Tag: Editorial

EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT DAY IN TAMILNADU!!!

Though many National leaders rendered their selfless service to our country, one among them to be noted was the Kingmaker Kamaraj. K. Kamaraj, familiarly known as Kamarajar was an independent activist and the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He was popularly known as the Kingmaker of India during the 1960s. He supported Lal Bahadur Shastri, to be the President of India after the death of Nehru. After the sudden dismissal of Lal Bahadur Shastri, he supported Indira Gandhi to be the President of India. He was a man of simplicity and known for his best leadership in the development of Tamil Nadu. The Midday Meals Scheme introduced by him was very popular in India. He was popularly known as Karmaveerar, KalviKan Thirantha Mudhalvar, etc.

K KAMARAJ – Former Chief Minister Of TamilNadu

Kamaraj was born on 15th July 1903 at Virudhunagar in TamilNadu to Kumarasamy and Sivagami Ammal. His birth name was Kamatchi and later changed to Kamarajar. He studied primary education in a traditional school and he was to drop out because of his father’s death to support his family. He had a younger sister named Nagammal. He worked in his uncle’s shop and begun to attend political meetings and common meetings related to Home Rule Movement. He developed his interest in politics by reading daily newspapers. In 1920, at the age of 18, he became a very enthusiastic person and joined Indian National Congress. He organized public meetings for leaders in Virudhnagar and was very eager to meet Mahatma Gandhi. As he wished, he met Gandhiji for the first time in the meeting. Kamaraj went to jail for two years for taking part in ‘Salt Sathyagraha’ led by C. Rajagopalachari at Vedaranyam.

At the age of 34, he contested in the Legislative election for the first time and marked his first victory at Sattur in 1937. He stuck by the principle ‘ One should not accept any post/leadership to which one could not do full justice ‘. In 1954, Kamaraj became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Various schemes and deeds introduced by him as a Chief Minister are as follows:

  • He removed Hereditary Education Policy introduced by Rajaji.
  • He reopened more than 12,000 schools during his leadership as a Chief Minister.
  • Education and trade hiked during his period.
  • Kamarajar aimed to eradicate illiteracy and introduced compulsory education. The literacy rate was 7% during the British period but during his period, the literacy rate increased to 37%.
  • He also introduced the Midday Meals Scheme to provide atleast one healthy meal per day to the poor and needy children. He introduced the uniform scheme to the school children to eradicate the germination of caste-based flaws in young minds.
  • He built several irrigation canals during his period. He built nine dams which are appreciated till now and they are as strong as him.
  • Huge investment industries such as Neyveli Lignite Corporation, BHEL, etc. were started during his period.

He has been the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for three consecutive terms, by the victory in 1957 and 1962. His ruling period was known as the Golden Age of Tamil Nadu. Kamaraj was a great follower of Mahatma Gandhi, yet to this fact, he died on 2nd October 1975 during his sleep in his native Virudhunagar. He was awarded ‘Bharat Ratna’ posthumously in 1976. The Chennai Airport is named after him as Kamaraj Terminal.

His birthday is celebrated as ‘ Education Development Day ‘ in Tamil Nadu every year. Though he died, his good deeds remain in the hearts of the people.

Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of Education.

– K Kamaraj.

Doping – How is it Affecting Sports?

“Science has learned recently that contempt and indignation are addictive mental states. I mean physically and chemically addictive. Literally! People who are self-righteous a lot are apparently doping themselves rhythmically with auto-secreted surges of dopamine, endorphins and enkephalins. Didn’t you ever ask yourself why indignation feels so good?”

~ David Brin

Introduction

Doping in sport is a widespread problem not just among elite athletes, but even more so in recreational sports. In scientific literature, major emphasis is placed on doping detection, whereas detrimental effects of doping agents on athletes’ health are seldom discussed. Human growth hormone also increases muscle mass, although the majority of that is an increase in extracellular fluid and not the functional muscle mass.

The term doping is widely used by organizations that regulate sporting competitions. The use of drugs to enhance performance is considered unethical, and therefore prohibited, by most international sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee.

History

According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the term “doping” probably comes from the Dutch word “dop,” an alcoholic beverage made of grape skins that was used by Zulu warriors to make them stronger in battle.

Ancient Greek athletes used special diets and stimulating potions to improve performance, and 19th century endurance athletes indulged in strychnine, caffeine, cocaine and alcohol.

The American specialist in doping, Max M. Novich, wrote: “Trainers of the old school who supplied treatments which had cocaine as their base declared with assurance that a rider tired by a six-day race would get his second breath after absorbing these mixtures.”[8] John Hoberman, a professor at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, said six-day races were “de facto experiments investigating the physiology of stress as well as the substances that might alleviate exhaustion.”

Effects of doping in sports

It builds muscle but causes abnormal growth, heart disease, diabetes, thyroid problems, hypertension, blood cancers and arthritis. Other adverse effects include joint pain, muscle weakness, visual disturbances, enlarged heart and diabetes.

Other side effects include:

  • Heart palpitations.Heart rhythm abnormalities.
  • Weight loss.
  • Tremors.
  • Mild high blood pressure (hypertension)
  • Hallucinations.
  • Stroke.
  • Heart attack and other circulatory problems.
  • Constipation.Skin rash or dermatitis.
  • Diarrhea.
  • Dizziness.
  • Drowsiness.
  • Dry mouth.
  • Headache.
  • Insomnia.

UFC ( Ultimate Fighting Championship ).

In December 2013, the UFC began a campaign to drug test their entire roster randomly all year-round. Random testing, however, became problematic for the promotion as it began to affect revenue, as fighters who had tested positive would need to be taken out of fights, which adversely affected fight cards, and therefore pay-per-view sales.

According to Steven Marrocco of MMAjunkie.com, about 31% of UFC fighters subjected to random testing since the program first started have failed due to using performance-enhancing drugs. That is approximately five failed tests for every sixteen random screenings.

From July 2015, the UFC has advocated to all commissions that every fighter be tested in competition for every card. Lorenzo Feritta, who at the time was one of the presidents of the UFC, said, “We want 100 percent of the fighters tested the night they compete”. Also, in addition to the drug testing protocols in place for competitors on fight night, the UFC conducts additional testing for main event fighters or any fighters that are due to compete in championship matches.

Link

Assam-Mizoram border dispute

On July 11, 2021, two grenade explosions occurred in Cachar district in Assam near Mizoram border, targeting construction workers. This attack was followed by counter attack from the people of Assam. The main reason appears to be the infamous, unrelenting Assam-Mizoram border dispute.

Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northeast_india_map.png#filelinks

The Assam-Mizoram border dispute, one of the many state border disputes in India, dates back to the colonial era when several state boundaries were demarcated to suit the British administrative needs. The states of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh were earlier collectively known as the ‘Greater Assam’. The regional and cultural diversity in this large state was the cause of internal conflict in the state. Also keeping in mind the 1962 border dispute with China, the division of state was essential for national integrity as well as internal peace.

So, the state of Assam was disintegrated to form Arunachal Pradesh(union territory in 1972 and upgraded to a state in 1987) , Nagaland(1987), Meghalaya(1972) , Mizoram(UT-1972 and state-1987) . However, Britishers passed two notifications- 1. The notification of 1875- Defines the boundary between Lushai Hills(present day Mizoram) and Cachar Hills 2. The notification of 1933- Defines the boundary between Lushai hills and Manipur, And thus, when the state of Mizoram was formed, the conflict between Mizoram and Assam started. The state of Assam and Mizoram share a 164 km (approx.) border between Cachar, Hailkandi and Karimganj districts of Assam and Kolasib, Mamit and Aizwal district of Mizoram. Both sides follow a natural border(those of mountains). While disintegrating Assam, the government did not pay due attention to the Tribal realities and ethnic composition. Hence, there continues to be a considerable population of Mizos and Nagas in the Cachar Hills, making it possible for both Mizoram and Nagaland to claim these territories in Assam. Also, the people of Mizoram follow the 1875 notification(they believe the Mizo community was not consulted before issuing the notification) and those of Assam follow the 1933 notification.

This is a long unresolved dispute and its high time that it be solved. Amidst this raging pandemic and its socio-economic implications and growing international tensions, the central government has already got a lot in its plate and dumping these inter-state disputes upon the central government in such times of crisis in no wise move on anybody’s part. And so, the states must themselves come together for a peace negotiation as early as possible or otherwise accept a third party intervention. Or, the central government should revive the inter-state council or set up a zonal council to effectively address these disputes. With the NDA government in power in all these states as well the center, a political solution seems a relatively lucrative option. With growing concerns of Chinese developments amongst several Asian countries, addressing disputes of states that are bound to face Chinese interference via its BRI near India’s North-east becomes all the more important.

CALL FOR A CHANGE

THE WORSE CONDITIONS FACED BY CHILDREN WHO LOST THEIR PARENTS DUE TO COVID-19

We all are aware about the worse situations in INDIA due to new phase of pandemic. We all listened and watched about several heart touching incidents that happened around us, many families has destroyed because of covid-19 but we never think about the survival of children who lost their parents in these situations. Let me show you a video on statistics of children who became orphans because of pandemic.

Child hood phase is the critical phase in everyone’s life and it is essential to take care about the child in this phase because in this phase only the personality and emotional resilience will be developed but because of this pandemic situations the children who lossed their families are facing a lot of troubles in the hands of child traffickers and illegal adopters. Let me share you a story about a child who lost his parents in this pandemic and turned as a beggar on the streets.

” Once I encountered a tot on our street, he asked me 5/- to obscure his hunger. I offered him a meal instead of giving him money and later I asked him about the reason why he has turned into a beggar then he replied me that, he lost his both parents a few months ago because of covid virus and no one of his relatives doesn’t like to take care of him and with in few days one of their relatives left him in the bus stop and went away. ” After hearing to his words, I felt bad for the situations he faced with out any takecarer and immediately I decided to make a call for childline number to give him better future. I explained him about what I did for him but initially he felt scared about my proposal but after sometime he realised and felt happy. With in few days volunteer’s of some NGO who received information from childline help center rescued him successfully.

We all crave to sleep like a child. Do you savvy, there are more than twelve million children who can’t sleep due to starving stomach in India and that number has increased much more due to these pandemic situations. ”If God is the one who writes the fate, then be the demigod for these tots.” Childline 1098 is a service of Ministry of women and child development. ” CHILDLINE INDIA” a foundation which is non-governmental organization in India. It operates with a telephone helpline called childline, for children in distress. It is India’s 24-hour toll-free phone outreach service for children.

A single phone call can make a large change in the entire life of a child, It cost’s nothing guys for making a phone call guys but it can give a new life to the child who is in tough situations. We all know the role play of youth in building a nation and also we know that, today’s children are tomorrow’s leader’s. Let us all unite and play as a role of gardener’s of a garden named as India and fill it with blossoms of children’s smile.

I think I have sown a seed of spreading awareness about rescuing the homeless children using the helpline number of childline India. Remember guys nature of helping others will give us a lot self satisfaction. Guy’s please Join your hands to continue this chain, So that we can at least save few children from our side. Finally, Guys do remember the childline India helpline number (1098) to save the distressed children in our surroundings.

” LET US CHANGE!
BE FOR CHANGE! & CALL FOR THE CHANGE! ”

Right to repair

Right to repair is the movement started by the activist and oragination all around the world. Joe -Biden ,US president ,signed an executive order on Federal Trade Commission to institute rules to curb anticompetitive restrictions that limit consumers’ ability to repair gadgets on their own terms. The Uk too had introduced this .

The agenda of the movement is to get compinies to make spare parts of the gadget and the consumers can repair them rather than replacing the product.

Large tech compinies like Apple, Microsoft,Amazon and Tesla are opposing the movement stating that its opening up their intellectual property to third party to repair them.

GENDER INEQUALITY

Gender is one of the major sources of inequality in the world today. Girls are usually deprived of their rights and are likely to suffer from abuse and violence.

Discrimination based on gender gives rise to food insecurity, health risks, and exclusion from several opportunities. The United Nations (UN) estimates that 70% of the 1.3 billion people in poverty globally are women. According to World Food Program USA, more than 60% of the world’s hungry are women and girls, in nearly 2/3rd of countries, women are more likely than men to report food insecurity and one in three women with anemia are left untreated.

In a lot of countries women are not allowed to pursue higher education and they are married off early. In addition, domestic violence is a major problem in many countries including India. The women get beaten up by their husbands as men think they are superior to their wife and many women stay in abusive relationships and don’t speak up because of the fear of society.

Sometimes women face discrimation even at work, women who do actually work get paid less than their male counterparts and are disproportionately impacted by poverty. It is just unfair to pay someone less for the same work because of their sex. Therefore, we see how women empowerment is the need of the hour. We need women empowerment so that these women can speak up for their rights and never be a victim of injustice.

Women have suffered a lot at the hands of men. In earlier times, women were treated as non-existent and as if all the rights belonged to men. With the passage of time, women realised their power and began the revolution for women empowerment. Women’s empowerment can be defined as empowering the women to make their own choices, to instil a sense of self-worth and to influence social change for themselves and others.

Promoting women’s empowerment has emerged as a major global movement and has been continuously gaining momentum. While the western countries are still making progress, third world countries still fall behind in empowering the women.  While there has been progress with the passage of time, even then women continue to face discrimination and exploitation in every part of the world.

Women can be empowered through government schemes as well as on an individual basis. The people of the society and government must both come together to make it happen.  At the societal level, we should start respecting women and encourage them to take up jobs, higher education,etc. Women should get equal opportunity in every field, irrespective of their gender. Various programs or schemes must be made available for women so they can be learn skills to fend for themselves in case they face financial crisis.

Today, more than ever, women enjoy their rights. However, there are many women who are still fighting to come out of the cluthes of patriarchy and there is a long way to go.

UP Draft Population Control Bill 2021

With the aim to provide stabilization in population growth and welfare to public, the Uttar Pradesh government has come up with draft of “Population Control Bill 2021”. The Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilisation, and Welfare) Bill, 2021 invites suggestions on it. The suggestions have been invited to improve the bill and have to be sent through e-mail – statelawcommission2018@gmail.com or by post, latest by July 19, 2021.

According to state census 2011, Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state with a population of 19.96 crores. The least populated state is Sikkim with a population of 6,07,688.

BPL couple with single child, who undergoes voluntary sterilization shall be benefited with one-time-lump sum amount of 80,000 if it is a boy and 1 lakh if it is a girl.
Whosoever procreates after the commencement of the Act shall be ineligible to contest in elections.
If the child is born at the time of enactment of the law, necessary applications must be undertaken within an year of commencement of Act.
It shall be the duty of government to inroduce a compulsary subject relating to population control in the state schools.

Measures in Mizoram

In contrary to this bill, recently the Mizoram minister had announced that he would reward a living man or woman having the largest number of offspring within his Aizawl East-2 assembly constituency with a cash incentive of ₹1 lakh. According to the minister, the infertility rate and the decreasing growth rate of the Mizo population have become a serious concern. Mizoram’s population was 1,091,014, according to the 2011 census.

“Mizoram is far below the optimum number of people to attain development in various fields because of the gradual decline in its population. The low population is a serious issue and hurdle for small communities or tribes like Mizos to survive and progress,”

Royte

Criticism

It is a good step towards population control. However the process of sterilization of BPL couple shall be done with great care because there have been reports of infections and death post operation.

FELLING OF BUXWAHA

Diamond mining in India dates back to ancient times. In the past, India was the only source of nearly all the world’s known diamonds, until the discovery of diamonds in South Africa in 1896. India has not been a major diamond-producing country since the 1900s, but diamond mining continues. But don’t we all know what is the price we have to pay for in order to make a mine?

Not recently have the forests of Buxwaha been in news for the wrong reasons. The diamond mine project, which is now with Aditya Birla Group’s Essel Mining & Industries Limited (EMIL), is once again facing dark clouds due to protests over ecological concerns, as it could result in the felling of over 2 lakh trees. Yes, this is the rate of a diamond mine currently!

The 55,000-crore rupees mining project spans over 300 hectares in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district, in the drought-prone Bundelkhand region. The block is estimated to have 34 million carats of rough diamonds. The existing diamond mine, National Mineral Development Corporation’s (NMDC) is about 175 kilometres from Bunder.

The proposed Bunder diamond block in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh has been in the news for the wrong reasons over the years. The forests of Buxwaha, located near the site, are home to tigers, leopards, Indian foxes, sloth bears and other wildlife. The area is also rich in minor forest produce such as Tendu leaves and Mahua. Over 200,000 trees are expected to be cut in the Buxwaha forest for the diamond project. Environmentalists fear that the mining project would result in loss of biodiversity as well as air and water pollution.

The Forest clearance report shows that the project would cost over 200,000 trees in the forest region and also use a lot of water. We are against the environmental destruction in our area, which is already a water distress area,” said Sankalp Jain, a local youth who is associated with one of the groups running social media campaigns such as ‘save Buxwaha forest’ and ‘India stands with Buxwaha forest’ last month.

Credits: Mongababy

 It is to be noted that the project, once operational, has the potential to become one of the largest diamond mines in the Asian region. The company targets the execution of the mining lease by the end of the financial year 2022. But what potential be praiseworthy where Mother Nature gets compromised? In addition to trees and wildlife, the amount of water needed to build the mine will dry out the already water-scarce region of Buxwaha. A dam is to be constructed to divert a seasonal nallah.

Expectedly the project is facing strong opposition, including social media campaigns. Already, a Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court of India, seeking a stay on the project that had been secured by the Essel Mining & Industries Limited in 2019. In 2006, the Madhya Pradesh government had granted a prospecting licence to Rio Tinto Exploration India Private Limited, an Australian mining giant, to explore diamond mining in the Buxwaha region in the Chhatarpur district. Opposition was done even then.

Effects of Mine

  • 2,00,000 trees are no joke. The ecosystem is no joke. Imagine the countless number of animal species residing in the woods, the amount of oxygen and water that is retained by these green guys.
  • The residents fear a massive loss of trees, including teak, ken, behda, banyan, jamun, tendu, arjuna and other medicinal trees as well as the devastation of the natural ecosystem if the project proceeds further.
  • “Despite the claims to provide jobs in mining, I feel the project will eat out the livelihood options in the area.” said a resident of Kasera village- closest village to mining site.
  • The villagers are dependent on minor forest produce and water for farming. The project involves the diversion of a nullah which is a lifeline for the area. It ensures groundwater level and water for wildlife.This project will lead to groundwater depletion as well.
  • Environmental activist Hari Krishna Dwivedi said the “whole Bundelkhand region is facing a water crisis and this forest is essential for the local ecology”.
  • The homes of people are going to be uprooted. What progress is this that uproots tribal people who have lived in the region for hundreds of years and generations, tending to the forests and taking only as much is their wont?

SAD DEMISE OF VETERAN ACTOR DILIP KUMAR (1922-2021) 7/7/21.

Born as Mohammed Yusuf Khan to a Hindko-speaking family in Qissa Khawani Bazaar, Kumar was one of the twelve children of his parents. Kumar was schooled at Barnes School, Nashik. He grew up in the same neighborhood as Raj Kapoor, his childhood friend, and later his colleague in the film industry.

Legend, Tragedy King, The First Khan, God of acting and many other monikers were given to Kumar in his illustrious career but how he acquired his screen name is a story unto itself. He was born Mohammed Yusuf Khan but Devika Rani, who was head of the Bombay Talkies where he joined as an actor, wasn’t too happy with the name. Dilip Kumar, she thought, would suit his “romantic image” which he was bound to acquire and would also have a “secular appeal”. And so Dilip Kumar it was.

He has been credited for bringing a distinct form of method acting technique to cinema. It is a range of training and rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, understanding, and experiencing a character’s inner motivation and emotions. Kumar holds the record for most wins for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and was also the inaugural recipient of the award.

Mughal-e-Azam

Dilip Kumar debuted with the film Jwar Bhata (1944) which could not become a success in box office. He got his breakthrough with 1949 film Andaz, directed by Mehboob Khan. He starred alonside Raj Kapoor and Nargis. Shabnam was yet another blockbuster. He worked in over 65 films. In 1960, he played the role of Prince Salim in a highest grossing epic historical film in Indian History Mughal-e-Azam. Mughal-e-Azam was the highest-grossing Indian film through to the early 2010s. The film was mostly shot in black and white, with only some scenes in the latter half of the film shot in colour. 44 years after its original release, it was fully colorised and re-released in 2004.

Kumar is best known for his roles in Andaz(romantic), Aan, Daag (social drama), Devdas (dramatic), Azaad (comical), Mughal-e-Azam, Ganga Jamuna (dacoit crime) and the comedy Ram Aur Shyam.

Kumar was a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s parliament, from 2000 to 2006. He was nominated by the INC to represent Maharashtra. Kumar utilized a significant portion of his MPLADS fund towards the construction and improvement of the Bandstand Promenade and the gardens at Bandra Fort at Lands End in Bandra.

In 1976, Kumar took a five-year break from film performances and returned with a character role in the star studded film Kranti (1981) and continued his career playing leading roles in films such as Shakti  (1982), Mashaal (1984), Karma (1986) and Saudagar (1991). His last film was Quila (1998).

Kumar is widely considered one of the greatest actors in the history of Bollywood. He holds the Guinness World Record for winning the maximum number of awards by an Indian actor. Over his career, he received eight Filmfare Awards for Best Actor (with 19 total nominations) and a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (1993). He also received a Special Recognition Filmfare Award at the 50th Filmfare Awards for being one of the first recipients of Filmfare Awards along with Lata Mangeshkar (whom he considered his dear sister) and Naushad Ali. Many great actors including Shah Rukh Khan consider Kumar as their inspiration.Kumar was also known as “Tragedy King” because of the depressing but award-winning roles he took.

Dilip Kumar’s love life always remained in spotlight because of controversies it gained. He was attracted to Madhubala and both were in a relationship for almost seven years. However the relation ended with Kumar testifying against her in a case related to the film Naya Daur. Vijayanthimala, a south Indian actress was chosen in place of Madhubala. Vijayanthi was the most often starred against Kumar as the lead actress. According to reports, he even handpicked sarees for every scene for his Ganga Jamuna co-star. In 1966, Kumar married 22 year younger actress Saira Bano and lived in Bandra. They never had any child. According to his autobiography, Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow, Banu conceieved in 1972 however lost the baby to complications. They never again tried for babay.

He took his last breath at Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai, on 7th July 2021 at 7;30 am. He had been suffering from prostate cancer. With this demise India lost one more diamond of the industry.

Mourning his demise, Amitabh Bachchan had shared a picture from their special magazine shoot and wrote, “My idol Dilip Saheb .. lost .. never before never after .. “an epic era has drawn curtains .. never to happen again Peace and duas.”

NEW DIMENSIONS TO DEATH- GRAY,BROWNING AND DICKINSON

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
                               -Percy Bysshe Shelley (Ode to the West Wind)

Such spirited start, isn’t it? Poets literally can change our thoughts with mere lines. So are the poems that deal with Death.

“Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”, “Prospice” and “Because I could not stop for Death” are on top of the list when it comes to overcome the fear of death. In the three years of my graduation I read these poems in the respective order and I must say there was an orderly development in my thought which I would like to share with you. Some of you might even connect with it.

Our generation is dealing with Death more closely than any other. With the help of advanced technology and advanced mutants of novel corona virus, the world is ‘connecting’ rapidly! It’s a time where no one is untouched by the feeling of anxiety or depression. Therefore it is crucial to keep the mind afresh. Why not to give a kick start to brain by reading through the lines of poetry instead of covid news every morning.

Gray and his Elegy

“The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow’r,
         And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
Awaits alike th’ inevitable hour.
         The paths of glory lead but to the grave.“

In his poem Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard(1757), Thomas Gray talks about inevitability of death. While the traditional elegy form memorializes an individual’s death, but Gray expands the form to encompass death as a phenomenon that all of humankind inevitably experiences. He talks of big ambitious people who look with contempt at the poor people, they all are lying buried in the ground. Thus giving the message that death is blind to mankind’s social constructs such as class distinction. Death is the ultimate leveler.

Reading this poem makes one realise how futile is living; living by boasting of all the achievements, all the wealth; because one day when the end comes one will have to leave all these behind. Here come the reality check.

Browning’s Prospice

Written after his wife’s death whom he loved dearly, Robert Browning describes his idea of combating Death in his 1861 poem Prospice.

“I was ever a fighter, so—one fight more,
The best and the last!
I would hate that death bandaged my eyes and forbore,
And bade me creep past.
No! let me taste the whole of it, fare like my peers..”

Browning treats Death as his enemy. The poet is not at all afraid of the physical troubles that come at the time of death. The symptoms of death does not deter him. Browning says that even the heroes of antiquity had to face death and fight it bravely. Common man should derive inspiration from them and be prepared to meet death bravely and cheerfully like them. If we do so, we can overcome it in one minute. Death is scary only when we are afraid of it. As a matter of fact, even the worst moment of death becomes enjoyable and appears to be the best for those who have got courage in them. After all, through death, we pass into another life and pass into Heaven if we are brave.  

This verse is an absolute necessity. It radiates optimism- the need of the hour. And also the power to fight the fear.

Because I could not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson

“Because I could not stop for Death —

He kindly stopped for me —

The Carriage held but just Ourselves —

And Immortality.“

Emily Dickinson is one of the giants of American literature. She was little known during her life time but became immensely popular after the posthumous publication of her works. Dickinson’s poems reflect her “early and lifelong fascination” with illness, dying and death. The poem contains a gentlemanly appearance of personified Death. The use of words such as ‘kindly’, ‘civility’ create a positive image of usually feared Death in our mind. There are many guesses over the poem’s actual meaning. Some interpret it as the Christian belief in the afterlife. According to the Christian faith, that first life stops and following death we encounter immortality through our existence in the after life.

My personal interpretation was related to the thought “We are born to die”; such that since the birth Death waits for us and in the whole journey of life Death is the only constant companion. Nevertheless, the whole poem gave a soothing feel and therefore evolved my perspective about death.

The wise always choose the pen, not the war!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

“Pen isn’t mightier than the sword.

Pens don’t win battles, and swords don’t Write Poetry.

Mighty is the Hand that knows when to pick the pen and

When to pick the sword!”

Thousands of stories, incidents, events are flourished beautifully with some splashes of ink. Indeed, a pen holds up a power which humans will never have. Everyone wants to be powerful in some way or the other. It can be physically, financially, politically, etc but we all need power because we are convicted to the clichéd topic of  “When a man is in power, he is the strongest of all”.  It’s our fault that we have created a world where a lion is considered to be the king of the jungle. We have made the world believe that power plays a major role. But have we ever thought that power can lie in the hands of humans?

 Power is in our hands!

 The strongest are those vintage philosophers and poets, who have a pen with them. Yes, a pen is all we need to be powerful. But how can a tiny pen be so powerful in this whole universe? Ever pondered about those passionate writers of the 18th century, of Victorian-era who still captivate us by telling the class condition and women suppression in that time.

Ever thought about how those writers like Sadat Hasan Manto, Khushwant shah, Ismat Chugtai taught us the value of freedom and sufferings. What made Shakespeare mend to write about the most legend love story of Romeo and Juliet, when he knew it was a time of class distinction. All these eminent writings, poetry which we read now is the power of a pen which amazed the readers of all time.

Pen is a medium

Ink has always been the best media to convey the real scenario of society. The writers have effortlessly portrayed to us how a pen is always mightier than a sword. A pen will always show us the mirage of the real society, where we live. We as a reader forecast many experiences when we read the truth. The authority is with all of us but only some chose a way to remove the disputes and that is through writing. A spot of ink has the power to removes the gap of social norms and customs from our society.

It unites!

Wars, disputes, riots always bridge a gap among humans, but a pen always unites people and their thoughts and believes. Society is filled with humans who are more affected by the glimpse of writing. As people believe in the power of words. Those who know to play with words always win. We have created a society where we have made certain beliefs’ which are not accepted by all and we have been following an age-old system where power is everything. So, it’s time to break those barriers of conventions and realize the reality of words.

Pen and readers are bonded of each other!

The power of the pen is so powerful that it can convey to the audience easily. The pen and the readers are 2 parts of a coin. The audience gets related because of the commendable expression which makes a reader and a pen get bound to each other. Immensely a pen and a reader are bounded emotional with those flickering words which string to their minds.

Population Explosion: The cause of poor living conditions of indians

India is a over-populated country. It is the second most populated country in the world, after China. However, researchers say that India is all set to surpass China in population density by 2024. That means India is about to become the country with the highest population density across the world.

The population of India is increasing at an alarming rate. India is not the country with the highest number of people. There are countries which has more number of people than India like Russia. But they are not overpopulated. Those countries have enough space to fit in the number of people. India has more people than the country could fit in. The number of people residing in per unit square of land in India is much higher than that of other countries. This makes India an over-crowded country.

The huge population of India makes a lot of people live in poverty. The country’s economy is not enough to sustain its population. Adding to the problem, the country’s wealth is not equally distributed. The economic gap between the rich and the poor is widening. The major chunk of the country’s wealth is held by the rich and the powerful who are quite few in number compared to the country’s huge population. A large chunk of the population live below poverty line who do not have enough money to afford their meals thrice a day.

Also, the country does not have enough employment opportunities for all its citizens. This leads to unemployment, economic distress, stress and mental health problems. Unemployment increases the amount of crimes, theft and illegal business practices.

Along with wealth and job opportunities, India’s natural resources are also limited and not enough for its huge population. Over-consumption of natural resources would exhaust them and leave none for our future generations. Overpopulation is also a threat to our environment. The air and water bodies are becoming more and more polluted day by day. Too much burning of fossil fuels, congested roads and too many vehicles are releasing toxic gases in the air.

Accommodation is also a problem in India. Thousands of people live in slums which are over-crowded with unhealthy living conditions. More houses and buildings are being constructed which leaves no place for plants and nature. Forests are cut down to make room for construction projects. The cutting down of trees leads to increase in the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Population explosion is a serious problem which needs to be addressed at any cost. The Indian population should be controlled to improve the lives of the people. Awareness drives and contraceptive alternatives should be adopted with immediate effect.