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Honour Killing

 

‘Honor crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a variety of reasons, including refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce — even from an abusive husband — or (allegedly) committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that “dishonors” her family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life.’

‘Honor killings are not new to the rural India especially in the regions of Hariyana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. But then such cases are not just restricted to the rural areas. They are also heard of in our capital and in the southern states like Kerela, Tamil Nadu etc. The Aarushi Talwar Case and the killing of Kuldeep and Monica are speculated to be such killings.

Our country has been very selective about the kind of development she has undergone. On an international level with the nuclear deal, 8% growth rate and the recognition India is enjoying to voice its opinion, it seems that ‘India is shining’. But dig deeper into the dark secrets of this developing nation and we still find rampant killings of young couples by their own family members to save their honor because of the incest committed by the couple. Their crime: living in the same village and getting married.

According to the ‘conservative’ khap panchayat, marriage between people of the same village is considered incest as they are siblings and hence these marriages are not valid. So the panchayat orders the murder of the couple and hangs their body in the village crossing as an example to other straying couples.

In India, with its patriarchal society, women are considered as property and the vessel of family’s honor. And any act which might blot the family’s prestige renders an absolute right to the male members to murder the girl, undo her wrongs and win back the honor.

Such crimes as well as such criminals have been breeding under the political blessings of the political parties mainly interested in the vote banks of these villages and the support of the khap panchayat. 

In order to find a solution for such killings, it is necessary to analyze it from the very core. The solution to this problem mainly lies in the eradication of myths in the minds of people. They need to be educated with the provisions given in the Hindu Marriage Act and what kinds of marriages are actually considered invalid. Khap Pachayats should at last be ripped out of all its power so that it is unable to wrongly influence the naïve people and to instigate them to commit such inhuman acts.

It is time India finally developed in the real sense. Building malls and increasing the standard of living of the common man is not really development. Cases on Honour killing show that more than half of the Indians still lead lives within the strong crutches of caste system and even today youths don’t have the power to make decisions regarding their own lives. To see that even today, people blindly commit such barbaric crimes and consider it as an act of sanctifying the impure shows that India has really not modernized.   Development has to be from the very base, the core. Or else it’s just a hollow wooden structure eaten on the inside by the termites that eventually comes crashing down.

Rights of a Consumer

 

Every year 15th of March is celebrated as National Consumer Rights Day marking the day when Bill for Consumer Rights were moved in the US Congress. The Consumers International (CI), recognizes eight rights, which in a logical order reads:

1. Basic Needs
2. Safety
3. Information
4. Choice
5. Representation
6. Redress
7. Consumer Education and
8. Healthy Environment.

However the Consumer Protection Act (COPRA) in 1986 in India recognises only six of these eight rights:

1. The right to be protected against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property i.e. Right to Safety:
The Consumer Protection Act 1986 defines this right as the ‘right to be protected against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property’. The right are significant in areas of healthcare, food processing and pharmaceuticals and spans across any domain that could have impact on consumers health or well being. Violation of this right is mostly in medical malpractice lawsuits in India. Every year in India not less than millions of Citizen are killed or severely hurt by unscrupulous practices by hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and the automobile industry yet the Indian Government due to its callousness fails to acknowledge this fact or make an attempt at maintaining statistic of these mishaps. The Government need to have world class product testing facilities to test drugs, cars, food, and any other consumable that could potentially be life threatening.

In developed countries such as the United States, stalwart agencies oversee the safety of consumer product. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for food and drugs, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for automobiles and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for all other consumer products, just to name a few. This right requires each product that could potentially endanger our lives to be marketed only after sufficient and complete independent verification and validation.

2. The right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services, as the case may be, so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices:
This consumer right is defined as the ‘the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services, as the case may be so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices’ in the Consumer Protection Act of 1986. In the Indian market place, consumers get consumer information through two popular, yet unreliable means, namely advertising and word of mouth. Due to this, the consumers in India seldom have accurate and complete information to assess the true value, suitability, safety or reliability of any product. Mostly we find out hidden costs, lack of suitability, safety hazards and quality problems only after we have purchased the product. Another right again trumpeted by our government on paper, this right should ideally ensure that all consumable products are labelled in a standard manner which contains the cost, the ingredients, quantity, and instructions on how to safely consume the product. Unfortunately, even the medicines in India do not follow a standard labelling convention. Unit price publishing standards need to be established for consumer market places where costs are shown in standard units such as per kilogram, or per litre. We, as consumers, should be informed in a precise yet accurate manner of the costs involved when availing a loan. For benefit to the society from this right, advertisers should be held against the product standards in the advertisements, pharmaceuticals need to disclose potential side effects about their drugs, and manufacturers should be required to publish reports from independent product testing laboratories regarding the comparison of the quality of their products with competitive products, just to name a few.

3. The right to be assured, wherever possible, of access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices:
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 defines this right as ‘the right to be assured, wherever possible, to have access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices’. Competition, invariably, is the best regulator of a market place. Existence of oligopolies, cartels and monopolies are counterproductive to consumerism. Our natural resources, telecommunications, liquor industry, airlines have all been controlled by a mafia at some point. Coming from a socialistic background, tolerance of monopolistic market forces are ingrained in the blood of Indian Consumers. It is not very often we can say we are going to switch the power company, when we have a blackout at home! Interestingly, even micro markets such as the fish vendors in particular cities have known to collude to drain the bargaining power of the consumers. In any size, any form, or any span, collusion of companies selling a similar type of product is unethical, less illegal. India has about 20 years more of stride to empower our citizens fully in this right.

4. The right to be heard and to be assured that consumers’ interests will receive due consideration at appropriate forums: According to the Consumer Protection Act 1986, ‘the right to be heard and to be assured that consumer’s interests will receive due consideration at appropriate forums’ is referred to as the right to be heard. This right is supposed to empower Indian consumers to fearlessly voice their complaints and concerns against products and companies to ensure their issues are handled efficiently and expeditiously. However, to date the Government of India has not created a single outlet for the consumers to be heard or their opinions to be voiced. If a consumer makes an allegation about a product, the onus is on the dealer, manufacturer or supplying company to disprove that the allegation is false. In other words, the consumer is heard, and the burden of proof rests with the company. Feeble attempts have been made by the government to empower our citizens with this right.

5. The right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers:
The right ‘to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers’ is defined as the right to redressal in the Consumer Protection Act 1986. The Indian Government has been slightly more successful with respect to this right. Consumer courts such as District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forums at the district level, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions and National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions have been established through the consumer protection act. Each of these consumer grievance redressal agencies has fiduciary and geographical jurisdictions to address consumer cases between consumers and businesses. Consumer cases less than 20 lakhs are heard in the district consumer forum, between 20 lakhs and one crore are heard in the state consumer court and cases more than one crore are heard in the national consumer court. On paper these sound nice; but hold on before you rejoice. Once started as the guardians of consumer protection and consumer rights in India, these courts have today been rendered ineffective due to bureaucratic sabotages, callousness of the government, clogged cases and decadent infrastructure. Very few of the district forums have officials appointed in a timely manner, and most of them are non-operational due to lack of funding and infrastructure. Estimates put the open legal cases in India at 20-30 million, which will approximately take 320 years to close. With the legal system in this manner compromised, consumer cases that form mere civil litigations will be pushed down the bottom of the priority list.

6. The right to consumer education:
The right of each Indian citizen to be educated on matters related to consumer protection and about his/her rights is the last right given by the Consumer Protection Act 1986. This right simply ensures that the consumers in India have access to informational programs and materials that would enable them to make better purchasing decisions. Consumer education may mean both formal education through school and college curriculums and also consumer awareness campaigns run by both governmental and non governmental agencies (NGO). Consumer NGOs, with little support from the Indian government, primarily undertake the ardent task of ensuring this consumer right around the country.

INTERNET HARMFUL FOR CHILDREN

WE all are now connected by the internet, like neurons in a giant brain
The internet is the decisive technology of the Information Age and with the explosion of wireless communication in the early 21st century, we can say that humankind is now  almost entirely connected,albeit with great levels of inequality  in bandwidth,efficiency and  pride.our current “network  society” is a product of  digital revolution and some major sociocultural change. The reach of the internet is  indeed worldwide. It reaches all over countries and places. Kids are also nowadays getting addicted to  this internet. Internet causes children / teenagers not doing well in school. Over last decades almost 20% more kids get increased in socila media . 
This internet addiction gave rise to aggression, disordered eating, behaviour and  academic performance. Internet access affects children in health, affects children psychologically, as soon as they start accessing violent  and dangerous video games and software.
The use of internet especially at age 13  have increased too much. More than thirty million children visit  online sites . The use of internet became a very essential part of  homes, schools ,libraries etc.
Merits –
 If seen in positive way, children can make effective use of internet in positive way. Through wikipedia children may come to know much more about topics with taught in school. Reading many types of documents and   researches , children can improve skills. Their creativety also found in way they play games  via online. The internet have created a platform for studying, introducing e-mails,  social media thus created a ground for  communication. It increases communication skill and thus increasing efficiency in  making friendship.
DEMERITS-
 The internet had also effected children communication. As people are using  internet   it abodons children  face to face interactions. It has led to damage relationship with families ,friends, and other relatives. While using internet for long hours, it effect their health too and eye vision which may become poor. It may give rise to headache. This internet make children unsocial and  give habit to live alone.
The constant  use of hated  messages on the internet, the presence of pornographic  videos and images misleads children and make them addicted and negative vibes created.
Internet usage enslaves the current generation of children who are underage. It  increases knowledge, creativety. similarly it  makes children addicted to  this things affecting their studies.

Lok Adalat/People’s Court

 

Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms, it is a forum where disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/ compromised amicably. Lok Adalats have been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Under the said Act, the award (decision) made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award lies before any court of law. If the parties are not satisfied with the award of the Lok Adalat though there is no provision for an appeal against such an award, but they are free to initiate litigation by approaching the court of appropriate jurisdiction by filing a case by following the required procedure, in exercise of their right to litigate.

There is no court fee payable when a matter is filed in a Lok Adalat. If a matter pending in the court of law is referred to the Lok Adalat and is settled subsequently, the court fee originally paid in the court on the complaints/petition is also refunded back to the parties. The persons deciding the cases in the Lok Adalats are called the Members of the Lok Adalats, they have the role of statutory conciliators only and do not have any judicial role; therefore they can only persuade the parties to come to a conclusion for settling the dispute outside the court in the Lok Adalat and shall not pressurize or coerce any of the parties to compromise or settle cases or matters either directly or indirectly. The Lok Adalat shall not decide the matter so referred at its own instance, instead the same would be decided on the basis of the compromise or settlement between the parties. The members shall assist the parties in an independent and impartial manner in their attempt to reach amicable settlement of their dispute.

Nature of Cases to be Referred to Lok Adalat

1. Any case pending before any court.

2. Any dispute which has not been brought before any court and is likely to be filed before the court.

Provided that any matter relating to an offence not compoundable under the law shall not be settled in Lok Adalat.

Which Lok Adalat to be Approached

As per section 18(1) of the Act, a Lok Adalat shall have jurisdiction to determine and to arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties to a dispute in respect of –

(1) Any case pending before; or

(2) Any matter which is falling within the jurisdiction of, and is not brought before, any court for which the Lok Adalat is organised.

Provided that the Lok Adalat shall have no jurisdiction in respect of matters relating to divorce or matters relating to an offence not compoundable under any law.

How to Get the Case Referred to the Lok Adalat for Settlement

(A) Case pending before the court.

(B) Any dispute at pre-litigative stage.

The State Legal Services Authority or District Legal Services Authority as the case may be on receipt of an application from any one of the parties at a pre-litigation stage may refer such matter to the Lok Adalat for amicable settlement of the dispute for which notice would then be issued to the other party.

Levels and Composition of Lok Adalats:

At the State Authority Level –

The Member Secretary of the State Legal Services Authority organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judge of the High Court or a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of- a member from the legal profession; a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes.

At High Court Level –

The Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judge of the High Court and any one or both of- a member from the legal profession; a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes.

At District Level –

The Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of either a member from the legal profession; and/or a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably a woman.

At Taluk Level –

The Secretary of the Taluk Legal Services Committee organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of either a member from the legal profession; and/or a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably a woman.

National Lok Adalat

National Level Lok Adalats are held for at regular intervals where on a single day Lok Adalats are held throughout the country, in all the courts right from the Supreme Court till the Taluk Levels wherein cases are disposed off in huge numbers. From February 2015, National Lok Adalats are being held on a specific subject matter every month.

Permanent Lok Adalat

The other type of Lok Adalat is the Permanent Lok Adalat, organized under Section 22-B of The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Permanent Lok Adalats have been set up as permanent bodies with a Chairman and two members for providing compulsory pre-litigative mechanism for conciliation and settlement of cases relating to Public Utility Services like transport, postal, telegraph etc. Here, even if the parties fail to reach to a settlement, the Permanent Lok Adalat gets jurisdiction to decide the dispute, provided, the dispute does not relate to any offence. Further, the Award of the Permanent Lok Adalat is final and binding on all the parties. The jurisdiction of the Permanent Lok Adalats is upto Rs. Ten Lakhs. Here if the parties fail to reach to a settlement, the Permanent Lok Adalat has the jurisdiction to decide the case. The award of the Permanent Lok Adalat is final and binding upon the parties. The Lok Adalat may conduct the proceedings in such a manner as it considers appropriate, taking into account the circumstances of the case, wishes of the parties like requests to hear oral statements, speedy settlement of dispute etc.

Mobile Lok Adalats are also organized in various parts of the country which travel from one location to another to resolve disputes in order to facilitate the resolution of disputes through this mechanism.

As on 30.09.2015, more than 15.14 lakhs Lok Adalats have been organized in the country since its inception. More than 8.25 crore cases have been settled by this mechanism so far.

‘WILL’ under Indian Law

 

Meaning:

A Will is a solemn document by which a dead man entrusts to the living to the carrying out of his wishes. Section 2(h) of Indian Succession Act, 1925 provides that Will means the legal declaration of the intention of a person with respect to his property, which he desires to take effect after his death Will has been defined in Corpus Juris Secundum as A ‘Will’ is the legal declaration of a man’s intention, which he wills to be performed after his death, or an instrument by which a person makes a disposition of his property to take effect after his death.

Essential Features of a Will

A Will can be made at any time in the life of a person. A Will can be changed a number of times and there are no legal restrictions as to the number of times it can be changed. It can be withdrawn at anytime during the lifetime of the person making the Will. A Will has to be attested by two or more witnesses, each of who should have seen the testator signing the Will.
The essential features are:

1.     Legal declaration: The documents purporting to be a Will or a testament must be legal, i.e. in conformity with the law and must be executed by a person legally competent to make it. Further the declaration of intention must be with respect to the testator’s property It is a legal document, which has a binding force upon the family.

2. Disposition of property: In a Will, the testator bequeaths or leaves his property to the person or people he chooses to leave his assets/belongings. A Hindu person by way of his Will can bequeath all his property. However, a member of an undivided family cannot bequeath his coparcenery interest in the family property

3. Takes effect after death: The Will is enforceable only after the death of the testator

Under section 18 of the Registration Act the registration of a Will is not compulsory. Also, the SC in Narain Singh v. Kamla Devi has held that mere non-registration of the Will an inference cannot be drawn against the genuines of the Will. However it is advisable to register it as it provides strong legal evidence about the validity of the Will. Once a Will is registered, it is placed in the safe custody of the Registrar and therefore cannot be tampered with, destroyed, mutilated or stolen. It is to be released only to the testator himself or, after his death, to an authorized person who produces the Death Certificate

Since a testamentary disposition always speaks from the grave of the testator, the required standard of proof is very high. The initial burden of proof is always on the person who propounds the Will.

Kinds of Wills

Ø Conditional Wills: A Will maybe made to take effect on happening of a condition. In Rajeshwar v. Sukhdeo the operation of the Will was postponed till after the death of the testator’s wife. However if it is ambiguous whether the testator intended to make a Will conditional, the language of the documents as well as the circumstances are to be taken into consideration.

 

Ø Joint Wills: Two or more persons can make a joint Will. If the joint Will is joint and is intended to take effect after the death of both, it will not be admitted to probate during the life time of either and are revocable at any time by either during the joint lives or after the death of the survivor.

 

Ø Mutual Wills: Two or more persons may agree to make mutual Wills i.e. to confer on each other reciprocal benefits. In mutual Wills the testators confer benefit on each other but if the legatees and testators are distinct, it is not a mutual Will. Mutual Wills are also known as reciprocal Wills and its revocation is possible during the lifetime of either testator. But if a testator has obtained benefit then the claim against his property will lie. Where joint Will is a single document containing the Wills of two persons, mutual Wills are separate Wills of two persons.

 

Ø Privileged Wills: Privileged Wills are a special category of Wills and other general Wills are known as unprivileged Wills. S.65 of ISA provides that a Will made by a soldier or a airman or a mariner, when he is in actual service and is engaged in actual warfare, would be a privileged Will. S.66 provides for the mode of making and rules for executing privileged Wills. Ss. 65 and 66 are special provisions applicable to privileged Wills whereas other sections relating to Wills are general provisions which will be supplementary to Sections 65 and 66 in case of privileged Wills.

 

Who Can Make A Will
S.59 of Indian Succession Act provides that every person who is of sound mind and is not a minor can make a Will.

Execution of a Will

On the death of the testator, an executor of the Will (executor is the legal representative for all purposes of a deceased person and all the property of a testator vests in him. Whereas a trustee becomes a legal owner of the trust and his office and the property are blended together) or an heir of the deceased testator can apply for probate. The court will ask the other heirs of the deceased if they have any objections to the Will. If there are no objections, the court grants probate. A probate is a copy of a Will, certified by the court. A probate is to be treated as conclusive evidence of the genuineness of a Will. It is only after this that the Will comes into effect.

Signature of The Testator

S.63(a) of ISA provides that the testator shall sign or affix his mark. If the testator is unable to write his signature then he may execute the Will by a mark and by doing so his hand maybe guided by another person. In another words a thumb impression has been held as valid.

Attestation of Will:Attesting means signing a document for the purpose of testifying the signature of the executants. Therefore an attesting witness signing before the executants has put his mark on the Will, cannot be said to be a valid attestation. It is necessary that both the witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator but it is not necessary that the testator have to sign in their presence. Further it is not necessary that both the witnesses have to sign at the same time. It is also not necessary that the attesting witnesses should know the contents of the Will.

THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 2019

A consumer is a person who avails services and purchases goods for their own use and not for reselling those goods. Consumer Protection is the act of safeguarding the rights of the buyers/consumers of those goods and services. It provides protection to the consumers from frauds and damaged goods. It also helps the consumers to file complaints and make the process of the trail fast.

Consumer Protection Act to be implemented from July 20; here's how ...

For safeguarding the rights of the consumer, the Consumer Protection Act 1986 was introduced. The act aims to provide easy and fast compensation to consumer grievances. This act also encourages the consumers to stand up and fearlessly speak up against the damaged goods and flawed services. This act deals with all the goods and services of public, private, or cooperative sectors, except those which are exempted by the central government.

The act provides certain rights and responsibilities of the consumers. The Rights of the Consumers are –Right to Safety, Right to Choose, Right to be Informed, Right to Consumer Education, Right to be Heard, Right to Seek Compensation. The Responsibilities of the Consumer are – Responsibility to be Aware, Responsibility to Think Independently, Responsibility to Speak Out, Responsibility to Complain, Responsibility to be an Ethical Consumer.

Under this act, every district has at least a consumer court or a consumer redressal forum. Above the district forums, there are state commissions. At the topmost level is the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in New Delhi. These consumer courts are given a wide range of powers to enforce their orders. The courts have the power to decide the matter in the absence of the defaulter. These forums can issue warrants and use the police to produce the defaulter and to impose its decision. The defaulter can be sentenced to a maximum of 3 years of imprisonment and fined for the amount of Rs 10,000.

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2019

The Consumer Protection Act 2019 is a replacement for the Consumer Protection Act 1986. The Consumer Protection Bill 2019 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 8 July 2019 by the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan. The bill was passed by Lok Sabha on 30 July 2019 and was later passed in Rajya Sabha on 6 August 2019.

The aim of the act is to ensure that the rights of the consumers are secured by the establishment of the authorities for effective and speedy settlement of the consumer’s disputes. It provides strict penalties, including jail term for adulteration and misleading advertisements by firms.

KEY PROVISIONS OF THE ACT

1. This act proposes the establishment of the Central Consumer Protection Authority. This authority will have the power to regulate cases related to unfair trade practices, misleading advertisements, and violation of consumer rights. They also have the power to penalise the violators, order them to refund for the damage, or to withdraw their services.
2. It has established a simpler way for dispute resolution, has provisions for mediation and e-filing of cases. It also allows the consumer to file their complaints in the nearest commission from their residence. There also no need to hire lawyers to represent the cases of the consumers.
3. In case of misleading advertisements, there is a provision for jail term and fine for manufacturers. The celebrities, who are found to endorse the brands that provide misleading advertisements, will be banned from products endorsements.
4. It is for the first time that a law dealing with Product Liability. The manufacturer or the product service provider or the product seller shall now be held responsible to compensate for the injury or damage caused by the damaged goods and flawed services.
5. The act also deals with businesses that are owned by the public and private sectors. It also deals with businesses that provide services and goods either offline or online.

PENALTIES UNDER THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 2019

For the offence committed for the first time, the defaulter is penalised with an imprisonment of 6 months or fine upto Rs 1 lakh, in case the consumer does not suffer any injury. In case the consumer is injured, the term for the imprisonment is upto 7 years and the fine is upto Rs 5 lakh. In case of the death of the consumer, the defaulter has to pay a minimum of Rs 10 lakh as a fine and has to face imprisonment for 7 years which can be extended to life imprisonment.

In case of misleading advertisements, the manufacturer or the endorser of the brand is penalised for the fine of upto Rs 10 lakh and imprisonment for upto 2 years.

In case of repeated offence, the defaulter may be fined for the amount of Rs 50 lakh and imprisonment of upto 5 years. 

Concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

 

Corporate engagement with society, also termed corporate social responsibility (CSR), has become a commonly used term in contemporary society and refers to one process by which an organization expresses and develops its ‘corporate culture’ and social consciousness.

CSR has been receiving lots of attention from various backgrounds of researchers worldwide, it has attracted a great deal of attention over the past decade and according to some researchers, has gathered great momentum over the past number of years and is now regarded to be at its most prevalent. Therefore business leaders, government officials, and academics are focusing more and more attention on the concept of “corporate social responsibility”.

Almost all corporate websites/ policies/reports talk about their endeavors for CSR, which has become a way of ensuring that the organization is fulfilling all the obligations towards society and thus is eligible for the license to operate. It assures that the organization can grow on sustainable basis. There are also societal pressures with respect to social issues such as human rights and the environment on the corporations and CSR is widely regarded as the response of corporations to this pressure and according to Bénabou & Tirole (2009), responding to such pressure, business leaders, governments and academics are now also emphasizing the notion of CSR.

In CSR, the central issue is the appropriate role of business that overlaps, almost completely, with its reference area and now business organizations have waked up to the need for being committed towards CSR because the role of businesses in society is no longer focused on creating wealth alone but is also focused on acting responsibly towards stakeholders.

Everyone agrees that firms should obey the law. But beyond full compliance with environmental regulations do firms have additional moral or social responsibilities to voluntarily commit resources to environmental protection. To be specific, why companies do CSR? For this, it is answered that CSR is situations where the firm goes beyond compliance and engages in “actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law” and it is also due to various reasons such as to attract new investors, part of branding strategy, an obligation from the government and the lists go on. However, CSR does not mean just taking part in charitable activities and events; it means holding the responsibility to develop the society by envisioning future plans for socio-economic justice and be conscious about their responsibility for the welfare of society around them. Therefore, according to Zu & Song (2008), a large number of companies appear increasingly engaged in a serious effort to define and integrate CSR into all aspects of their businesses.

Corporate executives have also encountered demands from multiple stakeholder groups to devote resources to CSR. This may be partially due to the pressure generated by a union of ethics-oriented campaigners including NGOs, anti-capitalism activists, labor unions, and news media; and partially due to the demand for doing so by their customers, employees, suppliers, communities, governments, and even stockholders. Ismail (2011) stated that CSR is supported by the case whereby the government alone is definitely cannot afford to have a sole responsibility in improving the lives of their people as it exceeds their capabilities. If the government is unable to fulfill the increasing demand of their people thus this is where the corporations should support the government. However, those who opposed this statement saw the situation as unfair to the business corporations, such as Friedman’s (1970) famous statement that ‘the only responsibility of a business is to maximize shareholders’ wealth’. But according to Krishnan & Balachandran, companies are beginning to realize the fact that in order to gain strategic initiative and to ensure continued existence, business practices may have to be molded from the normal practice of solely focusing on profits to factor in public goodwill and responsible business etiquettes.

An examination of some of the factors, which have led to the development of the concept of CSR, would be ideal starting ground for the conceptual development of suitable corporate business practices for emerging markets. Krishnan & Balachandran also expressed that in the last twenty years, there has been a sea change in the nature of the triangular relationship between companies, the state and the society.

No longer can firms continue to act as independent entities regardless of the interest of the general public. The evolution of the relationship between companies and society has been one of slow transformation from a philanthropic coexistence to one where the mutual interest of all the stakeholders is gaining paramount importance. Bénabou & Tirole (2009) asserted that CSR is somewhat of a “catch-all” phrase for an array of different concepts.

Transgenders = HUMAN

India is a country where stereotypes exist in every other street. From ages and ages of society, there has been an ongoing tradition and culture of blindly persuing the stereotypes formed by the formers without even considering the causes and basis for the same. 

‘Transgender’, commonly pronounced shamelessly as ‘chakka’, ‘hijda’ and what not in the Indian society are a target for always being stereotyped.
Transgender refers to people who have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from their sex assigned at birth.
The only difference between a male/ female and a transgender is that the latter doesn’t resemble the gender expression assigned to him at birth. THAT’S IT. Anybody having some medical or biological issue doesn’t mean that they do not belong to the society nor they are to be treated as a taboo. All of it is fine. There is nothing to be disgusting about the term ‘trans’. 
It is really heartbreaking to see the pathetic lifestyle and living condition these people have to be in. Not being able to openly move like a normal person, not being able to have somebody to talk to like others, neither somebody to be called as a friend because ofcourse our society is already so busy finding flaws and put ‘them’ at fault when their fault in all of this(being how they are) is absolutely NOTHING. Rather than understanding the normality and coincidence behind this happening, they compel such people to be isolated and to be resided somewhere away from their city so that their children or any younger generation do not get influenced by those trans. 

The existence of humanity is what matters, regardless of the gender label on it.

People need to understand that there exists a HUMAN BEING behind every anthropoid stereotype we have created. For it be anyone from the LGBT community, THEY ALL DESERVE RESPECT. There is a lot that a person can learn from them. The way they struggled to have their life, the way they dare to feel alive and foremost, the way they are proud to be themselves. 

In the world where we hide our identities inside out, with make up on outside and a mask on inside, these beautiful people are far better than who don’t even own whoever they are. 
They accept and they proudly flaunt it, without letting the world break them. Transgender are needed to be treated as equal as any normal person is being treated. They deserve to have society with them who supports and cherish them.
They are a piece of art with million of worlds hidden in them. Where, there exist the beauty of a sparkling smile which just awaits to find a way out. Somebody who longs for us to welcome them to their real home, the world. They are us. There is nothing that can differentiate them from a human because they are human too. They should live the life like every other person do. They should be respected, they should be loved. They should be cherished for who the are and how strong, powerful and beautiful they are. They are a creation of God so profound that the mankind can’t miss the chance to be with. 

They are the people of God just like us

Who ought to be loved

More and more every other day,

To be welcomed with our open arms

to bless the society of mankind

With unusual generosity, kindness and love they carry along.

Let us all come together to break this stereotype and see everybody with a vision of humanity. Let’s welcome them in our world and accept them and spread smiles.

Public Interest Litigation (PIL)

 

Introduction:

“Public interest Litigation”, in simple words, means, litigation filed in a court of law, for the protection of “Public Interest”, such as pollution, Terrorism, Road safety, constructional hazards etc.

Article 32 of the Indian Constitution contains the tool which directly joins the public with the judiciary. Public Interest Litigation is not defined in any statute or in any act. It has been interpreted by judges to consider the intent of public at large.

Public Interest Litigation means a legal action initiated in a court of law for the enforcement of public interest or general interest in which the public or class of the community have pecuniary interest or some interest by which their legal rights or liabilities are affected.

In the case of People‟s Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India, it was held that “Public Interest Litigation which is a strategic arm of the legal aid movement and which is intended to bring justice within the reach of the poor masses, who constitute the low visibility area of humanity, is a totally different kind of litigation from the ordinary traditional litigation which is essentially of an adversary character where there is a dispute between two parties, one making a claim or seeing relief against the other and that other opposing such claim or relief. Public interest litigation is brought before the court not for the purpose of enforcing the right of one individual against another as happens in the case of ordinary litigation, but it is intended to promote and vindicate public interest which demands that violations of constitutional or legal rights of large numbers of people who are poor, ignorant or in a socially or economically disadvantaged position should not go unnoticed and un-redressed. That would be destructive of the Rule of Law which forms one of the essential elements of public interest in any democratic form of government. The Rule of Law does not mean that the protection of the law must be available only to a fortunate few or that the law should be allowed to be prostituted by the vested interests for protecting and upholding the status quo under the guise of enforcement of their civil and political rights. The poor too have civil and political rights and the Rule of Law is meant for them also, though today it exists only on paper and not in reality.”

Development of Public Interest Litigation:

A new era of the PIL movement was heralded by Justice P.N. Bhagawati in the case of S.P. Gupta v. Union of India. In this case it was held that “any member of the public or social action group acting bonafide” can invoke the Writ Jurisdiction of the High Courts or the Supreme Court seeking redressal against violation of a legal or constitutional rights of persons who due to social or economic or any other disability cannot approach the Court. By this judgment PIL became a potent weapon for the enforcement of “public duties” where executed in action or misdeed resulted in public injury. And as a result any citizen of India or any consumer groups or social action groups can now approach the apex court of the country seeking legal remedies in all cases where the interests of general public or a section of public are at stake.

It can be evidently seen that the development of public interest litigation has been extremely significant development in the history of the Indian jurisprudence. The decisions of the Supreme Court in the 1970’s loosened the strict locus standi requirements to permit filing of petitions on behalf of marginalized and deprived sections of the society by public spirited individuals, institutions and/or bodies. The higher Courts exercised wide powers given to them under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution. The sort of remedies sought from the courts in the public interest litigation goes beyond award of remedies to the affected individuals and groups. In suitable cases, the courts have also given guidelines and directions. The courts have monitored implementation of legislation and even formulated guidelines in absence of legislation.

Merits of Public Interest Litigation:

1. In Public Interest Litigation (PIL) vigilant citizens of the country can find an inexpensive legal remedy because there is only a nominal fixed court fee involved in this.

2. Further, through the so-called PIL, the litigants can focus attention on and achieve results pertaining to larger public issues, especially in the fields of human rights, consumer welfare and environment.

Demerits of Public Interest Litigation:

1. The genuine causes and cases of public interest have in fact receded to the background and irresponsible PIL activists all over the country have started to play a major but not a constructive role in the arena of litigation. Of late, many of the PIL activists in the country have found the PIL as a handy tool of harassment since frivolous cases could be filed without investment of heavy court fees as required in private civil litigation and deals could then be negotiated with the victims of stay orders obtained in the so-called PILs.

2. The framers of Indian constitution did not incorporate a strict doctrine of separation of powers but envisaged a system of checks and balances. Policy making and implementation of policy are conventionally regarding as the exclusive domain of the executive and the legislature. Vishaka v State of Rajasthan which was a PIL concerning sexual harassment of women at work place. The court declared that till the legislature enacted a law consistent with the convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women which India was a signatory, the guidelines set out by the court would be enforceable.

3. The flexibility of procedure that is a character of PIL has given rise to another set of problems. It gives an opportunity to opposite parties to ascertain the precise allegation and respond specific issues.

4. The credibility of PIL process is now adversely affected by the criticism that the judiciary is overstepping the boundaries pf its jurisdiction and that it is unable to supervise the effective implementation of its orders. It has also been increasingly felt that PIL is being misused by the people agitating for private grievance in the grab of public interest and seeking publicity rather than espousing public cause.

Landmark Judgements:

1.Peoples Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India (A.I.R. 1982, S C 1473)-The court now permits Public Interest Litigation or Social Interest Litigation at the instance of “Public spirited citizens” for the enforcement of constitutional & legal rights of any person or group of persons who because of their socially or economically disadvantaged position are unable to approach court for relief. Public interest litigation is a part of the process of participate justice and standing in civil litigation of that pattern must have liberal reception at the judicial door steps.

2. In the Judges Transfer Case – AIR 1982, SC 149: Court held Public Interest Litigation can be filed by any member of public having sufficient interest for public injury arising from violation of legal rights so as to get judicial redress. This is absolutely necessary for maintaining Rule of law and accelerating the balance between law and justice. It is a settled law that when a person approaches the court of equity in exercise of extraordinary jurisdiction, he should approach the court not only with clean hands but with clean mind, heart and with clean objectives.

3. Shiram Food & Fertilizer case AIR (1986) 2 SCC 176 SC: Public Interest Litigation directed the Co. Manufacturing hazardous & lethal chemical and gases posing danger to life and health of workmen & to take all necessary safety measures before re-opening the plant.

4. In the case of M.C Mehta V. Union of India (1988) 1 SCC 471 – In Public Interest Litigation brought against Ganga water pollution so as to prevent any further pollution of Ganga water. Supreme court held that petitioner although not a riparian owner is entitled to move the court for the enforcement of statutory provisions, as he is the person interested in protecting the lives of the people who make use of Ganga water.

The Impact Of Music In Human Behaviour

Music has  been scientifically  proven to have a power effect to our brain and mental health. Certain researches have said that  music  help in many aspects to brain including  pain reduction,stress relief,  memory ,stroke,brain injury.
1. Pain Reduction-in 2014 research it was found helpful for patients with fibromyalgia. It showed listening to the relaxation  music helped people to  reduce pain and  increased functional release of pain relieving opioids.
2. Stress Relief- depending on music type , the music can  reduce stress by lowering  cortisol level, a hormone released in response of stress in human. In trial with  42 children ages 3 to 11, researchers found that the patients who got treated by listening relaxing music while getting an IV inserted reported significantly less pain and demonstrated less distress compared with those patients who donot listen music.
3. Memory –  linking music with memory recall was found in 20th century increased. Listening to certain music can take your mind back to decades.  Music evoke emotion and emotion can bring  back memory.
4. Seizure, brain injury or stroke –  epilepsy patients respond differently to music. In early stage ,if any stroke patient listen to music then he may recover from illness.
IN 1973, a music  based treatment called melodic  intonstion therapy developed to help stroke people and  who suffer aphasia to able to communicate again. Here singing is converted to speech.
 Moreover OUR MUSIC CHOICES CAN PREDICT OUR PERSONALITY- music detects our openess,extraversion,agreeableness,conscientiousness, and emotional stability. One can guess by choice of the song , their mood at present time. People take music for meditation also. Bhajaans which are played in temples are very much useful for providing relaxation and also heal soul. Even genres corresponds to our personality. Dance fans says they are creative and outgoing not gentle , bollywood fans says they are creative and outgoing, rock / heavy metal fans says that  have low self esteem, creative , not hard working, not outgoing , gentle and at ease, soul fans are  high self esteem, creative , outgoing, gentle and at ease. Pop fans are not creative and not ease.
 Again everything have side effects also , like music while driving may distract you. Driver most of the time drive aggressively and make more mistakes while driving. Nowadays its common  to see people driving  while listening music. So , if one choice perfect music  then they will not be distracted from driving and have safe driving. Music can  improve  our motor and reasoning skills. 
Classical musics although now no more valid to new generation , it improve visual attention. One can replace silence with music ,as silence is more worse.
 Research on effects of music during exercise has been done  for years. Listening to music can drown out our  brain’s cries for fatigue. When our body get tired ,it give signals to body to take break. But music distract our brain and it ultimately help override those signals of fatigue. Although not workable in high intensity workout , as it takes away attention from workout. Cyclists who listens music  requires 7% less  oxygen than one cycling simply. 
Music has played beneficial role in every culture, caste, creed ,religious people. People respond to music in universal way. The interest in effects of  music  in brain have led to  new research on  neuromusicology which explores how brain reacts to music and result is music affects every part of body.
One will find the musician very healthy   , brain scan shows, their brains quite different from nonprofessional musicians. Music makes better,  brighter and sensitive brain. They have cognitive flexibilty,  superior working memory. Brain is more symmetrical.

Right to Information Act, 2005.

 

Introduction:

The right to Information Act 2005 which came fully into effect on12th October 2005 is one of the most significant legislation enacted by the Parliament in India. It is a major step towards more accountable and transparent government. RTI has been enacted to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities in order to promote transparency and accountability. The Act will certainly lead to end the culture of governmental secrecy andfulfil its potential as a truly great democracy.

Objective of the Act:

1. To promote transparency and functioning of the government. accountability in the

2. To set up a practical regime for giving citizens access to Information that is under the control of public authorities.

3. To empower the citizens as the law will promote the participation of the citizens in official decisions that directly affect their lives.

4. The effective implementation of RTI Act will build public trust in the government functioning.

5. It will lead to effective and efficient records management technique that is needed to facilitate the provision of information in response to public interest.

What is Right to Information?

Government information is national resource. Neither the particular government of the day nor public officials create information for their own benefits. Government and officials are trustees of this information for the people. The RTI act enables the citizens to obtain access under the law to documents that may otherwise be available only at the discretion of government.

The RTI Act 2005 provides effective access to information for citizens of India, which is under the control of public authorities. This overrides the ―official Secrets Acts and similar laws and rules.

The Act primarily envisages setting out a practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority.

Right to Information means the right to information accessible under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public authority and includes the right to: –

(i)             Inspection of work, documents, records.

(ii)           Taking notes, extracts, or certified copies of documents or records.

(iii)         Taking certified samples of material.

(iv)         Obtaining information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts where such information is shared in a computer or in any other device.

Every information held by or under the control of a public authority is accessible to a citizen, unless information is exempt from disclosure.

What is Accessible under the Law?

Information means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mail, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, log books, contacts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any law for the time being in force.

Features of the RTI Act:

Ø The Act extends to the whole of India except Jammu & Kashmir.

Ø All citizens shall have the right to information, subject to provisions of the Act. The RTI empowers the citizens to ask any question or seek any information from government authorities be it Central, State or Local governments.

Ø It shall apply to Public Authorities which means any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted by or under the Constitution; by any law made by the appropriate Government or, any other body owned, controlled or substantially financed directly or indirectly by the appropriate Government, and includes non-government organisation substantially financed by the government.

Ø The Act lays down the machinery for the grant of access to information. The Public Authorities are required to designate Public Information Officer and Assistant Public Information Officer with in the hundred days of enactment to accept the request forms and provide information. The Public Information Officers/Assistant Public Information Officers will be responsible to deal with the requests for information and also to assist persons seeking information.

Ø The Act envisages creation of an independent non-judicial machinery viz, Central Information Commission, State Information Commission. Legal Framework of exercise of powers by the Commission is defined in the Act.

Ø The Act also provides the two- tier Appellate forum. First appeal is to be made to the departmental officer senior to the Public Information Officer. The second appeal is to be made to State Commission.

Ø Fee will be payable by the applicant depending on the nature of information sought.

Ø Time limit has been prescribes for the compliance of information depending upon the information requirements.

Ø Certain categories of information have been exempted from the disclosure under Section 8and 9 of the Act like conduct of International Relations, security of the State, trade and commercial secrets, intelligence agency etc.

Ø Central Information Commission and the State Information Commissions monitor the implementation of the Act and prepare an Annual report to be laid before the Parliament / State legislatures.

NEVER SAY MORE THAN IS NECESSARY

Richard Brinsley sheridan, a famous Irish Playwright  and Poet  said “Never say more than is necessary”.This saying is very common in  our Daily life. When we talk more than is necessary it leds to problems. It is true , the more one person speaks , the more that person creates question in other person’s mind. And in the midst of speaking, the secret which is kept inside may slip out  of one’s mouth unconditionally. As a human knowledge is required to preserve ,the more we speak we give away the knowledge we have in ourselves. Even our speaking manner and materials  reveals about our nature and   traits  , our personality. And this helps people to guess about our further steps and actions. Even  people often get fooled for this habit of their.

Advantage of speaking normal is it puts others in a defensive mode. Mahatma Gandhi  talked what was necessary, hence , the people around them and  English company  not able to suspect  his next steps which led them to fail to take steps to  prevent  his  future movements and therefore he won Independence. 
 One more thing ,  some people think they can impress people by  their words but there also remains  some gaps – when we are trying to impress people, the more we say we become common to people in appearance and less in control. Even if one say something  banal, it will seem  original if you  make it open minded and sphinx like. Powerful and succesful people impress  others by speaking less. The more you speak, the more likely you are to say something foolish.
 It is a very fundamental rule going on from many years. People like to speak about their life  and share all bullshit things , thus , they expose their personal life to the outer world.
 Thus we should practice ourselves to listen more and speak less as-
1.Speaking less will make people reveal more about them. Your short answer and defence will stand as  defence and they will jump in their comments which rather will reveal about themselves than others.
2.speaking less will help people to listen and interpret about you   carefully. They have to know what you are thinking. People cannot pierce your intentions and meaning, when you carefully control what you reveal.
3. Human tongue is uncontrollable, only few people can have control over it. Be particularly careful with sarcasm. We often get satisfaction by saying our rough words but it creares our image too.
4. The more you say , the more common you  become to people and they will no more value your words.
5. Speaking less will save you from speaking something dangerous and harmful . Take the foolish act of coriolanus , a military hero of Rome around 454 BC. People held him in awe. His speach appeared to be arrogance , cruelty.
6.people will never decieve as they don’t know about your position. According to  louis xiv gave rise to  “i will see” a   very short phrase which said in polite manner.so, let everyone speak , you be a careful listener , to know the people’s views about you and their own reality.
Saying /speaking less  is not for high authority people applicable but also for normal common people. In every sector of life , the less you open up yourself to people , you become profound and mysterious to them. The more less you speak , you appear intelligence and powerful to people. So, the less you speak up , the less risk you face in life in regarding  difficulties. 
 Moreover, with development of technology and emergence of new era , people are  more likely to be find  silent suppressing all their words and feelings, as we all  know  all are ready to spread salt to your wounds oray take advantages of your weakness.  So , better change habit , it will be beneficial to all people  not only in personal life but also in occupational sector.

HOW TO STOP PROCRASTINATING AND START ANTICIPATING!

Whenever we get a new assignment with a week’s time for submission, we develop a casual approach towards it, thinking that we have an ample amount of time to complete the work, which leads to delaying it until only a day or two is left before the submission. Sometimes you sit down to do that assignment and you get distracted by other things and at the end of the day the task remains incomplete. This happens to most of us on a regular basis and this is what is known as Procrastination. 
“A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by the circumstances.” – Hunter S. Thompson
The statement stands true as whenever we decide to postpone a task at hand we are also losing the opportunity to give our 100% to that task from the very beginning and make it a success. Procrastinating sometimes let all the good opportunities slip from our hands as it stops us from taking the chances and make decisions that can help lead a better life.
Many students have the habit of postponing things till the very last date as they get easily distracted by the use of social media or hanging out with their friends. While these can be fun to do as they help to take are minds out of worry, these decisions can sometimes lead to pending and piled up tasks at hand or can even become a distraction from studying, eventually leading to not getting good marks in our exams. 
Many amongst us have a regular habit of delaying things, which eventually leads to a guilty thought i.e. ‘Maybe I should have started earlier.’ Whenever we get the schedules of our exams we tend to make a timetable for studying daily so that at the time of our examination we only have to do the revision. Many amongst us are able to achieve this goal; however there are some people who get distracted by their social media accounts that they start postponing their timetable to the next day. The increase in the use of social media among the students has lead to a decrease in their study time which eventually leads to them not getting the marks they expected and they start feeling less motivated to do something productive.
WHY DO WE PROCRASTINATE?
Whenever we decide to delay a task, we know that it is probably not a good idea to do but still we do it anyway. We know that we should plan things ahead of time but we still leave it for the last minute, knowing that it will have a negative result. People often say that you procrastinate because you are lazy or you do not have time management skills; however these have nothing to do with procrastinating.
The real reason is that many people stress about the work they have to do and to overcome that stress, they turn to their mobile phones, play video games, or hang out with friends. These things take their minds off the worry however, when they realise that they still have to complete their work, they feel guilty about not starting early.
Another reason for procrastinating is the insecurity that we have relating to the task. There might have been many incidents when you knew the correct answer to the question but you could not muster up the courage to raise your hand and answer because of the lack of confidence and the fear of being judged by others.  
HOW TO STOP PROCRASTINATING
Procrastination is a voluntary action where we decide to do something fun rather than doing something that is important and requires our attention. We have the power to stop ourselves from delaying things and to start becoming productive from day one. The ways we can become more productive are:
1.  Make yourself aware that you are procrastinating. It is the key step to stop you from delaying things. Instead of thinking ‘I will do it tomorrow.’ consider thinking ‘I need to do it today!’ Try to break the whole task into smaller sets of tasks so that when you complete those smaller tasks you feel accomplished and feel motivated to finish the whole task.

2.  Give yourself little rewards like watching a good movie, having your favorite meal, binge watching your favorite series etc. It helps you to look forward to complete the task in order to earn that reward as it makes you feel good about achieving something.

3.  Never let your tasks build up to the situation where it gets overwhelming for you to complete all of those in a short span of time. Start working on them from the very first day you get a particular task. If you feel stuck up at any time, feel free to seek help from others.

4.  In case you feel getting distracted while working alone, you can always ask your parents to keep you company while you do your work as it will reduce the chances of you turning to your mobile phones whenever you feel bored. You can always ask a friend too for keeping you company or asking for help whenever you get stuck rather than not completing it further.

5. As students, you should start studying from the day one of your new class or semester as it relieves you of the burden of studying the whole syllabus at the time of your exams. Also, make a habit of studying the topics that the teacher is supposed to teach you in the next class, as it will help you feel connected and keep you interested in the class rather than distracting your mind to other things.

6.  Turn off all the distractions that divert your mind from completing the tasks. Shut the television off, keep your phone away from yourself or give it your parents or roommates whenever you are studying, stop watching movies or listening to music whenever you are working as it tends to distract and hamper your thinking process. 

Disability Laws in India

 

Concept of Disability:
Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations. Disability is thus not just a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives.

Disability is a contested concept, with different meanings for different communities. It may be used to refer to physical or mental attributes that some institutions, particularly medicine, view as needing to be fixed. It may refer to limitations imposed on people by the constraints of an albeit society. Or the term may serve to refer to the identity of people with disabilities. It can be said that it is an impairment that may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, sensory, or some combination of these. It substantially affects a person’s life activities and may be present from birth or occur during a person’s lifetime.

Legal Rights of The Disabled In India:

The Constitution of India applies uniformly to every legal citizen of India, whether they are healthy or disabled in any way (physically or mentally). The Constitution of India secures to the citizens including the disabled, a right of justice, liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship, equality of status and of opportunity and for the promotion of fraternity. The right to Education is available to all citizens including the disabled. The Constitution directs the State to provide free and compulsory education for all children until they attain the age of 14 years. The health laws of India have many provisions for the disabled. Some of the acts which make provision for the health of the citizens including the disabled may be seen in the Mental Act, 1987. Various laws relating to the marriage enacted by the Government for different communities apply equally to the disabled. There are certain circumstances that will disable a person from undertaking a marriage.

They are:

·       When the either party is a lunatic;

·       When the parties are unable to give a valid consent because of the unsound mind;

·       When the parties are within the degree of prohibited relationship.

Under the Succession Act, 1956 which applies to Hindus it has been specifically provided that physical disability or physical deformity would not remove a person from inheriting ancestral property. The rights of the disabled have not been spelt out so well in the labour legislations but provisions which cater to the disabled in their relationship with the employer are contained in delegated legislations such as rules, regulations and standing orders.

Constitutional aspects:-
The Constitution of India has guaranteed full protection to the rights of disabled people. The Preamble of the Constitution contains the concept of social justice and equality of status and opportunity to all the people of India. Article 14 & 16 of the Constitution which guarantee equality of opportunity to all citizen of India. Article 38 of the Constitution which subsides within Directive Principles of State Policy, requires the State to promote the welfare of the people by securing a social order in which social, economic and political justice can inform to all institutions of national life and the State is required to make efforts to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities amongst individuals.

Various Statutory legislations In India:

1) Persons with disabilities (PWD) (equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation) Act, 1995: The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 had come into enforcement on February 7, 1996. It is an important step which ensures equal opportunities for the people with disabilities and their full participation in the nation building. The Act provides for both the preventive and promotional aspects of rehabilitation like education, employment and vocational training, reservation, research and manpower development, creation of barrier- free environment, rehabilitation of persons with disability, unemployment allowance for the disabled, special insurance scheme for the disabled employees and establishment of homes for persons with severe disability etc.


2) The Mental Health Act, 1987: The Mental Health Act,1987 was enacted to regulate admissions to psychiatric hospitals and  psychiatric nursing homes of mentally ill-persons who do not have sufficient understanding to seek treatment on a voluntary basis and to protect the rights of such persons while being detained, to protect society from the presence of mentally ill persons who have become or might become a danger or nuisance to others among other provisions.

3) The Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992:
It was passed to regulate the man power development programmes in the field of education of persons with special needs. The main objectives are to regulate the training policies and programmes in the field of rehabilitation of people with disabilities, to standardize training courses for rehabilitation professionals and also for ensuring the establishment of rehabilitation centres.

4) The Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923:
If any injury or accident is caused to the workman in the course of work or employment then his employer has to pay compensation. As per Section 4 of the above Act, where permanent total disablement results from the injury, an amount equal to 60% of the monthly wages of the injured workman multiplied by the relevant factor or amount of twenty thousand rupees whichever is more.

5) Employee’s State Insurance Act, 1948:
Periodical payment shall be made to an insured person suffering from disablement as a result of an employment injury sustained as an employee under this Act and certified to be eligible for such payments by an authority specified in this behalf by the regulations. In India, the disabled citizens have the same rights as other citizens to a descent standard of living and economic security, right to work, education, employment and also right to access and communication.

Decided cases in India:
In Javed Abidi v. Union of India – The Supreme Court bearing in mind the discomfort and harassment suffering by a person of locomotors disability would face while travelling by train particularly to far off places, issued direction to the Indian Airlines to grant persons suffering from locomotors disability to the extent of 80%.

In Chandan Kumar Banik v. State of West Bengal – The Supreme Court has given the order to provide respite to mentally challenged inmates of a hospital in Hooghly district who were being kept chained by the hospital authority to control their unruly and violent behavior.

In National Federation of Blind v. Union Public Service commission – The Supreme Court held that, the UPSC may be directed to allow blind person for appearing the examinations for Indian Administrative and allied services.

In Govt. of NCT of Delhi v. Bharat Lal Meena – The Delhi High Court held that people with disabilities can be appointed as physical education teachers provided they have passed the qualifying examination and undergone the requisite training.

Conclusion:

Disability refers to the disadvantage or restriction of activity caused by the way society is organized which takes little or no account of people who have physical, sensory or mental impairments. As a result such people are excluded and prevented from participating effectively on equal terms in mainstream society. Disability is an unfortunate part of human life which can effect not only the natural way of living but also despair component strength and power.

How To Be Happy

Happiness is word full of joy and broad smiles. It is a never-ending trail of hunt for which everyone keep on searching throughout. But what happiness truly is? Is it having luxurious cars around you? Or is it having a feet long pool? Is it having your favourite ice cream on a bad day? Or is it playing football in the rain? 

All of it must have been recognised by you as happiness but in reality, these are just a way to your happiness. Pathways that lead you to happiness.
Happiness is a state of mind. A pause in the hustling time when you feel, feel alive. The sense of accomplishment of anything that calm your soul and maintain your peace is happiness. When our mind is relaxed and at peace, everything seems happier but if we are troubled, even the finest have flaws. 
Most of the people miss to understand the real meaning of happiness. Ofcourse, the way they see it, the things that make them happy are indeed what happiness is but all these are the pathways that leads them to the real meaning of happiness. The truth of happiness is the cause of them being happy in the definition of their happiness.
Happiness really doesn’t come free of cost. You have to live it and feel it. People need to understand that

Happiness is a choice. Once, if you choose to be happy, there is nobody who can stop you from being that.

Being happy has a direct connection with your mind. If you seek happiness with your senses, for sure you will find it. Some of the ways to be happy are :

Acceptance 

Mark a note about it for life that 
Acceptance is the key to a smooth, happy and peaceful life.
When we accept things as the way they are, we feel satisfied and when a person is satisfied, they feel happy and grateful for the way everything is/was. Accepting things and being satisfied lead us to being positive about life, and thus thankful for same. Eventually, this sense of acceptance will make you feel stronger and thus happier. You will let go things and accept some and will improve or develop skills and abilities, stepping forward to growth.

Generosity

“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously”     The holy Bible marks the purpose and forecoming of being generous in life. Being kind and humble to people make a person feel better and accomplished about themselves. To be able to serve the needy and helping somebody in their hard time is indeed one of the things that make people happy. When we give, we feel good and it comes back to us in unexpected ways. Always be humble to people, seeing the others smiling at you will make you feel better and happy. 

Create your own Happiness.

The best way to be happy is by creating your happiness on your own. Choosing to be happy. Choosing to have a smile on you always, not just for showing but because you genuinely are smiling from inside. Do whatever makes you smile. Go out, feel things, be thankful. Having a sense of thankfulness and gratitude is a way to ace happiness and peace. The more gratitude you have, the happier you are. Be positive about everything and be realistic. Do whatever you feel like but ofcourse not without thinking. Smile more, but not the fake one. Spend time in the real world not the social one. Say goodbyes to the toxicity and negativity from your lives. And when you are awa from all of this dust, do whatever you feel like and want to. Feel free to feel anything. Feel free to hear the birds chirping, to dance yourself off and love yourself. When you love everything about you and everything around you, you feel better. 

And you will be the happiest the moment you chose to live not to just exist. When you accept and move forward to brighter days with confidence and optimism in your veins, happiness itself will come and knock your door. Just remember, it will always be you who can either multiply or divide the happiness coming your way. Smile! I am already thankful for those which read it till yet, Thankyou and please smile? You’re so freaking precious when you smile!