Day: September 11, 2020

Civil Disobidience Movement

The observance of the Independence Day in 1930 was followed by the launching of the Civil Disobedience Movement under the leadership of Gandhi. It started with the well-known Gandhi Dandi March. In Ahmadabad on the west shores of India, Gandhi left the Sabarmati Ashram at a walking distance of around 385 km from Ahmadabad, with 78 additional Ashram members for Dandi, a town. On 6 April 1930 they arrived in Dandi. The Salt Law was broken by Gandhi. Everyone produced salt illegally as it was a monopoly of the government. By collecting some salt which had formed from the evaporation of the sea, Gandhi challenged the government. In defiance of the salt law, the Civil Disobedience Movement spread across the country. In the first step of the civil disobedience movement, salt distributed across the world became a sign of popular government resistance.

C. Rajgopalchari led the march from Trichinopoly to Vedaranyam in Tamil Nadu, which was close to the Dandi. In Dharsana in Gujarat, in the march to the government’s salt depots Sarojini Naidu, the well-known poet, a leader of the congress and chair of the congress, led nonviolent satyagrahis. More than 300 satyagrahis have been critically wounded and two have been killed by police in a violent case. Demonstrations were held, hartals were held and international goods were boycotted, and taxes subsequently denied. The movement involved lakhs of people, many of them women.

At the first round-table meeting in London in November 1930 the British Government summoned the legislation suggested by the Simon Commission to discuss the change. It was boycotted by the congress, which struggled for the country’s freedom. The Indian kings, Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha, and others attended. But the members were there. Yet it came out of nowhere. The British government understood that no decision on constitutional amendments would be appropriate to the people of India without the approval of the Congress.

Viceroy Irwin tried to convince the congress to attend the second roundtable conference at the beginning of 1931. There is consensus on the release of all political prisoners for whom no violence is claimed, between Gandhi and Irwin, according to which the government agreed. The convention was intended to postpone the campaign of civil disobedience. This agreement was frustrating for many nationalist leaders. The Congress agreed to accept the agreement and to participate in the second round table conference at its karachi meeting held in March 1931 under Vallabhbhai Patel.

No one was interested in India’s independence, either by princes or by the community leaders. Consequently, no agreement was reached and the second round table conference was broken. The Civil Disobedience Movement resumed. Gandhi returned to India. Also as the conference began, and now it is strengthened, government repression persisted. Arrested were Gandhi and other leaders. The actions of the government to counter the movement can be seen from 120000 individuals sent to gaol in approximately one year. In 1934, the campaign was suspended. A new resolution was adopted by the Congress in 1934. It requested that an adult franchise constituent assembly should be called by the people. He said that for India only a constitution would be drawn up for such an assembly. It therefore confirmed that only the people had the right to decide on their own form of government. The Congress failed to achieve its goal, however, but in the second great mass struggle in the country it managed to mobilise large segments of the people. It also had ambitious aims to change the Indian community.

Machiavelli

Niccolò Machiavelli was the first thinker to take an unequivocal stand in regard to the relationship between religion, morality and virtue on the one hand, and politics, on the other. A brief introduction is necessary to acquaint us with this highly debated person in all of political thinking.

Machiavelli was born in Florence in 1468 in a family that was traditionally seen as belonging to middle aristocracy. Machiavelli’s life became more relevant after the year 1498, when he, although barely 29, managed to secure an important job of chief of the second chancellery. He was one of the top policy-makers of the state. His famous work- The Prince was published in 1532. It explored the causes of the rise and fall of states and the factors for political success. It became a constant reference point and inspired different avenues in political research.

To comprehend the full importance of Machiavelli’s writings and their context, it is important to understand the series of political, social, cultural changes that began in the fourteenth century called the Renaissance. It signified a rebirth of the human spirit in the attainment of liberty, self-confidence and optimism. At the centre of the Renaissance was the emergence of the new human who was ambitious and relentless, he motivated by self-interest, and his aim was to seek glory and fame. Alongside the development of the modern individual was also the beginning of the modern state.

Machiavelli saw stable political authority and order as a basic criterion for social cohesion and moral regeneration. It was for this reason that he stressed the need for a unified polity. According to him, the individual was wicked, selfish and egoistic. He was fundamentally weak, ungrateful, fake, anxious to avoid danger and always greedy for gains. Thus, since the individual was lacking in honesty and justice, he was ready to act in a manner that was detrimental to the community.

Machiavelli’s state was a secular entity, with no relation to the church. It was independent and isolated, with no obligation to anything outside itself. A state was necessary, as it existed to fulfil the desire for security of person and property. His ideal was a republic.

Machiavelli’s attitude towards religion was thoroughly utilitarian. It was seen as a social force and did not have any spiritual connotation. As a social force, it played a pivotal role by inducing a kind of behaviour and conduct that was deemed necessary for the well-being of a society. Religion determined the social and ethical norms and values that governed human conduct and actions.

Machiavelli did not condone the use of immoral ways. To him, the end was important, which could be attained by any means. He contended that a ruler need not always adhere to conventional morality.  He was convinced that the use of violence although could be controlled, it cannot not be altogether eliminated. However, he recommended the cautious and judicious exercise of such violence, because otherwise it would create widespread distrust and hostility towards the government, which would result in instability.

Reference- A HISTORY OF POLITICAL THOUGHT: PLATO TO MARX. By SUBRATA MUKHERJEE & SUSHILA RAMASWAMY

International System and Environmental Issues

Environmental issues arose across the world after the Industrial Revolution, during the 19th CE, there was a wide need for a change and development at that time. People desired for a speedy process of production and because of this, it set into motion changes which were unexpected.

Smoke was released across Europe and North America. Plains had turned into deserts, and various other issues had cropped up in USA and Canada too. It was only by the half of the 20th CE, there arose a concern for air and water pollution. The same cannot be said for land pollution, it only came into limelight after the introduction of pesticides. People were overjoyed with the agricultural revolution that they forgot to notice its defects, it was Rachel Carson who brought in the negative impacts of the usage of pesticides in her book ‘Silent Spring’. This gave the environmental movement a boost too. It paved way for a great number of researches across the world.

This made the people the need to have a world wide conference to discuss about the environmental issues and a need to change them. And thus the first global conference was held, it is named as Stockholm Conference. This conference was a pivotal event in the growth of the global concern for environment. This was the first time, countries of the world came to discuss the problems and make up good measures to correct them.

These were the following outcomes of the Stockholm conference

  • Firstly, people were of the perception that humanity and environment were different and had no connections. This was not the case. After the conference it was made sure that such a thinking has to be shifted off people’s mind in order to save our environment.
  • Stockholm created a comparison between the developed and developing countries. There were arguments from both sides but it was considered and decisions were made too. The least developed and developing countries were given priority in determining the international policy.
  • The importance and role played by NGO’s gave more importance to governmental and intergovernmental organizations.
  • The introduction of United Nations Environmental Program. This program was the best possible solution to the problems of the global world.

         After the 1980’s there was a second wave of the environmental movement. This movement focused more on the complex issues and highlighted unresolved ones. Immediate action was taken for this, and this time it was more suitable and better understood than the previous times. Examples are World commission on Environment and Development(1986), Rio Conference(1992), Kyoto Protocol(1997) and the Johannesburg summit (2002).

The World Commission on Environment and Development is popularly known as Brundtland Commission. The commission focused on Sustainable development. The commission wanted to put forward new  ideas that could create growth and sustainable development across the country. This promoted the Earth Summit of 1992 Rio de Janerio.

Major outcomes of Rio Summit are

  • The Framework Convention on Climate Change
  • The Convention on Biological Diversity
  • Agenda 21
  • The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
  • Forest Principle

The Rio conference gave birth to the Kyoto Protocol, which was signed in 1997. 160 countries, especially the developed ones came together and promised to cut off their level of emission of greenhouse gases. But this wasn’t the case for every countries, the United States of America withdrew due to its pressure. The next Summit was held in Johannesburg, its main focus was also on sustainable development, many new policies and timetables were made but nothing was quite effective as they had calculated it to be.

Nation states wanted a plan which would help their self- interest rather than the interests as a whole. If we look closely we can see that the globe is divided into two, one set of countries are developed and they add to most of the greenhouse emissions, while the other set of countries are struggling to feed their citizens. And so when policies are to be made, it is to be ensured that it is accordingly to their interests.These were the recent changes brought in by the international systems

Sex Education: A way to prevent the Productive Youth from falling into a hole of darkness

Article by – Shishir Tripathi

Intern at Hariyali Foundation
In collaboration with
Educational News.

In this fast evolving world, advancements are there along with crimes increasing at a double speed. In the age when puberty arrives into the life of a youngster, there are various changes happening in the body. There are bodily (physical changes) and a lot of mental changes too. It’s a time for evolving of a kid into a well developed individual with good presence of mind and the sense of what is wrong or what is right.


Particularly talking about India, such topics are never discussed seriously and openly neither in family nor at schools. But still growth of an individual will not wait for the society to have a discussion on it; it will take place at the right time with the right person. Many youngsters just can’t handle that what is going on in their body and eventually curse and start hating their selves. It is considered that it’s not all good to talk about such topics openly. Everyone gets so uncomfortable when one has to talk about it or to give some information regarding the same.

Though, it is such a natural process that happens with everyone, discussions on such topics in India are always considered as a taboo.


According to SIECUS, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, 93% of adults they surveyed support sexuality education in high school and 84% support it in junior high school. In fact, 88% of the parents of junior high school students and 80% of parents of secondary school students believe that sex education in school makes it easier for them to talk to their adolescents about sex. Also, 92% of adolescents report that they want both to talk to their parents about sex and to have comprehensive in-school sex education.


There was lot of expectations from the new education policy that has been introduced recently. Students and psychologists wanted the New Education policy to get included into the course curriculum in schools all across the Nation. But sad it is that there was no such inclusion of education for the students.


Adolescents are always curious to know about what is sex, what is their sexuality and similar topics about which they are never told. After the arrival of social media and its reach to a large group of young children, there are high chances of a child landing into problems like online bullying, indulging into forced sex, addiction to pornography and masturbation, mental disorders because of an uneducated mind, problems like depression and self regret, etc.


Even after regulations by the government there are still a lot of sites filled with dirty videos of pornography that are eating up the future of a productive individual and ultimately a very big loss to the nation and to the person himself. Many crimes against the teenagers take place daily. And also at the same time, many incidents of rapes by teenagers are heard in news and in newspapers too. In most of the cases the convicts and the victims say about a watching inappropriate content on the internet or being forcefully exposed to such content. In this all process, an individual kills himself or herself. They ruin their own future and time because of lack of awareness and knowledge about sex education.

Now, one can estimate how important it is to involve sex education into the course curriculum. There is need of support both from the side of school and from parents too.


The objectives of sex education are to help children understand the body structures of men and women and acquire the knowledge about birth. Teaching children to establish and accept the role and responsibility of their own gender by acquiring the knowledge of sex. Understanding the differences and similarities between two genders in terms of body and mind will set up a foundation for the future development in their acquaintance with friends and lovers and their interpersonal relationship. Sex education is a kind of holistic education. It teaches an individual about self-acceptance and the attitude and skills of interpersonal relationship.

It also helps an individual to cultivate a sense of responsibility for him and the acts what he or she are doing. Its role is similar to like that of power booster; as it gives more power to the jogger to jog long without any difficulty. Similarly, after the bookish knowledge, when an individual knows about his sexuality, healthy sex, sex at the right age, good and bad touch, hormonal changes, the individuals gets completed in himself / herself and becomes into a productive work personnel with proper balance of mind and the sense of responsibility towards his nation, his economy.


Hence, inclusion of sex education into a person’s life will bring stability, peace of mind and the sense of responsibility and help in the wholesome development of an individual.

The Story of Parijata

We see millions of  dazzling flowers in our life. We recognise them by their colour, their fragrance and their appearance. But do we know the deep meaning behind them? Do we know what exactly  the flower symbolises..?  

  • Hindu Mythology

Mythologies make us   see the world from a different perspective. From a different point of view. A rather interesting one . Mythologies make us see a simple flying bird from a different frame of reference. Similarly, in the Hindu mythology many flowers and many objects which we see in our daily lives have a greater meaning to it. One of them is  the Parijata flower.

  • The Story

Once upon a time, there lived a princess named Parijaat. She was exquisitely beautiful and delicate. It is believed that she saw the Sun God( Surya Dev) riding in his chariot from east to west and immediately fell in love with him. Many warned her that the relationship of a God and a materialistic person is not possible, but she was blinded and completely devoted to the Sun God. Even the Sun God was swayed by her devotion and had to descend on the earth to stay with Parijaat for a while. Soon, the summer season arrived. With time, the Sun God’ s energy intensified due to staying on earth and yearned to go back to the heaven. When he stood up in his chariot, to return to heaven, Parijaat tried to follow him. The Sun God’s energy was excessive to its most at that time, and Parijaat being a human, burned due to such a force of energy. The Sun God stood helpless and asked help from the other gods. The Gods, seeing the love of Surya and Parijaat, gave princess Parijaat another life. Hence, she embodiments as a tree of Parijata 

In her next life. The Parijata flower was of the purest shade of white,with the bright orange delicate stem like structure. The Parijata flower embellished the love of Parijaat and Surya. But even as a plant,it was affected by the Sunrays. It cannot even stand the first stroke of  the Sun and therefore sheds, symbolising the story of Princess Parijaat and Surya. The shedding releases a heavenly scent of the flowers. It has the sweetest scent, because it was believed to be kissed by the Sun God  himself. 

 By Rajatkanti Bera from Shutterstock

Parijata became one of the purest flowers.One of the five divine flowers in heaven. Later, during the time of Samudra Manthana,the gods found a Parijata flower, deep in the milk ocean. Indra declared to have it for himself in his own empire, the gods finally agreed after a lot of thinking. According to them, if Indra did not get the flower, either he would bring droughts in every land or flood every region heavily. Indra’s wife Indrani(Sachi) cherished the flower like her own child with love and affection. 

After many years, Narada once visited Krsna and offered him a Parijata flower. He wanted to see who would Krsna give the flower , amongst his wives. Krsna gave the Parijata flower to his first wife, Rukmini. Narada immediately goes to Satyabhama, the second wife of Krsna with a grieved face. Upon Satyabhama asking what the problem was, Narada said about the Parijata flower. Now, Satyabhama ,being a human became furious with jealousy. When Krsna arrived and asked the reason about her anger, she demanded Krsna to give her not the flower but the whole tree of Parijata. 

Hence, Lord Krsna set out to the empire of Indra, who was believed to be residing in Amravati. As Lord Krsna worked to root up the tree,the king of Gods, Indra arrived at the place. In some scriptures, it is said that , Indra being intoxicated, challenged Krsna for a combat and was defeated in the most humiliating way,whereas in some scriptures, Indra, understanding that it was Lord Krsna who came to take the tree, allowed him to take the the Parijata. In this way, the Parijata flower descends to the earth. Hence,it is still believed to be the flower which incarnated from heaven.

Not only this, but Parijata leaves also have many medicinal properties!  According to indiagardening.com, the Parijata leaves have the properties like,

  1. The leaves having an anti aging property and is often used by people
  2.  Helps in the curing of fever, with being anti- malarial.
  3.  Usually considered beneficial for dry cough.
  4. The leaves are meant to be good for diseases like Arthritis.
  5. It is also a natural laxative

Source: Pinterest

Parijata leaves have so many more medicinal properties in the branch of Ayurveda.The flowers? Well, as the flowers taste a bit bitter, it is used for ophthalmic disease. It is also said to be very useful for constipation in children. And also for the various treatments like snakebites, antidotes, etc.

Many flowers have deep and  philosophical meaning behind them. Which is why mythologies are read.  So that we know we should not repeat what happened in the Deut Sabha in Mahabharata. And what happens in the Trojan War. 

Fact: Parijata flower is the only flower which can still be offered to the gods after falling to the ground.

Good Things Take Time!…

There was a guy named Peter. He was good in studies since childhood. He couldn’t see anything but studies. He used to be a school topper every year. He completed his schooling securing the 1st rank. He got the admission in one of the best colleges in the city. He studied hard, attended all the lectures and scored very good marks in his 12th grade. But then he couldn’t make it again in the entrance examination. So he couldn’t secure a good rank in the entrance test.
He always had a dream to work for society. He felt engineering could be the bridge to take him there. So he got admitted to an engineering college. He tried to keep on performing well there as well. But he was struggling a bit. Even the failed in some subjects in 3rd year. But he didn’t give up. He took his time and completed his degree with good grades. Now he wanted to join one of the government agencies which serve the people. So he kept on preparing for exams to join those agencies. He gave two precious years of his life to crack the exams, but couldn’t make it. He always kept a dream in front of his eyes since childhood. But now he could see his dream falling apart. He never thought of anything but this in his life. He never had a plan B. Now every day he could hear people around saying he’s just wasting time, he’s doing nothing, he must be earning now. These things got him more into depression. Now he lost all the faith he had on himself. He felt like a loser. A scholar guy from school now was struggling and falling into the valley of depression. He now had the fear of exams. He began to underperform in exams thinking he’s not good enough. He couldn’t even express his feelings to anyone. All he used to do is to cry at night, hiding his tears from the world. An engineer guy was now feeling his value wasn’t even labour.
He never knew life would be so harsh to him. At times he felt like giving up but some dead hope made him hold on. One fine day, destiny turned its bad page. He got an opportunity to work as an assistant of the CEO of a laser cutting startup. It was related to his engineering field but as had lost self-belief, he felt like an illiterate. The startup CEO was a kind man. He saw the potential in Peter. He kept on boosting him and trying to make him realise what he really is. It took so much time but now Peter was feeling a bit confident. Now he felt that he isn’t garbage. Soon he regained the knowledge he forgot. Now he was using his ideas for the company and the owner was promoting it. After 2 years, he moulded himself back to his original avatar, which made him manager of the company. He started off when each of his friends had 1-2 years of experience but now just within two years of work, he was earning double than any of his friends. He kept working hard and reached the topmost position. He was now working with his boss as a partner and equal shareholder of the company.
The thing we should take from here is good things take time. You might be late as per the world but remember god must be planning something good in future. All you need to do is to keep faith in yourself and keep on trying.

Men and Makeup.

Despite the fact that heterosexual men have worn makeup since 3000 B.C., the journey to normalize beauty and grooming in the 21st century has not been easy.

As with many things our society has deemed solely feminine, like wearing high heels or caring about personal grooming, men thousands of years ago actually took part. Even in the past fifty years, there have been men who embrace makeup, from actors like Johnny Depp to drag queens like RuPaul.

Makeup was documented in ancient Egypt. We see examples of this on many artifacts from the time, with both men and women wearing copious amounts of makeup, with particular attention paid to expressive eyeliner.

According to history, people in ancient Egypt, a civilization that’s known to have started around 3,000 B.C., thought wearing makeup gave them protection from the gods Horus and Ra.

Kohl eyeliner, which they made from grinding minerals like malachite and galena, served as much of a practical purpose as a spiritual one — some believed it warded of flies, infection and the harsh rays of the sun. Turns out, they weren’t exactly wrong about that, with research proving that their eyeliner mixture actually had the ability to prevent eye infections.

One of the men who was most famously a fan of this exaggerated eyeliner look was King Tutankhamen, who was regularly depicted wearing the black or green eyeliner, especially before large dinners and gatherings as a sign of power.

And if you consider nail polish to be makeup like we do, then men have actually been wearing it since 3,200 B.C., with men wearing nail polish to signify class in Babylonia during this time.
Men in China and and Egypt also continued this practice as well, using colors to signify a kind of social hierarchy. Beyond Egypt, men in ancient Rome were also known to dabble in makeup, often using powder and rouge and nail polish to add a bit of flair.

Talking about how men wearing makeup started going downhill, it is said that Queen Victoria, who ruled during the late 19th century, who deemed wearing excessive makeup as impolite, associating it with and shaming sex workers. So men (as well as women) backed off a bit longer until the makeup industry modernized, and by “modernized,” it means removed all the lead in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Masculinity is a different definition for everyone, yet it is traditionally associated with men needing to be strong and aggressive, which excludes the act of pampering. With time, instead of men trying to fit this stereotype, they are beginning to advance past it and realize makeup has no boundaries.Society is taking small steps in the right direction to make this industry gender-neutral.

Societal norms of manhood accept anything “rugged,” “natural,” and “tough” while rejecting anything remotely “feminine,” which is considered emasculating for men and damaging to masculinity as a whole. Plus, what is wrong with having feminine features? Men with feminine features can totally rock their features ; makeup, grooming habits for men & having feminine features should be normalized.

HOW POOR CAN ACCESS DIGITAL CLASSROOM ?

The coronavirus has pushed schools all over the world to go online as new waves of infections keep emerging. In India, a country where the gaps in access to education and the Internet were already vast, poor families are struggling to stay the course.Every student needs adequate access to instructional resources and support services in order to achieve academically. Nowhere is this truer than in the area of instructional technology. Students who do not have access to computers and the Internet (among other technologies) will get further and further behind their peers who do. They will miss the instant links to information, entertainment, and communication with others that luckier students have. Their school reports will lack the latest data and the professional look of high resolution graphics and desktop publishing. Socio-economic status to have a major influence on who has access. Computers, modems and Internet service providers (ISPs) are expensive. But the data also suggest that location and race and ethnicity are important factors in the equation. When income is held constant, those who live in rural settings have less access, especially to the Internet, than those who live in metropolitan areas. The majority of users use dial-up modems that rely on phone lines to connect to the Internet. Rural users often cannot afford the long distance charges of connecting to a far away ISP. Faster connection methods such as cable modems and DSL are also only offered in major cities, and wireless and satellite technologies are not yet available in most places. Schools should periodically assess their programs regarding infrastructure, student usage of technology, and the provision of training and technical support to teachers. Several excellent formal ways to do so have been developed by a variety of universities and assistance centers

FAKE FEMINISM

As feminism has wedged itself between the mainstream and counterculture, we see a new brand arising; it dons ‘The Future is Female’ tee-shirts and says it identifies as feminist, but makes rape jokes and engages in locker-room talk. It’ll use all the right hashtags, share all your Tumblr posts but at the end of the day, it’ll undress, letting go of the feminism it has wrapped around it. I’m talking about ‘fake feminism’, and we’ve all encountered it – whether in the media, a party, or in your Instagram DMs as a ‘nice guy’.

Fake feminism makes false equivalences: in a discussion about rape and abuse, you’ll hear it speak up, “But what about fake accusations?” The problem is that the discussion about false accusations takes precedence over the one about rape, ignoring the rarity of false accusations and the sheer abundance of reports about rape. Furthermore, it’s infuriating when you consider what’s classified as a false accusation could be a true event that’s never lent belief to. What you never hear said by those who talk about false accusations is that men have a higher probability of getting sexually assaulted than being falsely accused, but we almost never seem to talk about men getting raped.


Fake feminism isn’t intersectional, and it brings other women down to maintain the status quo. Feminism that’s meant for the ruling class can’t and shouldn’t be called feminism, and although it’s predominantly practiced by white women, those with significant power and clout wield it too. Beyonce preaches, singing, “Who run the world? Girls,” but abuses her female workers for Ivy Park, her clothing line that ironically aligns itself with women empowerment. As she spouts feminist lyrics, half a world away, she pays her workers 54 cents an hour and prevents them from unionising.

Fake feminism practices irony, a lot. It makes dishwasher jokes and humour that calls women the inferior sex. Natalie Wynn, or Contrapoints on YouTube (as she’s better known) says, “Sometimes irony can be a safe way to explore ideas you’re not quite ready to own.” It’s safe to make these jokes because when someone calls you out on it, you can flip it on them and say they’re not in on the joke, or that they just don’t ‘get it’. It’s not that everyone who makes these jokes hate women, but when you engage in humour with sexist undertones, it might be that misogyny has gotten to you too. It’s no secret that sexist jokes normalise sexism, and they come at the cost of devaluing women and validating sexist mentalities. Speaking of humour, good comedy punches up. Your jokes shouldn’t have to devalue women to be funny.

Fake feminism is constantly clarifying that you’re not ‘that type of feminist.’ It dissociates itself from third wave feminism, saying it stays true to the first and second waves, but the third is too extreme. It cherry-picks and chooses certain extremities of the third wave and uses it as a scapegoat – bra-burning and dyeing armpit hair. It even cites staged events to tell itself why third wave is cancer (like the viral, staged video of the woman pouring bleach on manspreaders). As the third wave does not have a defining piece of legislation, it can be easy to distort it, but to limit to its few inconsequential events ignores the overwhelmingly positive change it has brought us: the fight against workplace sexual harassment, putting women in positions of power, the notion of intersectionality, defeating stereotypes and the movement.

In an age of information, it’s an act of ignorance to remain a fake feminist. Take a moment to reevaluate, and spoil yourself with the world of feminist media open to you. To feminists, root out the fakes from within; while it’s not your job to educate them, do them a favour and show them where they’ve gone wrong. As for me, I’ll wait – there’s so much change around me waiting to happen, and I can’t help but try and be a part of it.

Modi government, preparing for handing over these 26 companies to private hands

Priya Yadav,

There is a lot of news about privatization from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited to Air India, but in response to an RTI, it has been revealed that the government is in the process of privatizing a total of 26 companies. These companies range from Pawan Hans Limited to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had also announced the privatization of 23 PSUs in the past, but the privatization of 26 companies has been revealed in RTI. Among the companies that the government is going to privatize, there are many such companies in which the government’s stake has now reduced drastically.

Among the companies that the government is going to privatize are Air India, Central Electronics Limited, Engineering Projects India Limited, Pawan Hans, B&R, Project and Development India Limited, Cement Corporation India Limited, Indian Medicine and Pharmaceuticals, Salem India Plant, Ferro Scrap Corporation Includes companies like Limited. Not only this, but the government is also going to privatize the Nagannar Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh. Explain that recently, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel wrote a letter to PM Narendra Modi against the privatization of this plant. He said that the tribal society has high hopes from it and privatization of it will give a boost.

Apart from these, Bharat Earthmovers Limited, HLL Lifecare, Bharat Petroleum, Shipping Corporation, Container Corporation of India, Nilanchal Ispat Limited, Hindustan Prefab Limited are also in the privatization list. Not only this, Bharat Pumps and Compressor Limited, Scooters India, Hindustan Newsprint, Karnataka Entrybiotics, Hindustan Antibiotics, India Tourism Development Corporation, and Hindustan Fluorocarbon Limited.

In this RTI, it was also asked about the selling stake of the privatized companies and privatization of UCO Bank. On this, the government has responded that the decision of how much stake of these companies will be sold will be according to the market. The government did not respond to UCO Bank. Let us tell you that the target of disinvestment has been set by the Central Government in the budget this year is Rs 2.1 lakh crore. Apart from selling stake in LIC, the government has started the privatization process in BPCL and Air India.

Union Minister of State (I//C) for Culture and Tourism Shri Prahlad Singh Patel virtually participates in the 17th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Culture Ministers’ Meeting today

Union Minister of State (I//C) for Culture and Tourism Shri Prahlad Singh Patel,  participated in the 17th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Culture Ministers’ Meeting held on September 10, 2020.

Discussion was held on the role and place of culture during the global epidemiological crisis and on the prospects for developing multilateral cultural cooperation within the SCO. The Minister of State for Culture addressed participants of the meeting and presented India’s perspective to strengthen the cultural cooperation within SCO by using digital technology as an effective medium for dissemination and awakening with regard to customs, culture and traditions in the prevailing conditions.

A two-day Conclave on ‘School Education in 21st Century’ organised by Ministry of Education as part of Shikshak Parv 2020 virtually commences today

A two-day Conclave on “School Education in 21st Century” organised by Ministry of Education as part of Shikshak Parv 2020 virtually commenced today. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will be addressing the Conclave under the National Education Policy- 2020 (NEP-2020) at 11 AM tomorrow through video conferencing. Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and Minister of State for Education Shri Sanjay Dhotre will also be present on the occasion. Shikshak Parv is being celebrated from 8th September- 25th September, 2020 to felicitate the Teachers and to take New Education Policy 2020 forward.

Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy Smt Anita Karwal inaugurated the Conclave today. The discussions were held in two technical sessions on six subjects of New Education Policy 2020. The Principal and Teacher practitioners discussed how they have already implemented certain themes of the NEP in creative ways.

The first technical session started with a discussion on the subject of ‘Foundational Literacy and Numeracy’ from the perspective of practitioner’s was held from 1000 hrs today. ShriRakesh Gupta, IAS, Nodal Officer-Saksham Haryana; Shri Satinder Kumar Sorat, Principal, Govt. Sr. Secondary School, Faridabad, Haryana and Shri Sarvesh Kumar, Principal, Basti, UP, (Winner of National Awards for Teachers 2018) were the key speakers in the session.

The discussion started with opening remarks of Shri Rakesh Gupta emphasizing the importance of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy as also stressed upon in NEP: 2020. He summarized the experiences of both the states, UP and Haryana urged to make whole hearted efforts to make children creative, confident and equipped to face the challenges of the 21st century.

Shri Sorat informed that Saksham Haryana is an initiative by the Government of Haryana to improve the learning levels of Haryana Government school students. He emphasized the need of competency based learning instead of rote learning. He also spoke about the need of learning enhancement programs and third party assessment of foundational skills.

Shri Sarvesh Kumar informed about Mission Prerna which is the flagship program of the Uttar Pradesh government to improve the quality of education in 1.6 lakh schools under the Basic Shiksha Department across the state. Under initiatives for pedagogy, ‘PrernaSoochi’ a list of all learning outcomes mapped with competencies  across grades 1-5 for Hindi and Maths has been created to provide clarity to teacher on outcomes associated with curriculum in each grade. These outcomes are assessed quarterly and reported to parents through a student report card.Sh. Kumar also spoke about the need of change in assessment patterns, he said that assessment should not only be based on academic knowledge but also include cognitive, psychomotor abilities of the students.

The discussion on the subject ‘Art Integrated and Toy Integrated Pedagogy’from the perspective of practitioner’s was held from 1050hrs today. The Session was coordinated by Dr. PawanSudhir from NCERT. The two speakers were Ms. Sunitha S. Rao, Principal, Delhi Public School, Secunderabad and DrAnjuKauwrChazot, founder of the Mahatma Gandhi International School (MGIS), Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat.

In her introductory remarks, Dr. Pawan Sudhir stated that the new National Educational Policy, (NEP) 2020 stresses the need for holistic, integrated, enjoyable, experiential and engaging learning. She particularly referred to the provisions of Chapters 4 and 22 of the NEP, which provide that in all stages, experiential learning will be adopted, including arts-integrated based pedagogy, among others, as standard pedagogy within each subject, and with explorations of relations among different subjects.  As a part of the thrust on experiential learning, art-integrated education will be embedded in classroom transactions not only for creating joyful classrooms, but also for imbibing the Indian ethos through integration of Indian art and culture in the teaching and learning process at every level. This art-integrated approach will strengthen the linkages between education and culture.           

Ms. Sunitha S. Rao, gave a presentation on Art Integrated learning. She said that Art Integration learning gives a true way for experiential and joyful learning development of enquiry and aesthetic skills. Art Integrated learning helps in numeracy, learning the basic shapes, learning logical skills, environmental awareness, develops creative thinking, develops fine motor skills imagination and improves cognitive skills and linguistic understanding, etc. She also informed that the NCF 2005 has recommended Art as a subject at all stages covering all four major spheres, music, Dance, Visual arts and Theatre and CBSE board has made Art integration with education mandatory to spread awareness of India’s vast and diverse art and culture.

Dr Anju Kauwr Chazot gave a presentation on Toy integrated pedagogy. She stressed on the importance of co-creative experiential learning with Toys. She indicated that there are four stages of learning with toys, these are (i) exploration & discovery of existing indigenous toys (ii) pedagogical use (iii) making new toys (physical & digital) and (iv) Using the new toys for self & others.She explained a museum project done by the students of 4th standard, wherein they collected the toys used by their grandparents and categories them on the basis of the material used, their shapes and sizes, etc. It helped them in developing their history and geography knowledge, data collections, material classification, aesthetic senses, etc.

The discussion on the subject ‘Early Childhood Care and Education’ was held at 1150 hrs today. The session on ECCE was moderated by Dr. Vinita Kaul, the subject Expert.Duringthe session two speakers – Mrs. Nisha Sharma, Teacher, Kotkhai, Shimla and Mrs. KalpanaChaudhry, Principal, N H Goel World School, Raipur spoke about the subject & made their individual presentations.

In the opening remarks, Dr Kaul, Coordinator of the session stated that ECCE has been well covered in the New Education Policy 2020framed by Ministry of Education which will go a long way in strengthening the ECCE.The main thrust of the session was to acknowledge the ideas, aims and recommendations of ECCE in the New Education Policy 2020. Based on their personal experiences, the speakers dwelt upon the various significant issues regarding the subject. The importance of Quality ECCE in school education to improve learning outcomes among children was elaborated by the two worthy speakers.The importance of maximum brain development in the early years and how appropriate pedagogy can be used in the learning processes was explained in a comprehensive manner.

It was also emphasized during the discussion to develop school readiness among children, work needs to be done on all three dimensions of readiness namely school readiness, children readiness and family readiness. The role of families, parents and community as a whole in the smooth transition of children from pre-school to primary education was also discussed. The session ended with the highlighting of the importance of delivering ECCE by using holistic approach, so that overall development of child can be ensured.  The session was very useful and educative especially with regard to early education and nurturing children in a complete manner. The session was highly appreciated in the social media.

The second technical session started with a discussion on Holistic Report Card. Smt Anju Kauwr Chazot chaired the session and Dr. Hannah Yonzan, Principal Govt Sr Sec School, Rangpo, Duga, Sikkim and Shri Chenraj Roychand, Chairman Jain International School, Bengaluru were the speaker for the session.  

Smt Anju Kauwr Chazotwelcomed all the participants and mentioned that assessment is key to the quality education.  Evaluation is a very important factor in our learning process and appreciated the way assessment has taken vital part in the new Education Policy 2020.

Dr. Hannah Yonzan made a presentation on Holistic Report Card. She explained on transforming assessment for student development, 21st century skills, 360 degree holistic progress card, assessment reforms, restructuring of board exams and also described performance chart which has been implemented in her school. She mention about importance of how peer-assessment, self-assessment and teacher assessment will be helpful. She also gave recommendations which include class size to be made 25 students per class and to 20 students per class in Grade 1 & 2, development of resources for Self, Peer to peer & Teacher assessment, blended learning / integrated teaching-learning to be made mandatory, pre-service basic computer knowledge and in-service basic computer training should be made mandatory. Chenraj Roychand quickly brief about the nine important parameters he named as ‘navratna’ which includes inclusiveness, equity, quality, life-long learning, sensitivity, synergy, interdisciplinary, rootedness and flexibility.

The discussion on the subject ‘Teaching in Mother Tongue’ was coordinated by Dr. Shakeela T. Shamsu. The two speakers were Dr. Ashok Kumar Pandey, Director Ahlcon Group of Schools and Smt. Sandhya Pradhan, I/C Headmistress, MS Adityapur Jharkhand.

Dr Ashok Kumar Pandey welcomed the policy decision to impart education on students at primary level in home language/mother tongue/local/regional language as the children learn and grasp concepts more quickly in their home language/mother tongue. He added that while it may be implemented smoothly in government schools, some problems may be encountered in private schools, for which a decision needs to be taken before this recommendation is taken up for implementation.

Smt. Sandhya Pradhan said that in Tribal areas, the first two years of schooling should be in their local tribal language. She added that there are States having more than one local language.  Therefore, we should go for multilingualism for promotion of other Indian languages listed in the VIII Schedule of the Constitution. She further said that the initial schooling must be done in mother tongue/local language with smooth transition to English/other languages in the later years.

The discussion on ‘No hard separation’ was coordinated by Prof. Manjul Bhargava. The two speakers were Ms. Manu Gulati, Teacher, Delhi and Ms. Remya Parameswar Iyer, PGT, KV, IIT Guwahati.

The speakers made the some observations like the flexibility of curriculum and subjects allowed in the Policy is a very good move as it allows development of creative potential in each individual. They said that the Policy lays emphasis on flexibility on choosing subjects and courses not at school level but at college level also.  There will be no rigid separation of steams, subjects, curricular and co-curricular activities and Students will be given wide range of choices for choosing subjects of their choice, need and passion. It was also highlighted that the concept of allowing two attempts at the Board examination would reduce the stress level to a great extent.

Living legend of statistics Prof C R Rao felicitated on his 100th birthday

The felicitation was conferred by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, for Professor Rao’s “path-breaking contributions in the field of statistics, for recognising and facilitating the critical role of data and computing to handle scientific and social challenges, for mentoring inspiring and nurturing generations of students and researchers and for developing world-class statistical infrastructure in India”.   

The doyen of statistics whose work has influenced not just statistics, but has had far-reaching implications for fields as varied as economics, genetics, anthropology, geology, national planning, demography, biometry, and medicine, continues to contribute to his field as actively today.

“Prof C. R. Rao’s contribution in the data field is enormous, and it has immensely benefited the Country. Some of Prof. C.R. Rao’s work has had deep impacts on genetics, and that has great influence on the work we do now. It is amazing to see the breadth of work Prof. C.R. Rao has taken on,” said Principal Scientific Advisor Professor K. VijayRaghavan, one of the distinguished guests at the felicitation ceremony.

He also added that the C.R. Rao Advanced Institute of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science set up by him has truly transformed the data collection and analysis in India in every area.

“Data is the new water, and the future is going to revolve around it. Industry 4.0 and beyond is all about creating data, analysing data, building on data and making great discoveries with it.Padma Vibhushan Prof C R Rao was working on the science of data 70 years ago and was much ahead of his times. He is not only a scientist but also an institution builder. The country and the world will always be indebted to Prof Rao for his pioneering contributions to the field of statistics”, said DST Secretary Professor Ashutosh Sharma while felicitating Professor Rao.

While Professor Shekhar C. Mande, Director General Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), conveyed his warm greetings to Prof. C.R. Rao for his 100th birthday on behalf of the entire CSIR family, Professor Bimal Roy, Chairman National Statistical Commission, recalled Prof. Rao’s understanding of statistics as a subject not limited to studying the subject to solve problems in the same subject but to solve problems in other disciplines.

The symposium also brought together leading statisticians to discuss Professor Rao’s contributions to the field and future directions in Statistics. They included Rajeeva L. Karandikar, Director, Chennai Mathematical Institute; Katherine B. Ensor, Rice University, President-Elect of the American Statistical Association; B.L.S. Prakasa Rao, Former Director, Indian Statistical Institute; Partha Pratim Majumder, President, Indian Academy of Sciences; Shyamal D. Peddada, Senior Investigator and Branch Chief, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; James L. Rosenberger, Director, National Institute of Statistical Sciences; Simo Puntanen, Visiting Researcher, Tampere University; and M. B. Rao, Professor, University of Cincinnati.   Members of the Organizing Committee,  Dr. S K Varshney, Head International Division, DST, Dr. Nandini Kannan, Executive Director, Indo-U.S. Science, and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), Dr. N. Balakrishanan, Distinguished Professor, McMaster University, and Professor Debasis Kundu, Dean of Faculty Affairs, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur also participated in the discussions.

MoD appoints KPMG Advisory Services led consortium for consultancy on corporatisation of OFB

An Expression of Interest cum Request for Proposal (EOI cum RFP) for engaging a Consultancy Agency for providing strategic and implementation management consulting services to assist the Ministry of Defence in the process of corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board was issued by the Department of Defence Production on 06.07.2020. 

Consequent to evaluation of the Technical and Financial proposals of the bidders, the Department has selected M/s KPMG Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd. (Lead Consortium Member) with M/s Khaitan & Co. Ltd. as Consortium Member, as the Consultancy Agency for the said project. The contract with the Consultancy Agency would be signed shortly and subsequently, the Consultancy Agency would commence its services as per the Terms and Conditions of the contract.

Keel laid for the third stealth frigate of Project 17A

Vice Admiral S R Sarma – COM & CWP&A of the Indian Navy and Shri V L Kantha Rao Additional Secretary (Defence Production) laid the keel of the third ship (Yard- 12653) of the prestigious P17A class stealth frigates on 10 Sep 2020. The keel laying ceremony was conducted through an e-platform in the presence of Vice Admiral R B Pandit, Chief of Staff, HQWNC and Vice Admiral Narayan Prasad (IN Retd.) – CMD MDL.    

Seven frigates under P17A series will be constructed of which four are being constructed in MDL and three in GRSE with MDL as the lead yard. The P17A class frigates are being built using indigenously developed steel and fitted with weapons and sensors along with Integrated Platform Management System. These ships are having stealth features. 

Construction of P17A ships differ in the very concept of warship building by way of adoption of the modern technology ‘Integrated Construction (IC)’ where the blocks are pre-outfitted before joining to reduce the build period of warships. When commissioned the platforms will enhance the combat capability of the Indian Naval fleet. 

The function was attended by Rear Admiral G K Harish, DGND, Commodore T V Thomas (IN Retd.), Director (CP&P), MDL, Rear Admiral A K Saxena (IN Retd.), Director (Shipbuilding), Commander Jasbir Singh (IN Retd.), Director (S&HE), MDL, Shri Sanjeev Singhal, Director (Finance), MDL , Shri Mahesh Chandra, CVO, MDL alongwith senior executives from MDL & Navy through an e-ceremony including the Warship Overseeing Team.