will get. The only way to resolve a problem is to admit and take responsibility for having a problem. The election of President Obama exacerbated the issue of racism, but let’s not be so naïve as to think the problem wasn’t already there. It seems racism rears its ugly head when one race feels threatened by another race.

I believe fear is what encourages racism and hate. What needs to happen is for people who are tired of all of the hate decide that we will no longer tolerate racism and hate in our workplaces, schools, police departments or any other part of our society. It is not far fetched to think this could happen. It will take people to not turn a blind eye when you see or experience racism.

I think people tend to ignore racism if it does not directly affect them, but think about this, what if someone hated you or your child just because of the color of their skin? Imagine how that would affect your life. Wouldn’t you be afraid to leave your home? Afraid to allow your child to go to school? Afraid of losing your job? Afraid to drive your car at night in fear of being harassed? These are all real realities for some people that live in our society. Is it fair for someone to live in so much fear just because their skin color is different?

The best thing we can do for the future of our country is to refuse to tolerate racism on any level.

It is not impossible to stop the trend of racism, but it will take people being more conscious of it, and every now and then taking a stand that may be unpopular in your social circles. I wish I could say that there was an easy solution to this problem, but there isn’t.

Some people just feel that others are inferior to them and not worthy of the same lifestyles and comforts that they enjoy. I personally believe that you should be treated with respect and dignity in this country if you work hard, pay your taxes and abide by the law. There is no one race that owns this country and has the right to tell others, who is worthy to be here and who is not based on a person’s skin color.

Have you ever heard someone say that they are not racist, but admit if someone of another race moved next door to them, they wouldn’t like it? These people are racist.

Racism is very hurtful because it makes you feel like no matter how hard you work or how much money you make, you will never be good enough to live in certain neighborhoods or have your children attend certain schools.

For those of you that feel that racism is a thing of the past, I am here to tell you that it is alive and well in our society, and until people recognize the problem, and put stricter laws in place to combat this problem, it will continue. If you have friends or family that spout racist views, educate them and let them know they are destroying the fabric of this country by holding on to racism and hate.