Elections a very important now-a-days. In democratic countries, the representatives of the people govern the country and make laws for it. Election of the representatives both for the parliament and for the provincial legislatures take place in our country. Every person has a right to vote and is free to express his choice.

Last year in my town, an election was held for electing the chairman of the town area. Three candidates contested. One candidate was supported by the Congress as he was a rich man. Two old workers of the Congress did not like it and contested. One was the principal of a higher secondary school. The other was a poor social worker. Everybody living in the town was very keen about the election. The whole town was divided into three groups. The principal was supported by the teachers, students and educated public. The rich man was supported by the Congress party, government officials and the shopkeepers. The poor social worker was supported by the common people.

 The contest was very keen, as all these candidates had some weaknesses. The Congress candidate was not much educated. The principal could not serve the town as he lived outside the area. The social worker was very poor. So nobody was sure of his success and everybody had an equal chance to win or lose.

 On the polling day, the whole town was full of hustle and bustle. I myself went into the camps of all the candidates. Every one of them was hopeless and thought that he was defeated. The polling was very keen. It was generally seen that the father was supporting one candidate, the mother was voting for the second and the children were working for the third.  Polling went on throughout the day. At about 5 p.m. the voting was stopped, the ballot boxes were sealed and send to Aligarh for counting.

 Next day, the result was declared. The poor social worker supported by the public was declared successful.  When the news came to the town, the successful candidate was greeted and garlanded.

 Now a days newspapers are very important. Without them, our knowledge can never be complete. We get political,economic and other important news by reading them. Current affairs of the world become known to us, when we look into them.

They are helpful in the trade and commerce of a country as news about the manufactured articles, quotations of prices, dealings at stock exchange and rate of commodities are published in them. In this way, we are in a position to know where the various articles of our daily use are produced and from where we can purchase them at a cheaper price.

Advertisements of situations vacant, medicines and sale as well as purchase of car, house, bungalow etc help us to meet our requirements. Notices of sale of plots and land, business premises, lawsuits and other necessary information are published in newspapers for wider circulation.

Examination results and vacancies in government offices as well as transfers and appointments of gazetted officers appear in them. Besides these, criticism of the government policies, speeches delivered in the legislatures and various suggestions about the development of the country can be known through them.

Due to scientific inventions, the countries of the world have been knit together. They have been brought into close contact. No country can afford to live in isolation. We cannot live without having a full knowledge of the affairs of the world. Newspapers help us much in this respect. They inform us of the manifold progress that other countries are making. They are a very important means in spreading knowledge. They tell us  what is happening in other parts of the world.

The chief utility of newspapers is first to educate the public and secondly to afford people a common platform to ventilate their social and political grievances. During these days of democracy, they are very important. They are very effective in creating, controlling and moulding the public opinion. They voice the public grievances and check tyranny.

 Poverty is an evil. It is a curse for an ordinary man. It compels him to do any mean thing. It makes his life dull and charmless. It lead him to desperation.

Character is very important in life. In its formation,habits and environment play an important role. It is the sum total of man’s behaviour. It is the greatest force on our ideas. Professor Verma has called it the “greatest motivating force”. According to Plutarch, “character is merely a habit long continued”. Charles Reade rightly remarked, “sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character, and you reap a destiny” such is the importance of character in human life.

It is generally seen that men of strong character have often sprung from the masses. Poverty is not an obstacle in the path of progress and prosperity for those who have strong will power. It is a blessing in disguise for them.  As gold is tested by fire, so poverty tests the latent qualities and capacity of a man.  Abraham Lincoln, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Lal Bahadur Shastri and others had to face many difficulties in life. But poverty could not crush their spirits. In the long run, they became famous and influenced the masses. So we see that Shakespeare was right when he said,” sweet are the uses of adversity”.

But if a man is weak and his will power is not strong, poverty has an adverse effect on him. He surrenders before the circumstances and leads an ignoble life. His days are passed in sorrow and disappointment. He becomes tasteless.  His life becomes a burden to him. He is never happy. He quarrels with everybody. He is unable to make both ends meet. He is insulted and hooted down everywhere. For his failure, he blames fate. He becomes a prey to superstitions. His family becomes a curse to him. Sometimes he runs away from his house or puts an end to his life or the lives of those who are dear to him. This happens when a man feels that he is unable to meet the challenges of fate. He becomes a coward.

Thus we have seen that poverty is a curse for those who are weak and lazy. But it is a blessing for those who are sincere in their work and who have a will to do. As Jagdish Chandra Bose said,” it is not for men to complain of circumstances but bravely to accept, to confront and dominate them.”

 Science had made rapid progress in the recent years. Much of our comfort in life is due to the work of famous scientists. We turn a switch on and the whole of the building is illuminated with a dazzling light. This is just like Aladdin’s magic lamp.

It has given us discoveries and inventions that have revolutionised the ways of our life and our outlook in general. Science with its invention of aeroplanes and ships has made us the lord of air and water. We fly in the air and sail on the bosom of the seas and oceans.

Science has harnessed the forces of nature. The river valleys are dammed up to arrest water and then to make it available for irrigation through the network of canals. The deserts are changed into fertile arable fields. The waterfalls made artificially are generating electricity for varied uses 

Train, ships, vehicles and aeroplanes are the gift of science. They have made transport and journey easy, quick and comfortable. Long journeys that used to take days and weeks can now be covered in very short periods of time. 

Science has given us weapons for safety; television, radio and cinema for entertainment. It has controlled the most fatal diseases. So the wonders of science are uncountable. There is no sphere in life in which science has not brought a change. Today we have many things of which our ancestors had never dreamt.

Electronic stoves cook our meal and X-rays tell us where a bullet is embedded in our body. Electric shocks are given to men of deranged brains. Radium is no less important than electricity. A tiny particle of it can drive our trains. It also provides a cure against deadly diseases, such as cancer. Exposure to its rays burns up the  disease. Then atomic  energy is another discovery of science. If put to constructive use it is a boon. 

Science has given eyes to the blind and ears to the deaf. Science has made serious operations a reality. Transplantation of heart has become a possibility. Thus we see that science is a double edged weapon. It is useful if we use it for our comfort and convenience.

 Science has dazzled humanity. It has turned impossibilities into possibilities. Time and distance have killed. Agriculture has been considerably mechanised. There is a remarkable development of industry. The radio brings to us the songs of the greatest musicians of the world. The television enables us not only to hear distant voices, but also to se distant functions, matches and other sights. Many diseases have been conquered. Germ die, victims live.

But there is another sight of the picture. Science has invented atom bombs and hydrogen bombs which destroy millions in a split second. They let loose death and destruction on the head of humanity. Science has, on the one hand, given us numerous comforts and amenities but, on the other hand, it is also driving us into the valley of death. It is signing the death warrant of humanity. It is murdering the humanity.

Man has become the slave of machine. One factory throws thousands of laborers out of work. Unemployment is ever on the increase. Gandhiji favoured not mass production of mills and factories but production by the masses.

Another curse of science is that it has made man godless. Science has fed our body but starved our soul. How does man benefit himself if he gains the whole world but loses his soul in the game? It has destroyed man’s character and personality. Man has lost neighborliness, sympathy, love and fellow feeling. He has become a brute. He has become mad. Science has created more problems than it has solved. It has brought comforts, but it also brought death with it. Science is the murderer. A murderer cannot be exorcised on the ground that before killing his victim, he feasted him or gave him comforts. Science has placed untold power in the hands of man and man misuses it. The memory of death and large scale destruction that followed in the two beautiful cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki of Japan is still fresh in our memory. The same story may be repeated in a much more virulent form. 

To sum up, we must use science for the good of humanity and not for its destruction.

 Exercise is good for health. It keeps us fit and healthy. It keeps the diseases away. It gives us energy and strength. We should take exercise daily.

There are many types of exercises. Swimming, walking, jogging, cycling, swinging, running are different forms of exercise. Different people have different choice of exercises. Some people like light exercise. Many choose running and swimming as exercise. Some people join gym for regular and proper exercise.

Modern life is very fast. People do not find time for exercise. This is not good for health. We should always do exercise. We should walk on foot. We use scooter, bicycle or motor cycle even for a short distance. This makes our body lazy.

The best way to keep our body healthy is through exercise. Walking is the easiest exercise. Morning walk is the most useful. Morning is the best time to take exercise.

 Radio is a means of mass communication. It is one of the cheapest media of entertainment and information. It is still a popular means of mass media. Both old and young, educated and uneducated, rich and poor listen to the radio with great interest. It is equally popular in villages and metro cities.

Radio is a powerful means of information and entertainment. We have speeches, songs, news and debate and discussion. Even a poor man can have a radio set. It is a very cheap and so everybody can afford it. It helps to create public awareness. A village farmer gets information about latest technology of farming through radio. Radio helps him to learn about the weather condition. An illiterate woman can learn through radio about her household activities. Radio is important for students. They learn new things with the help of radio. Thus, radio holds great importance for a country like India.

 Trees are valuable natural resources. They are the gift of nature. They provide shelter. They give us fruit. They are the source of herbs and medicine. Trees give us wood also.

Trees are very helpful to man. They control pollution. They prevent soil from  erosion. They maintain the fertility of soil. They bring rains. Rains are very important for India. India is an agricultural country. They give us food, fruits, etc. Papers are made from wood pulp. We write on the papers. Rubber, lac, silk, etc.  are produced from the trees. These things have great commercial value.

Trees give us fresh air. Fresh air is good for health. They absorb the carbon dioxide and give out oxygen. We breathe in oxygen. Trees provide shelter to birds and animals. Trees help to check floods. Floods are great natural calamity. So, we should protect trees. We should plant more and more trees.

Some trees like mahogany, sal and rosewood give us hard timber to make furniture and doors, etc. Some trees like poplar give us soft wood to make corks. Leaves, branches and fruits of many trees have medicinal value.

 Telephone is a gift of science. It is the fastest means of communication. We can talk to a person sitting thousands of kilometres away. The communication is held with the help of wires. There is a wide network of wires. Telephone is becoming very popular. Today, even a common man can afford this.

Telephone was invented by great scientist Alexander Graham Bell in 1875. This invention proved to be a great boon to mankind. It became popular all over the world. Communication became fast.  Before it’s invention, communication was very difficult. It took many days for the message to reach its destination. But telephone has reduced the time of giving and receiving messages. Within a minute, a man can have a contact with a person sitting too far.

Telephone has greatly helped people. It has helped in trade and business. It has contributed to the growth of education. Now the telephone facilities are available in the remote villages.