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Contemporary anarchism

Anarchism is a process whereby authority and domination is being replaced with non-hierarchical, horizontal structures, with voluntary associations between human beings. It is a form of social organisation with a set of key principles, such as self-organisation, voluntary association, freedom, autonomy, solidarity, direct democracy, egalitarianism and mutual aid. Based on these principles and values, anarchism rejects both a capitalist economy and a nation state that is governed by means of a representative democracy. It is a utopian project that aspires to combine the best parts of liberalism with the best parts of communism. At its heart is a mix of the liberal emphasis on individual freedom and the communist emphasis on an equal society. Let’s unpack this a bit. The etymology of the term traces back to the Greek word “anarkhia”, which means “without rulers” or “without authority”. It stands for the absence of domination, hierarchy and power over others.

Whenever public protests ignite into violent behaviour, the mainstream media are often quick to refer to “anarchy” and to “anarchists”. Those who are referred to as anarchists are protesters who burn tyres or engage in battles with the police. In this narrative, anarchists are lawless hooligans and anarchy is about chaos and pointless violence. The political philosophy of anarchisms emerged in the mid-19th century – as part of the thought of Enlightenment. Key anarchist thinkers include Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, William Godwin, Peter Kropotkin, Mikhail Bakunin, Emma Goldman, and Max Stirner. Proudhon is credited as the first self-proclaimed anarchist and is often seen as the founder of classic anarchist thinking. In particular, he developed the concept of spontaneous order in society, where organisations can emerge without central or top-down coordination.

The most common definitions of anarchism stress two points; first, anarchists are opposed to any form of coercive authority; following from this, anarchists are opposed to state power and seek to destroy it. But even this basic definition ignores the important distinction between anarchists who emphasize collective action rather than individualism, or who avoid any strategies focused on the state (even its destruction. The last stand of traditional anarchism, which reached its high point in Spain during the 1930s, suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of Franco’s fascists and the criminal policies of the Stalinized Communist Party. A once vibrant international anarchist movement was in ruins by the end of the Second World War. In the United States, political repression and Red Squad terror decimated the anarchist ranks more than a decade earlier. Small, isolated groups of anarchists survived, but never again reached the influence once attained during the Spanish Civil War.

After World War II, anarchist groups and federations reemerged in almost all countries where they had formerly flourished—the notable exceptions being Spain and the Soviet Union—but these organizations wielded little influence compared to that of the broader movement inspired by earlier ideas. This development is not surprising, since anarchists never stressed the need for organizational continuity, and the cluster of social and moral ideas that are identifiable as anarchism always spread beyond any clearly definable movement.

Anarchist ideas emerged in a wider frame of reference beginning with the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s, which aimed to resist injustice through the tactic of civil disobedience. In the 1960s and ’70s a new radicalism took root among students and the left in general in the United States, Europe, and Japan, embracing a general criticism of “elitist” power structures and the materialist values of modern industrial societies—both capitalist and communist. For these radicals, who rejected the traditional parties of the left as strongly as they did the existing political structure, the appeal of anarchism was strong. The general anarchist outlook—with its emphasis on spontaneity, theoretical flexibility, simplicity of life, and the importance of love and anger as complementary and necessary components in both social and individual action—attracted those who opposed impersonal political institutions and the calculations of older parties. The anarchist rejection of the state, and the insistence on decentralism and local autonomy, found strong echoes among those who advocated participatory democracy. The anarchist insistence on direct action was reflected in calls for extra parliamentary action and violent confrontation by some student groups in France, the United States, and Japan. Anarchists also took up issues related to feminism and developed a rich body of work, known as anarcha-feminism, that applied anarchist principles to the analysis of women’s oppression, arguing that the state is inherently patriarchal and that women’s experience as nurturers and caregivers reflects the anarchist ideals of mutuality and the rejection of hierarchy and authority.

The most prevalent current in anarchist thinking during the last two decades of the 20th century (at least in the United States) was an eclectic, countercultural mixture of theories reflecting a wide range of artistic, literary, political, and philosophical influences, including Dada, Surrealism, and Situationism; the writers of the Beat movement; the Frankfurt School of Marxist-oriented social and political philosophers—especially Herbert Marcuse—and post-structuralist and postmodern philosophy and literary theory, in particular the work of the French philosopher and historian Michel Foucault.

Contemporary anarchism has some important differences, but also a great deal of continuity, with historical anarchism. Where it focuses on building an alternative in the “interstices” of capitalism, it accommodates to, rather than challenges, capitalism; and where it fetishizes street tactics, it generates more press than tangible success in either building the struggle or in challenging the state.But struggle teaches, and those anarchists most engaged in struggle and most concerned with finding the most effective means of winning a better world are looking for alternative ideas to make sense of the crises around us. Marxists and these anarchists should stand shoulder-to-shoulder in every aspect of struggle, whether fighting evictions, the far right, or budget cuts. And serious revolutionaries must consider what tactics will strengthen the movement and its chances of victory. Foolish acts of vandalism by unaccountable individuals only serve to disrupt and weaken the movement, and the best anarchists recognize this.

The women’s suffrage movement

The Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified on August 18, 1920. It declares that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. “The amendment, which granted women the right to vote, represented the pinnacle of the women’s suffrage movement, which was led by the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA).In their decades-long struggle for female enfranchisement, women’s rights advocates met with strong opposition from anti-suffrage activists.

The women’s suffrage movement has its origins in the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, the first women’s rights convention ever held in the United States. Approximately three hundred activists, female and male, gathered to discuss the condition of women and to devise strategies for achieving social and political rights for women. Though women’s suffrage was a topic of debate at the convention, it was not the main goal of the movement at this early stage, and the convention’s resolution demanding women’s suffrage was the only resolution that was not passed unanimously.

The first women’s suffrage organizations were created in 1869. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), while Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, and Henry Blackwell founded the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA). These two rival groups were divided over the Fifteenth Amendment, which guaranteed African American men the right to vote. The AWSA supported the Fifteenth Amendment, while the NWSA opposed it because it did not include suffrage for women. In 1890, the two competing organizations were merged into the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA).

During the 1870s, suffragists (women’s suffrage activists) began attempting to vote at polling places and filing lawsuits when their attempts were rejected. This drew attention to the women’s rights movement, particularly after Susan B. Anthony was arrested and put on trial for voting in the 1872 presidential election. Suffragists hoped that the lawsuits would work their way up to the Supreme Court, and that the justices would declare that women had a constitutional right to vote. In 1875, the Supreme Court, rejected women’s suffrage, ruling that the US Constitution did not confer the right of suffrage to anyone.

After the Supreme Court ruling, leaders of the women’s rights movement adopted other strategies for securing universal suffrage. Activists began organizing a drive to pass a constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. The National American Woman Suffrage Association launched a campaign to achieve victories at the state level, in the hopes that if enough states allowed women the right to vote, federal legislation would follow. These efforts were so successful that by the time of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, over half of all states had already granted limited voting rights to women.

The Nineteenth Amendment

In January, 1878, Republican Senator Aaron A. Sargent of California formally introduced in the Senate a constitutional amendment to guarantee women the vote. The bill languished in committee until 1887, when it finally went up to a vote, and was defeated. Not until 1914 was another constitutional amendment for women’s rights considered, and again rejected, by the Senate.

Though the movement for women’s suffrage was well-organized and gaining momentum by the early twentieth century, it met with strong opposition from some sectors of US society. Brewers and distillers were opposed to female enfranchisement because they assumed that women would vote for the prohibition of alcoholic beverages, while businesses that employed children feared that women would vote to eliminate child labour. Anti-suffrage organizations sprang up all over the country to oppose the drive for female enfranchisement. Anti-suffrage activists were not just men; indeed, many upper class women joined the movement, arguing that politics was a dirty business that would sully the moral and spiritual authority of women

The National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1900, launched an effort to link the drive for female suffrage to the US war effort in the First World War. Though many of her fellow suffragists were anti-war pacifists, Catt made the controversial decision to support the war and to thereby portray the women’s suffrage movement as patriotic. The effort was a success; in his 1918 State of the Union address, President Woodrow Wilson declared his support for female enfranchisement.

On August 18, 1920, Congress ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, which guaranteed the right to vote to all US citizens regardless of sex. The Nineteenth Amendment represented a major victory and a turning point in the women’s rights movement.

Veganism in a Nutshell

Once considered a niche diet, veganism has gone mainstream — so much so that the number of people following a vegan diet has increased by 350% in the last decade. By definition, veganism is a way of living in which people exclude, as much as possible, all forms of animal exploitation and cruelty.

At first glance, a vegan diet may seem complicated or overly restrictive. Many of my clients who are considering switching over to a vegan diet are initially worried about finding suitable vegan alternatives to their favourite meals. Yet, most find that once they get a few basics down, the transition is less difficult than they initially expected.

According to the Vegan Society, the term “vegan” was coined back in 1944 by a small group of vegetarians who broke away from the Leicester Vegetarian Society in England to form the Vegan Society. In addition to refraining from eating meat, they chose not to consume dairy, eggs, or any other products of animal origin The term “vegan” was chosen from the combination of the first and last letters of “vegetarian.” By 1949, the first definition of veganism had been born. It has changed slightly over the years to become what it is known as today. Many people use the term “vegan” to refer exclusively to diet. However, by this latest definition, veganism extends beyond eating a plant-based diet.

Those who identify as vegans typically aim to exclude animal exploitation or cruelty in all aspects of their lives, including the clothes they wear, the cosmetics they use, and the leisure activities they take part in .As a result, many vegans avoid purchasing wool coats, leather furniture, or down pillows and comforters. They may also opt to visit animal sanctuaries instead of going to zoos, the circus, or animal petting farms.

Reasons people go vegan

Health-Some people choose a vegan diet for its potential health benefits. Diets high in meat — especially red meat — have been linked to cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes .On the other hand, plant-based diets have been linked to a lower risk of developing or prematurely dying from these diseases. Lowering your intake of animal products in favour of more plant-based options may also improve your digestion and reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease .A vegan diet can also help minimize the side effects linked to the antibiotics and hormones used in modern animal agriculture .Finally, vegan diets appear to be especially effective at helping people lose unwanted weight. Several studies link a vegan diet to a lower likelihood of obesity

Moral ideals-Ethical vegans strongly believe that all creatures have a right to life and freedom. They view all animals as conscious beings that, just like humans, wish to avoid pain and suffering .Because of this, ethical vegans are opposed to killing an animal in order to eat its flesh or wear its fur or skin. Vegans are also opposed to the psychological and physical stress that animals may endure as a result of modern farming practices — for instance, the small pens or cages that animals typically live in and rarely leave between their birth and slaughter.

Environment

People may also choose to avoid animal products in an attempt to limit their environmental impact. According to recent data, animal agriculture heavily contributes to greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs), which cause climate change.Meat eaters are thought to be responsible for 2–2.5 times more GHGEs than people following a vegan diet. Ruminant animals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats, appear to emit the largest amount of greenhouse gases per gram of protein they deliver. Therefore, diets that reduce or totally eliminate dairy also produce significantly fewer GHGEs.

Foods that vegans eat

Avoiding animal products doesn’t restrict you to eating salads and tofu alone. There’s a wide variety of delicious foods you can eat on a vegan diet.

  • Beans, peas, and lentils: such as red, brown, or green lentils; chickpeas; split peas; black-eyed peas; black beans; white beans; and kidney beans
  • Soy products: such as fortified soy milk, soybeans, and products made from them, such as tofu, tempeh, and natto
  • Nuts: such as peanuts, almonds, cashews, and their butters
  • Seeds: such as sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and their butters, as well as flaxseed, hemp seeds, and chia seeds
  • Whole grains: such as quinoa, whole wheat, whole oats, and whole grain brown or wild rice, as well as products made from these foods, such as whole grain bread, crackers, and pasta
  • Starchy vegetables: such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, beets, and turnips
  • Nonstarchy vegetables: such as broccoli, cabbage, asparagus, radishes, and leafy greens; these may be raw, frozen, canned, dried, or pureed
  • Fruit: such as apples, pears, bananas, berries, mango, pineapple, oranges, and tangerines; these may be purchased fresh, frozen, canned, dried, or pureed
  • Other plant-based foods: such as algae, nutritional yeast, fortified plant milks and yogurts, and maple syrup

There’s a good chance that many of the dishes you currently enjoy either already are vegan or can be made vegan with a few simple adjustments.For instance, you can swap meat-based main dishes for meals containing beans, peas, lentils, tofu, tempeh, nuts, or seeds.

Transitioning to a vegan diet is easier than most people think. That said, it does require a little additional nutrition knowledge.So if you’re interested in making the switch, consider seeking advice from a registered dietitian specializing in plant-based diets to make sure you’ve got your basics covered.Depending on your knowledge, budget, and culinary skills, you may also want to consider taking certain supplements to ensure you’re providing your body with all the nutrients it need

Healthy alternatives to coffee.

Golden milk

Made with several spices including ginger, cinnamon, turmeric and black pepper, this caffeine-free traditional Indian drink is a comforting yet invigorating concoction that’s sure to wake your senses in the morning. Cardamom, vanilla and honey can also be added to the mix.

Apple cider

Cider made with real apple cider vinegar is great for supporting digestion, since apple cider vinegar contains enzymes that can help balance blood sugar levels, control your appetite, and potentially ward off issues like heartburn and indigestion.

Coffee is the go-to morning beverage for many, while others choose not to drink it for a host of reasons.For some, the high amount of caffeine — 95 mg per serving — can cause nervousness and agitation, also known as “the jitters.” For others, coffee can cause digestive distress and headaches. Many simply don’t care for the bitter taste or are bored with their usual morning cup of Joe. Drinking too much coffee can be detrimental because of its high caffeine content. “Too much caffeine may pose a danger to your health,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns. People are now are slowly dropping coffee from their daily diet and are looking for healthier beverages. This is a sign for you to rethink your caffeine intake. There are several other drinks that can help you stay awake in the morning aside from coffee. They are-

Hot cacao

Brewed cacao is a low caffeine drink that is rich in theobromine, a mild central nervous system stimulant. It offers all the “decadent flavors of dark chocolate, without any of the sugar and fat, and virtually no calories,” licensed dietitian/nutritionist Monica Reinagel wrote in an article for Food & Nutrition.

Lemon Water

 Lemon water is a great way to start your day. It’s calorie- and caffeine-free and provides an ample dose of vitamin C.As an antioxidant, vitamin C plays a role in your immune system and protects your skin from sun damage. It’s essential for creating collagen, a protein that provides the basic structure for your skin, tendons and ligaments.

You can also add other fruits and herbs for a variety of flavors — cucumbers, mint, watermelon and basil are some popular options.

Herbal tea

Herbal tea like rooibos ( from South Africa) and chai tea (from India )can be great healthy alternatives to caffeine. Most herbal teas are caffeine-free, although it depends on the exact kind.They may help to support your energy levels by keeping you calm and aiding in sleep quality, and by supporting digestive/gut health. Unlike coffee ,teas are  low in tannin antioxidants, which can be beneficial but also interfere with the absorption of iron. Despite a low tannin content it provides a substantial amount of other antioxidants .

Kombucha

Kombucha is made by fermenting black tea with bacteria, yeast and sugar.After fermentation, kombucha contains probiotics, acetic acid and antioxidants — all of which may have health benefits .kombucha may boost your immune system, improve cholesterol levels and blood glucose levels in people with diabetes

5 hobbies to develop this summer

Getting bored in the summer heat? Or you simply want to catch a break from a monotonous life? Well, its summer time and there is no better season to pick up some new hobbies and skills to add to the feathers in your cap. Here are 5 things you can do this summer to feel productive-

  1. Learn to swim

Swimming is a very handy skill and you are never too old to learn to swim. It’s great if you already know to swim too, take a dip in the pool and refine those strokes. Swimming keeps one physically fit, healthy and energised. It also tones your muscles and give you that tan you’ve been wanting.

2.Learn a foreign language

It could be the tongue native to a country you hope to visit someday or a language you’ve always wanted to learn just because you find it so beautiful. Learning the basics of a new language makes the world feel a little smaller, and numerous studies have indicated that being bilingual can give your brain a boost. There are so many free apps and videos that you can refer to at least get some basics of a language.

3.Make your own jewellery

Arts and crafts have always been at the tip-top of popular summer hobbies but have you tried making your own jewellery yet? Capture your own design aesthetic in wearable pieces that you can make from the comfort of your own home. Make them for yourself, gift them to a friend, sell them on Etsy… the possibilities are endless. There are some awesome kits, books, and Youtube videos (essential techniques, supplies to purchase, and of course, hacks) that will make getting started a whole lot easier. Redecorate your room with it or spruce up your collection of gems with some DIY jewellery making.

4. Develop a green thumb

 Summertime is the perfect time for gardening: there’s loads of sunlight and the right temperature to grow an entire range of vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers, or even some herbs and flowers. Gardening can be a nice, rewarding hobby to take up in the summertime. Starting a garden can be an intimidating task but thankfully, there are plenty of resources out there to help you get your green thumb on.

5. Go Camping

Camping is a favourite pastime for many during the summer days and can also be very inexpensive . This is a fantastic low-cost hobby for adventure and nature lovers who want to disconnect from the Wi-Fi and real around a campfire. However, you shouldn’t set out without preparation, so go through this guide to make sure you’re well-prepared! It is a fun way to meet up for some outdoor time with friends and loved ones! It doesn’t have to been in the complete wilderness , just set a tent in your back yard and gaze at those stars.

The Anti-Apartheid Movement

Apartheid means separateness. Apartheid was a system of legal racial segregation enforced by the South African National Party government between 1948 and 1994. This system created a society of enormous repression for black South Africans. Apartheid was characterized by an authoritarian political culture based on baasskap, which ensured that South Africa was dominated politically, socially, and economically by the nation’s minority white population. According to this system of social stratification, white citizens had the highest status, followed by Indians and Coloureds, then black Africans. The economic legacy and social effects of apartheid continue to the present day.

The anti-apartheid movement was the first successful transnational social movement in the era of globalization. The movement began after a massive turnout by rural Afrikaners gave Rev. Daniel Malan’s Nationalist Party a majority of five seats in the whites-only Parliament of the Union of South Africa on May 26, 1948. The Nationalists won on a racist platform that played on white fears of the “black threat” and promised to establish strict “apartheid” or separate development policies to counter it. British Anglican archbishop Trevor Huddleston was a leader in the campaign against apartheid, an official system of discrimination against non-whites in South Africa. His efforts helped bring that struggle to the world’s attention

What is unique about the anti-apartheid movement is the extent of support it received from individuals, governments and organizations on all continents. Few social movements in history have garnered anywhere near the international support that was mobilized against the racist apartheid regime in South Africa. Although national liberation and Marxism might both be considered as successful, trans-national social movements, neither of these had the global support that the anti-apartheid movement garnered.

There were two main aspects of the anti-apartheid movement: the internal campaign to destabilize the racist apartheid regime in South Africa, and the external campaign for political, economic, and cultural sanctions. At the heart of the movement was the struggle of black Africans to end white supremacy in South Africa. This internal movement was both a catalyst for actions at the international level and the critical link that gave coherence to the movement as a whole. The external effort can be divided into two fronts: (1) regional efforts to provide military bases, material, and diplomatic support for liberation movements; and (2) the diaspora movement, which focused on seeking international sanctions against the regime and providing direct aid to the liberation movements.The internal struggle within South Africa was the core of the movement, and it served as a catalyst for regional and international support movements. This effort emerged to oppose apartheid legislation imposed after the all-white election of 1948.

Nelson Mandela’s contribution

The man we know behind this movement is Nelson Mandela.  Under apartheid, the South African population was divided into four distinct racial groups: white (including Afrikaners, who speak a Germanic language called Afrikaans), black, colored, and Indian. Strict residential, economic, and social segregation was enforced on the basis of these racial categories. Non-whites were not allowed to vote in national election. Moreover, apartheid saw the institution of the “homeland system,” in which the government sought to establish separate states for members of each of the country’s many black ethnic groups. This often involved the forced removal of families from their original homes to the newly-created “bantustans” (or ethnic states). In other cases, it meant breaking up interracial and inter-ethnic families. While non-whites were confined to squalid ghettoes with few decent educational and employment opportunities, whites were afforded the basic privileges of life in a democracy.

 In a 1955 article, Nelson Mandela—then a leading activist in the growing fight against apartheid—described the horrors of the system and the brutal means by which it was enforced:The breaking up of African homes and families and the forcible separation of children from mothers, the harsh treatment meted out to African prisoners, and the forcible detention of Africans in farm colonies for spurious statutory offenses are a few examples of the actual workings of the hideous and pernicious doctrines of racial inequality. To these can be added scores of thousands of foul misdeeds committed against the people by the government: the denial to the non-European people of the elementary rights of free citizenship; the expropriation of the people from their lands and homes to assuage the insatiable appetites of European land barons and industrialists; the flogging and calculated murder of African laborers by European farmers in the countryside for being “cheeky to the baas”; the vicious manner in which African workers are beaten up by the police and flung into jails when they down tools to win their demands; the fostering of contempt and hatred for non-Europeans; the fanning of racial prejudice between whites and non-whites, between the various non-white groups; the splitting of Africans into small hostile tribal units; the instigation of one group or tribe against another; the banning of active workers from the people`s organizations, and their confinement into certain areas.

Because of the injustices it perpetuated, the apartheid system gave rise to a broad resistance movement. The primary organization leading the struggle against apartheid was the African National Congress (ANC). The ANC was founded in 1913 in response to the oppression of non-white South Africans at the hands of the white ruling class. In 1943, Nelson Mandela—then a law student—joined the ANC and co-founded its youth division, the ANCYL. Mandela and other young activists had begun to advocate for a mass campaign of agitation against apartheid. In 1949, the ANCYL gained control of the ANC and a year later Mandela was elected national president of the ANCYL. Around this time, Mandela’s political outlook began to shift: while he had previously opposed cross-racial unity in the fight against apartheid, he came to be influenced by the writings of socialist thinkers who supported organizing across racial lines. He was also influenced by the nonviolent strategies of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was himself a resident of South Africa for more than 20 years, from 1893 to 1914.

Mandela and other political prisoners engaged in many political debates and discussion.  The prison on Robben Island, where Mandela stayed for 20 years, was sometimes called “University of Robben Island.”

Although he was sidelined from direct participation in the movement while in prison, Mandela became a symbol—both in South Africa and internationally—of the struggle against injustice. During his imprisonment on Robben Island,  the fight against apartheid continued. New organizations and leaders emerged to advance the cause, and thousands of average South Africans risked their lives to resist the brutal system.  A powerful international movement included  boycotts and bans of South African goods; protests, including massive civil disobedience; and an explosion of music and art demanding the end of apartheid and the freeing of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners. 

Violence and instability grew within South Africa. The apartheid government faced increasing domestic and international pressure. In 1985, then President P.W. Botha offered to release Mandela from prison if he agreed to “unconditionally reject violence as a political weapon.” Mandela refused the offer. He wrote: “What freedom am I being offered while the organization of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.”

Despite his recognition as a central figure in the fight against apartheid, Mandela has always been quick to note that he was not personally responsible for its overthrow. As he said upon his release from prison in 1990: “I stand here before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands.” Mandela’s courage is inspiring and his story is dramatic, but he did not end apartheid alone. In South Africa and around the world, people were inspired by Mandela’s example. They recognized that there would never be freedom in South Africa unless many people took action. In South Africa, many died in the struggle for freedom.

The Bhoodan movement-  A Bloodless Revolution

Vinoba Bhave was born in Gagode village, Raigad, Maharashtra. A keen follower of Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave took part in the freedom struggle and started the Bhoodan movement in 1951. He was an avid social reformer throughout his life. Vinoba Bhave, a humble spiritual leader, the first non-violent resister to the Britishers and reformer of Independent India started what we know as the Bhoodan movement – a landmark in Indian history where its mission was to persuade wealthy landowners to willingly give a small share of their land to the landless people .About four years later after india gained independence, Vinoba Bhave carried out a unique movement of his own. He travelled across all of India to convince the wealthy land-owners or land-lords to share a small area of their land with their poor and downtrodden neighbours with the condition that they can’t sell the land. Over a span of 20 years, a total of 4 million acres of land was shared across the country through this movement. Bhoodan literally means a donation of land. As implied by the name, in this movement, landlords voluntarily give up land to be distributed to landless labourers, who would then cultivate the land..

How it started

Bhoodan or Land Gift movement began with Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 1951 in Telangana. An inspirational icon, Vinoba Bhave’s work & dedication impacted people all across the country. He vowed to life-long celibacy as well as selfless service for others when he was as young as 10 years old. As it is said about him, “Perhaps none of Gandhi’s followers have created so many worshippers of Truth & Non-violence, so many genuine workers as has Vinoba Bhave.” It all began on April 18th 1951, which we now know as the historic day this movement began. Vinoba Bhave stepped into the Nalgonda district, which was the epicenter of communist activity in the region. He stayed at Pochampalli, a village with about 700 families who have him a hearty welcome. He visited the ‘untouchables’ or Harijan colony, where they asked for 80 acres of land for 40 families. As documented in history, while the discussion was going on, Ram Chandra Reddy who was the local landlord, got up and exclaimed, “I will give you 100 acres for these people.” This made Vinoba come up with an idea, that this may have the solution for possibly resolving land issues across the country. Soon, this movement led to become the Gramdan or village-gift movement and went through many levels of allied programmes and initiatives. In October 1951 rose a demand for fifty million acres of land for the landless in the whole of India by 1957, thus turning a small goal into a mass-scale movement. The success lasted till 1957, post which it slowly faded.

Outcomes

It gained a lot of success, especially in Northern India in UP and Bihar. Over 4.5million acres of land in India was given as a donation by 1957. The core belief of land being a gift of earth which belonged to everyone made its way into minds of everyone. With time, many problems seeped into the movement later such as slow progress, bribery, donating bogus land, greed to get more land or incorrect implementation in some regions. The movement soon failed due to increasing misuse of a voluntary movement for self-serving purposes by a few.

To conclude taking an overall view it cannot be gainsaid that the Bhoodan – Gramdan Movement, despite all its real & apparent limitations, it would ever be deemed as a glorious attempt for a peaceful & non-violent solution of the basic land problem of Indian society & through it for a non-violent reconstruction of the Sarvodaya socio-economic-politico order of universal relevance & significance

https://thelogicalindian.com/story-feed/get-inspired/vinoba-bhaves-bhoodan-movement/

All you need to know about an Economic Recession.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) defines a recession as “a significant decline in activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, visible in industrial production, employment, real income, and wholesale-retail trade.” A recession is also believed to be signalled when businesses cease to expand, the GDP diminishes for two consecutive quarters, and the unemployment rate rises. The nature and causes of recessions are simultaneously evident and uncertain. Recessions are, in essence, a cluster of business failures being realized simultaneously. Firms are forced to reallocate resources, scale back production, limit losses, and, usually, lay off employees. Those are the clear and visible causes of recessions. There are several different ways to explain what causes a general cluster of business failures, why they are suddenly realized simultaneously, and how they can be avoided.

What Causes a Recession?

Some recessions can be traced to a clearly-defined cause. For instance, the recession of 1973-1975 began as a result of the 1973 oil crisis. However, most recessions are caused by a complex combination of factors, including high interest rates, low consumer confidence, and stagnant wages or reduced real income in the labour market. Other examples of recession causes include bank runs and asset bubbles.

Psychological Factors of a Recession

Psychological factors are frequently cited by economists for their contribution to recessions also. The excessive exuberance of investors during the boom years brings the economy to its peak. The reciprocal doom-and-gloom pessimism that sets in after a market crash at a minimum amplifies the effects of real economic and financial factors as the market swings. Moreover, because all economic actions and decisions are always to some degree forward-looking, the subjective expectations of investors, businesses, and consumers are often involved in the inception and spread of an economic downturn.

Economic Factors of a Recession

Real changes in economic fundamentals, beyond financial accounts and investor psychology, also make critical contributions to a recession. Some economists explain recessions solely due to fundamental economic shocks, such as disruptions in supply chains, and the damage they can cause to a wide range of businesses. Shocks that impact vital industries such as energy or transportation can have such widespread effects that they cause many companies across the economy to retrench and cancel investment and hiring plans simultaneously, with ripple effects on workers, consumers, and the stock market. There are economic factors that can also be tied back into financial markets. Market interest rates represent the cost of financial liquidity for businesses and the time preferences of consumers, savers, and investors for present versus future consumption. In addition, a central bank’s artificial suppression of interest rates during the boom years before a recession distorts financial markets and business and consumption decisions.

What Are the Indicators of a Recession?

Economists determine whether an economy is in recession by looking at a variety of statistics and trends. Factors that indicate a recession include:

  • Rising in unemployment
  • Rises in bankruptcies, defaults, or foreclosures
  • Falling interest rates
  • Lower consumer spending and consumer confidence
  • Falling asset prices, including the cost of homes and dips in the stock market

All of these factors can lead to an overall reduction in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The European Union and the United Kingdom define a recession as two or more consecutive quarters of negative real GDP growth.

Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Economy

In February 2020, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) announced that according to their data, the U.S. was in a recession due to the economic shock of the widespread disruption of global and domestic supply chains and direct damage to businesses across all industries. These events were caused by the COVID-19 epidemic and the public health response. Some of the underlying causes of the two-month recession (and economic hardship) in 2020 were the overextension of supply chains, razor-thin inventories, and fragile business models. The pandemic-related recession, according to NBER, ended in April 2020, but the financial hardship caused by the pandemic is still impacting Americans.

For simpler understanding-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwaCg7Gwtzw: All you need to know about an Economic Recession.

The Imposter syndrome is more common than you think.

Great minds like Maya Angelo and Albert Einstein accomplished and excelled at their field which is rare to come across , yet the shared something with the common people , the feeling of fraudulence . Impostor syndrome refers to an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. While this definition is usually narrowly applied to intelligence and achievement, it has links to perfectionism and the social context. To put it simply, imposter syndrome is the experience of feeling like a phony—you feel as though at any moment you are going to be found out as a fraud—like you don’t belong where you are, and you only got there through dumb luck. It can affect anyone no matter their social status, work background, skill level, or degree of expertise.

When Clance and Imes first described the impostor phenomenon (sometimes called impostor syndrome), they thought it was unique to women. Since then, a variety of research on the topic has revealed that men, too, can have the unenviable experience of feeling like frauds, according to a recent research review .Many people who feel like impostors grew up in families that placed a big emphasis on achievement, says Imes. In particular, parents who send mixed messages — alternating between over-praise and criticism — can increase the risk of future fraudulent feelings. Societal pressures only add to the problem.”In our society there’s a huge pressure to achieve,” Imes says. “There can be a lot of confusion between approval and love and worthiness. Self-worth becomes contingent on achieving.”

Characteristics of Imposter Syndrome

Some of the common signs of imposter syndrome include:

  • An inability to realistically assess your competence and skills
  • Attributing your success to external factors
  • Berating your performance
  • Fear that you won’t live up to expectations
  • Overachieving
  • Sabotaging your own success
  • Self-doubt
  • Setting very challenging goals and feeling disappointed when you fall short

While for some people, impostor syndrome can fuel feelings of motivation to achieve, this usually comes at a cost in the form of constant anxiety. You might over-prepare or work much harder than necessary to “make sure” that nobody finds out you are a fraud.This sets up a vicious cycle, in which you think that the only reason you survived that class presentation was that you stayed up all night rehearsing. Or, you think the only reason you got through that party or family gathering was that you memorized details about all the guests so that you would always have ideas for small talk

There are many factors that may play a part in imposter syndrome including new roles, family upbringing, personality traits, and social anxiety.

Types of Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome can appear in a number of different ways. A few different types of imposter syndrome may include:The perfectionist: Perfectionists are never satisfied and always feel that their work could be better. Rather than focus on their strengths, they tend to fixate on any flaws or mistakes. This often leads to a great deal of self-pressure and high amounts of anxiety.

The superhero: Because these individuals feel inadequate, they feel compelled to push themselves to work as hard as possible.

The expert: These individuals are always trying to learn more and are never satisfied with their level of understanding. Even though they are often highly skilled, they underrate their own expertise.

The natural genius: These individuals set excessively lofty goals for themselves, and then feel crushed when they don’t succeed on their first try.

The soloist: These people tend to be very individualistic and prefer to work alone. Self-worth often stems from their productivity, so they often reject offers of assistance. They tend to see asking for help as a sign of weakness or incompetence.

Strategies to cope with imposter feelings include talking about what you are experiencing, questioning your negative thoughts, and avoiding comparing yourself to others.For many people with impostor feelings, individual therapy can be extremely helpful. A psychologist or other therapist can give you tools to help you break the cycle of impostor thinking, says Imes.

The impostor phenomenon is still an experience that tends to fly under the radar. Somerville learned the phenomenon existed only after he’d successfully dealt with the feelings on his own. Often the people affected by impostor feelings don’t realize they could be living some other way. “They don’t have any idea it’s possible not to feel so anxious and fearful all the time,” Imes says.

Luckily, it is possible.

You have talent. You are capable. You belong

Features of buisness watsapp

watsapp which well known to people of all generations including kids,now a days it is main source of communication or intraction between people’s.

Now a days buisness are going online so meta company also introduced a best application for buisiness it is watsapp buisines, although everyone who are reading this blog are familiar with this application but please spend some of your valuable time in reading this in which we know best updated buisines watsapp Together with WhatsApp chatbot, WhatsApp Business is a very powerful tool for commerce. Thanks to many new features that the platform keeps on releasing, WhatsApp is becoming a great retail place, especially during remote times. Even if you are not going to build a WhatsApp chatbot, there

Let’s look closer at WhatsApp Business app features that you might enjoy as much as we do:

1. Business Profile
2. Quick Replies
3. Automatic Greeting Message
4. Automatic Away Message
5. Contacts Labels
6. Message Statistics
7. Catalogs

1.Business Profile

Create a business profile with helpful information for your customers, like your address, business description, email address, and website. Business accounts help brands to gain a user’s loyalty. A business profile gives the company a familiar “face” and identity. To have a “Verified” badge next to your company name, WhatsApp has to confirm that this is a verified business account.

Steps to add details about your business: Go to WhatsApp Business app – Open Settings > Business settings > Profile.

3.Quick Reply

These are frequent messages to answer common questions. Quick replies let you save and reuse messages you frequently send so you can easily answer common questions in no time. Simply press the “/” on your keyboard to select a quick reply and send.

3.Automatic Greeting Message

WhatsApp for business enables you to create a greeting message that users will receive when they start a dialog with your company or after 14 days of inactivity. By sending an instant message, you welcome and introduce a company to a new potential customer with no delays and waiting time.

Steps to set up a greeting message: Settings > Business settings > Greeting message. From here, you can create a new greeting message or edit an existing one.

4.Setting Away Message

Away messages are like greeting messages. They send a custom message to people who are trying to connect with the company after your working hours. You can write a custom message or send your working hours. You can set up for them to activate at the chosen time.

Steps to set up an away message: Settings > Business settings > Away message > “Activate away message                                     

You can also edit your away message from here and schedule when you want to send this message. You can choose from Always send, Custom schedule, or after your work hours

5.Label Contacts

Businesses can organize their contacts and categorize them with labels for easy access. This way, you can easily search through your contacts and keep them grouped and organized.

Steps to add a label to a new contact: Click the menu button on the client’s chat page > choose a label and then save.

Steps to add a new label: Click the menu button on the client’s chat page > click “ New label” > click save

6.Access Message Statistics

WhatsApp for Business lets you access vital metrics like how many of your messages were sent, delivered, and read.

Steps to access statistics: Tap the Menu button > Settings > Business Settings > Statistics

7.Catalogs and Collections

The other feature that will be beneficial for your business is Catalogs. They look like this:

Catalogue for bakery

For each item in your catalog, you can add information, including price, description, and product code. This is so much easier for your customers than having to ask you about each item separately or go from WhatsApp to the website.

In October 2021, WhatsApp added Collections to make shopping even easier. They will act as folders to group items inside a business account. Users can navigate to the category they’re looking for right away without scrolling through the whole product list.Once added, you’re free to modify the Collection just like items to keep the information up to date.

Pro Tip: think of collections as categories on ecommerce websites. “Last chance” or “Sale” could be as converting in WhatsApp as they are on the website. Using these on WhatsApp Business account means providing similar well-paved shopping experience.

@channa2021

Thank you for reading this blog i believe this is helpful to you

Resume writing for freshers

What is a resume?

A resume is a formal document that serves to show a person’s career background and skills.

Pick the right resume template

The reverse chronological resume format includes employment history beginning with the most recent and then going backwards. Reverse chronological resumes show dates, as well as employers and educational institutions. It is the most common format in the resume.

Write down your contact information
  • First and last name
  • Mobile number
  • Email: Make sure it’s a professional email address (e.g. first.lastname@gmail.com) and that it’s not something like biker70@gmail.com!
  • Location
  • LinkedIn profile: Recruiters often want an easy way to see your online profile. Make sure it matches your resume (in terms of job titles, dates, roles) and it is overall impressive.

Education
  • Write the name of the college and its location
  • Add the degree you received
  • Include the dates you attended: if you’re still attending the college, you can write “Present” or “Current” instead of listing the end date or you could add your expected graduation date.
  • List notable achievements
  • Include your GPA is 3.0 above

Experience

As a recent graduate, the recruiters knows you don’t have work experience. As long as you’re applying for a junior or entry-level position, the experience isn’t something expected from you.

Instead, the recruiter will be looking for other experiences that enrich you profile like,

  • Internships
  • Extracurricular activities
  • Projects

Skills

The two types of skills you can mention on your resume are soft skills and hard skills.

Soft skills are attributes that help you adapt to work environments, work in a team and apply your hard skills effectively. They are related to your personality, social skills, communication, attitude, etc.

Hard skills refer to technical knowledge and specific tools. They are skills that one learns and applies directly to the job. Some examples of hard skills include microsoft word, adobe photoshop, etc.

Language

If you know another language, you should always include it on your resume as it indicates to a recruiter that you’ve invested in yourself. It can also qualify you for a multitude of positions that require someone bilingual or multi-lingual.

Mention the proficiency levels like,

  • Basic / Average / Good
  • Intermediate / Very good
  • Advanced / Excellent
  • Mother tongue / Native / Bilingual

Mention optional sections
  • Volunteering: If you have some volunteering experience, make sure to include it in your first job resume. Such a section shows commitment, dedication and a sense of purpose, something most recruiters will appreciate.
  • Hobbies: You can show your genuine interest in the industry or field by listing some relevant hobbies / interests.
  • Awards and certifications: Whether it’s an award from an essay competition in college or a certificate from an online course, anything that flatters your profile should be added.

Should not include your photo on YOUR resume

Adding a picture to your resume could hurt your chances of getting the job.

  • Recruiters are careful to avoid discrimination and unconscious bias
  • Some hiring managers may consider resume photos unprofessional
  • A resume picture could distract from your skills and experience
  • Images are not ATS friendly

What is an ATS compatible resume?

An Application Tracking System is a software application that enables the electronic handling of recruitment and hiring needs. Click the below links to check your resume score!

https://resumeworded.com/

How long resume length?

A concise, targeted resume shows recruiters your ability to synthesize, prioritize and convey your most important achievements. As an entry-level candidate, your resume should be no more than one page long.

Top student resumes are between 450 and 650 words long.

Total bullet points

For context, top resumes at your career level use between 12-20 bullet points to describe their accomplishments in core sections (e.g. your work experience).

Other sections like your summary, skills or education are not counted in this check.

Unnecessary sections

While you can include a short summary on your resume, do not include an objective in your resume. It is clear to hiring managers that you are looking for a job – there’s no need to restate it at the top of your resume.

You shouldn’t include a references section in your resume. Employers will ask you directly if they ever need to contact your reference.

Repetition

Avoid repeating action verbs and phrases on your resume.

Unique action verbs and language show hiring managers that you have held different roles and skill sets. They also help your accomplishments stand out and make them more impactful.

Even when describing similar skills, try to always unique language in terms of verbs and phrases. This makes your resume less monotonous and helps you stand out.

Important tips

Use a single-column layout: A single-column resume layout allows recruiters to read it easily.

Pick a common font, size: We recommend to use readable font like times new roman or arial and set the font size to 13-14 for headings and size 12 for contents.

Resume templates

If you’re a high school student or a college student, don’t have much work experience yet or looking for entry-level jobs, these student resume templates are perfect for you. They prioritize your education by listing it first, and show you how to list your university projects and extracurricular activities on your resume. These resume templates are downloadable in Word (.doc) format or editable directly via Google Docs.

https://resumeworded.com/resume-templates

Reference

Thinking out of the box

This is an image of Thinking out of the box.
Photo by Ivan Bertolazzi on Pexels.com

No one remains a stranger to this phrase, But there is nothing more vague and inarticulate than this phrase. From the moment we are born into this world, we are being directed to behave and do things in a certain way. When we reach adolescence, we no longer have to be told to behave in a certain way as we begin to realise what the society expects from us and behave in accordance to their expectations. Finally, when we enter adulthood, we become champions in complying to societal expectations. 

After going through all these stages in life, while in a group discussion or a meeting, a team leader or a manager asks us to think outside the box. That’s unfair. Nobody taught us to think for ourselves, even if we did, it fell in the societal pattern of studying, marrying, rearing kids, and retiring. 

What is thinking out of the box?

In a professional terminology, thinking out of the box basically means coming up with a new idea (because the contemporary ones didn’t work) that would reap huge benefits for the company. In terms of life, thinking out of the box means being indifferent to societal norms and expectations as you do things your own way. Although my monologue above is defensive towards societal expectations, it is often impractical as not all of us can afford to waste our time and resources on carving a new path, when we can comply with our society and become financially stable and independent.   

How to think outside the box?

Nevertheless, we can still incorporate the habit of thinking outside the box to make a difference in our lives when needed. Thinking out of the box does not require racking your brains till you come up with a feasible idea. 

Take up a new course

Enrolling yourself for a new course will open doors to learning about new and unfamiliar things. Learning new things will influence your thinking in different areas and aspects of your life. Thereafter when you are confronted with a problem, you will be equipped with knowledge from the specialisation in a certain field that can aid you with thinking out of the box. 

Daydream

Although it sounds counter intuitive, daydreaming is an important factor that influences your thinking out of the box. While daydreaming, your brain is led astray from the logical aspects and helps you make connections and co-relations that you couldn’t come up with while racking your brain. So, turn your attention away from the problem you are facing and let your imagination go wild!

Read a book from a new genre

Thinking out of the box would require you to do things differently or try new things. So how about reading from a different genre than the one you usually prefer? Try nonfiction or didactical if you have always preferred fiction. Fiction might have accustomed you to think in a certain manner. To break that monotony in thinking, reading from a different genre might just do the trick. 

Pen a poem

The motive behind doing this relatively weird stuff during a serious confrontation is to break free from rational and logical thinking and invite new possibilities and ideas into the situation. Try writing a poem on the basis of your problems. As your mind begins wandering to support your efforts in poetry, you expand your horizon of thinking, leading to thinking outside the box. 

So there you go, a vague article on an equally vague topic. Thinking out of the box. Do drop in your thoughts in the comment box. Now that’s a rhyme scheme created which can be considered as the first two lines of a poem. I was wondering how to end this article so I made a rhyme scheme, a.k.a a poem. 

International Relations

Introduction

The term ‘international relations’ was first used by Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century, although its Latin equivalent, ‘intergentes‘, was used a century earlier by Rijehare Zouche. Both of them had used the term in the context of what later came to be known as international law. Today, nation states have become highly interdependent, and relations between them, political or economic, have developed into an essential area of knowledge.

The term ‘international relations’ (IR) may be used both for a ‘condition’ and a ‘discipline’ Quincy Wright, for example, makes such a distinction. The official relations between sovereign countries are described as international relations, though according to Wright, ‘… the word “interstate” would have been more accurate because in political science, the state came to be the term applied to such societies’. Viewed thus, international relations, as a condition, refers to the facts of international life, that is to say, the actual conduct of relations among nations through diplomacy based on foreign policy. It also includes actual areas of cooperation, conflict and war. According to Quincy Wright, IR should tell the ‘truth about the subject’, i.e., how such relations are conducted and, as a discipline, IR should treat them in a systematic and scientific manner.

Meaning Of International Relations

International relations as a subject is concerned with the relationships among the governments of various sovereign states. Many people may think that relations among nations are regulated and conducted by presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, officials of the foreign offices and diplomats. This is partially true. The scope of international relations is not merely political. Today, economic activities such as international trade, role of multinational corporations, terrorist activities and impact of environment are all embraced in the fold of relations among nations.

Most scholars agree that the term ‘international politics’ is used to describe official political relations between governments acting on behalf of their states. The term ‘international relations’ is broader. According to Stanley Hoffman, ‘The discipline of international relations is concerned with the factors and activities which affect the external policies and power of the basic units into which the world is divided.’

International Relations As A Field Of Study

As a field of study, international relations analyses a wide range of political activities. These include war, peace, diplomacy, trade relations, treaties, alliances, cultural, exchanges, participation in international organizations, etc. Each of these activities makes up distinct issue areas on which scholars and foreign policy makers focus attention.

The scope of international relations is often defined by subtitles, like ‘questions of war and peace’ as a subtitle of international security. Joshua S Goldstein wrote, ‘the movements of armies and of diplomats, the crafting of treaties and alliances, the development and deployment of military capabilities – these are the subjects that dominated the study of IR in the past… and they continue to hold central position in the field.’

Besides these, religious groups and movements working in two or more countries also act as non-state actors in the international relations. These may include large followers as the Catholic Church has, or a spread out population as sought to be represented by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

References

International Relations By V N KHANNA and LESLIE K KUMAR

Globalization and Public Administration

There is no denying that globalization has brought about a paradigm shift in the nature and scope of public administration. It has virtually unshackled the discipline from the classical bondage of structure and paved the way for a more flexible, less hierarchical, and accommodative kind of discipline and encouraged a few sceptics and self-styled analysts to proclaim an imminent death of public administration.

However, more than two decades down the line, ever since globalization was first thrust upon nation-states, public administration has not shown absolutely any signs of receding.

On the contrary, rendering those doomsday predictions wrong, public administration has reincarnated in a readjusted form to cope with the new set of challenges.

Traditional notion of public administration

In fact, globalization had increased the urgency of having a more proactive public administration. However, the traditional notion of public administration with a sheltered bureaucracy, rigid hierarchy, and organizational principle no longer exists today. Both structurally and functionally, public administration has experienced a metamorphosis of sorts. Structurally speaking, thanks to the sweeping social – economic – political transformation under globalization, the rigid, hierarchical, and bureaucratic form of governance has given way to a more flexible, dehierarchal, and post – bureaucratic form of governance based on networks and partnership. Similarly, at the functional level, public administration has witnessed a profound transformation in the form of delivery of public goods and services. Until recently, the delivery of goods and services was considered as one of the important functions of public administration. But the onset of globalisation and the eventual rolling back the welfare state ushered in a new collaborative form of public administration, where state administration has had to readjust itself to deliver public goods and services in collaboration with the innumerable other players and NGOs functioning at the societal level.

Hence, public administration in the era of globalisation has been donning a new robe of the ‘enabler’ or ‘facilitator’ by privatizing the substantial part of welfare delivery, namely, contracting out, encouraging private provision, introducing quasimarkets, mobilizing voluntary sectors, and the like.

Reference :
Public Administration in a Globalizing world by Chakrabarty and Kandpal

Public Administration: Meaning And Scope

Administration is a part and parcel of our daily lives. The food we eat, the clothes we wear, the goods we buy, the streets and highways on which we travel, the automobiles in which we ride, and the many services we enjoy – education, medical care, housing, facility, entertainment, protection of our lives and property, and many others – are made possible by administration.

Public administration, at least in its embryonic form, was born primarily and principally to regulate group action and behaviour. When a group of people started living together and emerged as a community some common problems made themselves felt which needed collective resolution. One such concern has been the maintenance of peace and prevention of crime. It was in this category of needs that for the first time public administration was born.

Regulation of group action was as inescapable a necessity as was the need for group living. It was only at a much later stage in the course of its evolution that it found itself engaged in carrying out positive functions intended to promote happiness and welfare of the people.

Origin Of Public Administration

Public administration in the beginning was necessarily measly in size, its functions being absolutely minimal. We do not have figures of the government employees in India when the crown took over the East India Company in 1858. What we know is that the Government of India employed nearly 11 lakh just prior to the year 1947, when the country had not become partitioned and divided. The United States of America could perhaps be an apt example.

Public Administration is as old as our ancient civilization. But as an independent discipline Public Administration cannot claim for a long history.

Public Administration as an academic discipline is barely 131 years old but as an aspect of governmental activity, public administration has been co-existing with every political system as the action part of government for the fulfillment of the objectives set by the political decision makers.

Meaning And Definitions

• L.D. White defines Public Administration in the broader terms. He said, “Public Administration consists of all those operations having for their purpose the fulfillment or enforcement of public policy.”

• Luther Gulick, on the other hand, views Public Administration as embracing the executive branch of government only. “Public Administration”, he writes, “is that part of the science of administration which has to do with government and, thus, concerns itself primarily with the executive branch, where the work of government is done though there are obviously administrative problems also in connection with the legislative and judicial branches.”

• John M. Pfiffner defines it as “Public Administration consists of doing the work of government, whether it be running X-Ray machine in a health laboratory or coming money in the mint.”

• Woodrow Wilson, the father of Public Administration defines, “Public Administration is the detailed and systematic application of law. Every particular application of law is an act of administration.”

Significance of Public Administration

Public Administration plays an important role in the modern society. First of all, it is an instrument for providing services. It protects the life and property of people by maintaining law and order. It provides a number of services for people such as public health, education, housing, and social security, among others.

The various services provided by public administration affect the life of every citizen from birth to death.

Public Administration is also responsible for implementing laws and policies of the government. It is an instrument of socioeconomic change and national integration. It is the public administration that translates the decisions of the government into reality.

To sum up, public administration plays an important role in modern society.

It is an instrument to formulate and implement public policies. It maintains law and order. It is an instrument of social change and economic development.

In the era of liberalization and privatization, there is a change in the role and scope of public administration. Now it has to promote and encourage as well as regulate the private sector in order to protect public interest.

In Public Administration, good sense would seem to require that public expectation be kept at the lowest possible level in order to minimize eventual disappointment.

John Kenneth Galbraith

Reference
1. Public Administration In A Globalizing World By Chakrabarty and Kandpal
2. Public Administration By Avasthi and Maheshwari