Article 370 And Article 35A Are Nothing But Treacherous

“Mr Abdullah, you want that India should defend Kashmir. You wish India should protect your borders, she should build roads in your area, she should supply you food grains, and Kashmir should get equal status as India, but you don’t want India and any citizen of India to have any rights in Kashmir and Government of India should have only limited powers. To give consent to this proposal would be a treacherous thing against the interests of India, and I, as the Law Minister of India, will never do. I cannot betray the interests of my country.”

– Dr BR Ambedkar cited as saying in the book ‘Dr BR Ambedkar Framing Of Indian Constitution’ by Dr SN Biusi

To start with, Dr BR Ambedkar who is the founding father of our Constitution and the first Union Law Minister of India was absolutely shell shocked to hear the absurd proposal that no Indian would be allowed to settle in Jammu and Kashmir nor be allowed to buy any property there or apply for any job there under the garb of protecting people from Jammu and Kashmir! Not just this if any woman from J&K marries anyone outside the state she would lose all her rights and if she marries someone from Pakistan then she would lose no rights and the Pakistani men would gain all the rights! Nothing on earth can be more disgraceful than this and this we see Dr Ambedkar reflecting in his words also!

To be sure, Dr Ambedkar stoutly opposed granting the special status to Jammu and Kashmir. He also opposed Article 370 as he knew that it would be detrimental to our country’s national interests and separate flag, separate Constitution, separate citizenship, separate law would only encourage more secession and separatism and that is what has happened in last 72 years! We all have seen for ourselves how the entire nation bursted in joy and Indians living all across the globe also celebrated hugely the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution after the President gave his approval to the same! Union Home Minister Amit Shah who tabled the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 and the statutory resolutions in Rajya Sabha around 11 am after the Union cabinet met at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence at 9.30 am to grant the go-ahead said that, “Article 370 was a temporary provision…how long can a temporary provision be allowed to continue…After abrogation of Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir will truly become an integral part of India.” Saying Article 370 was at the root of terrorism, Amit Shah told the House that full state status will be restored to Jammu and Kashmir at an appropriate time when normalcy returns. He rightly said that the decision to do away with the special status of J&K and to bifurcate the state into two UTs was in the supreme national interest! No denying it!

As it turned out, Amit Shah rose to place four matters before the Rajya Sabha which are as follows:-

1. Constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 2019 issued by President of India to supersede the 1954 order related to Article 370.

2. Resolution for the repeal of Article 370 of the Constitution of India.

3. Jammu & Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019 by which Jammu and Kashmir which earlier was a state was now proposed to be converted to two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir with legislature and Ladakh without a legislature.

4. Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 providing for 10 percent reservation for SC, ST and OBCs in J&K

Eminent jurist and senior Supreme Court advocate Mohan Parasaran who is also the former Solicitor General of India candidly says that, “From a personal point of view, the GoI needs to be congratulated for uniting the country, as there was always a feeling that Jammu and Kashmir was truly not part of India, but part of the nation for historical purposes. This was exploited by politicians, and led to communal forces gaining control, post-Independence, and terrorism taking a lead role. Keeping aside the legal issues, the GoI’s intention has to be appreciated as one which is to bolster the sovereignty and integrity of the country.”

It is for the first time that we saw even many opposition parties supporting the Centre’s move. Even though Congress party opposed it but many of its tall leaders openly hailed it and former Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar even termed it as a daring move! No doubt, the scrapping of Presidential proclamation of 1954 by the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019 which was passed on August 5 in concurrence with the Government of the State of Jammu and Kashmir with immediate effect is the most boldest step by any government in India since independence! This is a more bolder step than even surgical strikes of 2016 or the Balakot air strikes! This alone explains that why even Sushma Swaraj who was the former Union External Affairs Minister and who expired just recently before dying left a most memorable tweet in which she expressed her utmost happiness in the following words, “Thank you Prime Minister. Thank you very much. I was waiting to see this day in my lifetime.”

Finally and most importantly, the integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India is now full and final! No country has no business to comment on our internal affairs! UK should mind its own business and set its own house in order before pointing fingers at India as rightly advised by Naomi Canton who herself a British citizen very rightly said that, “India, to its credit, has stayed neutral on Brexit, saying it is a sovereign matter, even indicating a favourable post-Brexit trade deal. Yet several British MPs have felt the right to publicise their views on Kashmir. Would British people expect Indian MPs to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the UN asking both to intervene in Brexit? Will New York Times or Guardian demand that non-Muslims should not be allowed to settle in these locations in Detroit or Bradford where there is a majority of Muslim inhabitants? If the editors find such an idea absurd, why are they backing it in India? It is an inconvenient truth that those British MPs who say that “the removal of Artticle 370 betrays the trust of the people of Jammu and Kashmir” are the same people who wish to ignore the results of the 2016 EU referendum. Jammu and Kashmir will become two Union Territories on October 31 on exactly the same day the UK will leave the EU.”

No doubt, China should also first itself vacate the territory of Jammu and Kashmir illegally ceded by Pakistan to it and not lecture us! Similarly Pakistan should also vacate the area of Jammu and Kashmir which is in its illegal occupation! It is heartening to note that the UN also refused to intervene in between when Pakistan pleaded before it! Article 370 and Article 35A only were serving as weapons to further the dangerous, dubious and deplorable agenda of Pakistan to alienate the people of Jammu and Kashmir from the rest of India and this alone explains why it fumed and fulminated most when it was scrapped and so it is absolutely right that both these articles have been virtually dumped now!

It gives a great deal of satisfaction to note that the integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India is now full and final! The whole world has to come to terms with this now! US has already accepted this and places India on a developed nation club akin to that of China! Can anyone deny this?

Also, now Jammu and Ladakh will also develop more as more funds will be allotted for their development and it is not just Kashmir alone which will corner away all the major part of the package meant for the entire state! This is truly commendable! All Indians must bury their petty differences and unite together in supporting Centre for taking such a bold and beautiful initiative that even leaders from opposition parties cutting across party lines have chosen to endorse it differing even from their own party line! Ajit Pawar who is nephew of Sharad Pawar of NCP has also openly supported it.

Many regional parties like AAP, BSP, TDP, BJD and many others have also supported it openly! Mukul Rohatgi who is former Attorney General of India and an eminent and senior Supreme Court lawyer was quite outspoken in saying that, “If the President can issue order under Article 370 he can also withdraw it by the same route!” Very rightly so! Pakistan has no business in meddling in India’s internal affairs and Imran Khan himself has candidly confessed that the whole world is standing with India on such a sensitive issue! This is because India’s stand is justified and India has not done anything which can attract opprobrium!

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,

s/o Col BPS Sirohi,

A 82, Defence Enclave,

Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

How Tea drinking has evolved around the world

When you get up early in the morning and start your day the first thing you aspire for is tea. Tea is refreshing, energetic drink that sets up your day. we get to know about the popularity of tea from the fact that it is 2nd most consumed drink after water all around the globe. Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over tea powder prepared by crushing leaves of the Camellia sinensis , an evergreen shrub (bush) usually found in East Asia . Tea is very ancient drink as its origin dates back to around 3rd century AD which is mentioned in medical records of Hua Tuo in the regions of today’s worlds North Burma and southwestern China.

Tea: history and origin

Tea has been in use as energetic and recreational drink since ancient time. During 18th-19th century tea had become very popular among Britishers who were using it as recreational drink. They were so much addicted to tea that they had started trading Opium drug derived from the seed capsules of the opium poppy Papaver somniferum grown in mostly Northeast part of India for the miraculous plant leaves Camellia sinensis from plantations of China. Later the Chinese liberals started fights against this conspiracy of western countries against Asian countries especially against East Asia. This led to famous Opium wars between two countries.

Tea and Health

Tea has many positive effects on health.If you are up to lose your weight then tea can be your best partner.Many researchers have stated that consumption of Tea helps in reducing risk of heart attacks as it lowers cholesterol level,it also helps in maintaining blood pressure.Green tea drinking is very effective to reduce risk against cancer and also it improves brain functioning.

Though it has many good health effects but its over consumption can lead to caffeine overload leading to dizziness,nervousness and disturb in sleep. It can also cause muscle pain , heartburn etc. It is recommended that daily intake of caffeine should not exceed 40 milligrams.

Tea: beverage of the world

Tea has gained popularity in almost over 100 countries where people enjoy this drink in various forms. A balanced consumption of tea is like boon to us.Tea has evolved over the centuries from native to only China and east Asia in 3rd century AD to almost in every household of the world in this 21st century.

Basu Chatterjee – The Story Teller

Continue reading “Basu Chatterjee – The Story Teller” →

BENEFITS OF READING NEWS ONLINE

Now-a- days everything is available in online and we are so much dependant on internet, we cant think of our future without internet. We are now entering into a digital future where newspaper may be going to be replaced by online news.

Online news is very convenient as we get news in real time and we don’t have to wait for news till the next day to read from the newspaper.Even newspaper cannot cover every insight or content about any topic,whereas in online we can go deep inside a topic ,get update and deep insights and everything about our topic of interest.Online news is updated every second ,ever minute in real time.The good thing about online news is that it is free of cost provided we should have a internet facility to access the information.Most importantly online news saves trees in result saves the environment whereas newspaper is the reason for cutting of millions and millions of trees and mass destruction of forests and ecosystem.This leads to global warming and far reaching consequences in present as well as in future.Its obvious that newspaper cannot cover every news going on in the world for which they have to selective in publishing content but in online news there is no such boundaries,every big and small news across the world is right within our fingertips.Even we have a lots of news apps for both android and ios in which we get notifications of news happenings across the globe which is a cool benefit of online news.Morever the newspaper printing companies also publish their newspaper online so that people can access them more easily and conveniently.

Traders can incredibly get benefit from the online news about the stock market details ,rise and fall of shares whenever they want.We can also use the newspaper buying cost in a more productive and constructive way.Online news is also a big opportunitiy for the advertisers.They can publish their offers and advertisements in the breaking news or any popular news where they can reach a bigger number of audience.As the era of internet ,digital marketing has a rich future as it helps small businesses to grow and develop when it comes online.They can advertise their products and services in the page of news headlines. Newspapers fail to give us details about any topic but in online we can get each and every details,clarity and update about any topic.People now are slowly ,gradually abandoning traditional newspaper and coming to the online platform for news and magazines,posts etc.

Also, reading newspaper is also hectic for some people as they don’t have the patience to read long boring paragraphs. So it becomes impossible for people to cover or read everything in newspaper whereas in online news its precise ,contains gist headlines summary which is easier to read and grasp more information in less time.Another good thing about online news is that it contains additional links and related information ,so that we can access and get more information about the concerned topic.Morever , in newspaper we can access to only few articles published that day but in online news there is no such limitations regarding how many number of articles we can read.

Politics vs India

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Will you imagine the world without politics?

The terminology of politics has its origin in the Greek term ‘polis’ which means city-state. A number of city-states like Athens, Sparta existed in ancient Greece where polity touched every aspect of social life is it education, occupation, organizations, culture, etc. Later on, as organized life became more complex, polity turned into a more specialized activity restricted to secular and civil affairs in western countries. Since that time, politics has begun and spread all over the world and people are caught up in the rat race of politics. in the past, there was only one political party congress, it started from 18 December 1885, and they lead the nation, and the first precedent if the congress was Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee and after that, all congresspeople make many discussion regarding the education, business, finance sector, and health sector which help people to live batter life after getting freedom from the British people.

congress lead India for 70 years and they did many frauds and scams, Several top Congress leaders have been accused of indulging in multi-crore scams with some of the corruption cases running into lakhs of crores. According to the ZEE news, congress allowed scams after scams during its rule which have resulted in the loss of a staggering amount of Rs 48,20,69,00,00,000 over the last 70 years. The jeep scandal of 1948 was one of the first major corruption case in independent India in which the Jawaharlal Nehru-led Congress government was the accused.

After that, the BJP party was announced on 6th April 1980 and the early year they try to breakdown the congress party but they could not when the Narendra Modi-led government came to power in 2014, India’s ranking on the global corruption index improved as the new regime cracked down on those accused in scams and graft cases. The country’s ranking had dipped to an all-time low of 94 during UPA reign in 2013.BJP leader Narendra Modi was done many appreciate work for the people like Goods and Service Tax The GST is the indirect tax that subsumed a variety of central and state levies and replaced a cascading and complicated tax system. infrastructure work This is the one bright spot in the government’s record. The speeding up of highway construction, the new Bharatmala and Sagarmala projects, the building or revival of regional airports and regional air connectivity, and much work on modernizing and expanding railways are all achievements that the Modi government can claim. furthermore, they also have done Flagship Programmes like Swachh Bharat, Make in India, Ujwala Millions of us gave up subsidised cylinders when Modi gave a call, Ayushman Bharat. however, if we considered the National Security the Narendra Modi never stape back he has introduced Pakistan Policy, Kashmir Policy. he has open all the scams cases like Rafale Deal and Mallya & two Modis. He also took revenge from Pakistan in the form of URI surgical strick, and give justice to the Indian soldier.

Nowadays, in the time of Coronavirus, congress never gives up to accuse the BJP party, they always see the negative side of BJP which is only 15-20% but they never update themself or support and give motivation to the citizens what to do in this kind of scenario or support BJP. whenever BJP politicians do something good, congress always ready to pull them down they never see good work done by the opposition party. in time of critical condition, all BJP candidates done a lot of good work but the congress party came out for a showing off. we also see many debates on the news channels regularly they fight like cats and dogs.

all people from India always pray that please put politics behind and do something to bring out the country in developed countries index.

How to promote interactive reading in classroom

Reading is an active process in which readers construct meanings of words. Good readers use contextual knowledge and experience to make connections with the text. They make predictions about what is going to happen next in the text, so when they read they have the motivation to find out whether they are right or wrong.

Every reader uses his/her experience or background knowledge to a text. If a teacher is able to bring out the students’ background knowledge first in the classroom, students will be able to understand the reading better. The teacher needs to provide it somehow. Teacher needs to provide activities that help students use his/her experience driven concept and information (data driven from the text) together.

Three Basic Steps to Teaching Reading

1. Pre-reading goals

i. To build or activate students’ knowledge about a topic.

ii. Assist in language preparation, give new vocabulary.

iii. To build interest – look at pictures, titles, captions etc.

2. Reading goals

i. To help students understand content

ii. To help them understand different patterns and structures, as well as main ideas and details in the text.

3. Post-reading goals

i. To discuss the content and make sure students understand what they have read and can summarise what they have read (both oral or written).

ii. In next class, work on vocabulary and grammar.

iii. Integrate the content of the reading with their knowledge of the topic, by increasing the experience through discussion or writing.

Choosing Texts

• Is the level suitable?

• Is the topic appropriate to your students – interest, culturally sensitive etc.

• How long is it ? Should be intriguing, a little challenging but something they can succeed at.

• where will they read it- class/outside or both ?

• How much grammar and technical terms is there?

• Are there pictures? Graphs ? Maps?

• Different formats should be there – poetry/prose, fiction/non-fiction.

INTERACTIVE READING ACTIVITIES

READ, TELL, LISTEN, TELL

Give a short story or paragraph to each student. They read the story individually to themselves. Now, in pairs, they tell each other their story in their own words and then listen carefully to the partner’s story. They do not read their partner’s story. Now two pairs sit together, so there are 4 students. Now students tell their PARTNER’S STORY. The partner can listen to make sure it’s correct, and correct if necessary. In whole class, ask which story they liked and if they want they can tell that story reading classes.

READING WITH HALF THE WORDS

Provide each student with a text. Ask them to fold the page in half and read one half of the page that is visible without looking at the other half. After as much speculation as possible, they can read the whole story and see if the story matched with what they thought.

STORY STRIPS

Make groups of 4 students. Give them a story cut up into strips and ask them to assemble it. Then read the story while they listen and check theirs. You may give them the text for checking further and comprehension.

These are few basic steps to teaching reading in a class with no or limited resources. The best resource is the teacher itself.

HAPPY READING!

News Analysis and Current Affairs

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Human Rights of Women Must Also be Respected

It is most unfortunate and most disgraceful that in India where women is worshipped as Durga, Kali, Gauri etc and where we all show utmost respect to our sister and mother, we don’t care to ensure that those men who without being brainwashed in Pakistan by Pakistani Army or ISI or terror leaders like Hafiz Saeed or Syed Salaluddin or Masood Azhar or anyone else and without being trained in any hostile foreign country perpetrate the worst kind of crimes against women which under no circumstances can ever be justified by anyone. Why when rapists gang rape a women turn by turn and then stab her and then set her ablaze still why in our country are our lawmakers always bothered only and only about the human rights of men alone? Why are such rapists and gang rapists not killed like mosquitoes?

Why should any leniency be shown towards such demons? Why is it that in last 15 years just one poor Dhananjoy Chatterjee is hanged on circumstantial evidence alone in 2004 and whose petition was drafted by prisoners of Tihar jail as was pointed by earlier by senior Supreme Court advocate Colin Gonsalves as he could not hire a lawyer even though every year we keep hearing that more than 32,000 to 33,000 rape incidents keep happening? Why is it that from 1982 to 2004 only Ranga and Birla are hanged for rape cum murder and who certainly deserved no mercy?

But what about other rapists cum murderers? Why were they also not hanged for similar crimes? Why the rich and the affluent are able to escape punishment just because they are able to hire a battery of “eminent and experienced” lawyers to offer thousands of reasons for sparing their client from being sent to the gallows?

Why are our lawmakers not closing all the escape routes in the form of “discretion bomb” in our IPC which many times mostly saves a rapist from being sent to the gallows? Why there is no mandatory death penalty for rape and gang rape? Why even for repeated offenders we see that there is no mandatory death penalty?

Why are rape trials and trials of other crimes perpetrated against women not conducted most expeditiously? Why do we see inordinate delay in the completion of rape trials and trials of other crimes pertaining to women? Should we be proud of it? Certainly not!

It is heartening to note that while urging for quick disposal of rape cases, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on December 8 said that he would write to all Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of the High Courts to complete investigation in cases of rape and those registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act in two months. He also said that the trial of such cases should also be completed within six months. Inordinate delay in completing rape cases has certainly brought disrepute to our legal system and to our judiciary and so what our Union Law Minister has just recently stated is good to read and it must now be earnestly implemented in totality! It brooks no more delay.

While noting that incidents of rape and crimes against women are “unfortunate and highly condemnable”, Ravi Shankar Prasad asserted quite unequivocally that perpetrators of such “heinous” crimes will be punished expeditiously through the judicial process. He said that, “I am going to write letters to all the chief ministers urging them to complete the investigation within two months in rape and Pocso cases.” This is certainly a commendable and courageous step which must be appreciated unequivocally!

Not stopping here, Ravi Shankar Prasad further added that, “I will also write to the Chief Justices of all the High Courts to dispose of expeditiously all cases relating to rape and Pocso pending in the Fast Track Courts.” He also disclosed that he has also requested the Chief Justice of India to ensure that there is a mechanism for speedy disposal of such cases. His comments assume huge significance as they came in the backdrop of nation-wide outrage and uproar over the alleged gang rape cum murder cases at Hyderabad and Unnao.

While mentioning that 704 Fast Track Courts (FTCs) are currently working across the country, Ravi Shankar Prasad further revealed that 1,023 new FTCs are going to be constituted to try cases of Pocso and rape offences, besides other crimes against women. All such FTCs must be constituted at the earliest. It brooks no more delay now!

It is most concerning that there is an alarming increase in the incidents of rape, gang rape, throwing of acid on women, and many other crimes perpetrated on women. The main reason behind such a meteoric upsurge is that criminals feel that they can get away by doing anything in India as the criminal justice system functions at an excruciatingly glacial pace which only further punished women and accused easily gets bail! Can this be ever justified by any sane person?

We all know that the Unnao rape victim who was gang raped earlier in March and after complaining to police the gang rapists were arrested. But they were released after Allahabad High Court granted them bail. What did it culminate into?

As we all know the gang rapists ensured that they waylaid the rape victim while she was on her way to attend court hearing at Raebareli to testify against the criminals. Why were the gang rapists given bail at the first instance? Why were the rights of accused given precedence over the rights of the women?

Not stopping here, why did the police not provide adequate security to the rape victim? Why were the criminals allowed to easily set her ablaze and stab her? Should no policemen be held accountable in this regard?

Why are such policemen just suspended? Why are they not dismissed from service and why are they not held accountable for the death of the Unnao gangrape victim? Why is there so much of leniency towards those police cops who should have jolly well ensured that the gangrape victim was not left alone and especially when she was going to attend court hearing and testify herself in gang rape case why was she not provided full security?

It is good to learn that just a day after the Chief Justice of India Sharad Bobde said that justice can never be instant and loses its character when it becomes revenge we also got to read what our Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said that, “There cannot be instant justice, but there cannot be constant delays in justice delivery either, else people become restive.” Moreover, how can we afford to ignore the time tested dictum that “Justice delayed is justice denied”? There can be no denying that even the Chief Justice of India – Sharad Bobde is most concerned to see how rapidly crimes against women are increasing in our country and he fully realizes the invaluable importance of combating such crimes on a war footing!

We get to read everyday so many news of even minors being most brutally raped, murdered with her head smashed and what not. But how many times do we read that such rapists, gang rapists and murderers are hanged? Why always we see that the rights of the accused takes precedence over the rights of the women victim? This has to certainly change now if we really want that the people’s faith in our judiciary stands intact!

Why should throwing of acid on women not be punished with mandatory death penalty? How can throwing of acid on women be justified on any ground? How can any punishment less than death penalty or at the least life term without any remission which means imprisonment for the whole life not be awarded on all those who throw acid on women or hurt her in grievous manner?

Why are woman’s right to safety and her right to life not accorded the highest priority in India? Should we not feel ashamed to see that even those who throw acid on women escape very easily after spending at the most just few years in prison? Why should dowry death not be punished with mandatory death penalty? Why are so many escape routes left open for criminals to escape easily and with just a light punishment even after committing the most horrifying crimes against women?

Why is it that under our penal laws there is no mandatory life imprisonment also for gang rape as stipulated in Section 376D of the IPC? Why the punishment for gang rape as stipulated in Section 376D of the IPC is “shall not be less than twenty years but which may extend to life”? Why this “discretion bomb” in form of “may” is inserted in Section 376D dealing with gang rape?

Should this “discretion bomb” not be defused promptly by removing it and providing for “mandatory death penalty” considering the irrefutable fact that gang rape incidents are increasing alarmingly in our country followed by even gang burning of gang rape victims as we saw most recently in Unnao and earlier in Hyderabad with a 26-year-old veterinary doctor? Can gang rape be justified under any circumstances? Why then do we see that there is no mandatory death penalty for such offences?

Why different punishment prescribed for gang rape on woman under 16 years of age as prescribed in Section 376DA and that on woman under 12 years of age as prescribed under Section 376DB of IPC? Why only life imprisonment under Section 376DA and not death? Why option of life and death in Section 376DB of IPC? Why not mandatory death penalty?

Why should minors who rape and gang rape not be punished with death? Why should they at least not be punished with mandatory life term? Why should they be allowed to escape easily after spending some time in reformatory home as we saw in Nirbhaya gang rape cum murder case where the maximum brutality was committed by the minor?

What message are we sending to the world? That in India you can get away by doing anything just because you are a minor! Why should our law makers not listen to the invaluable advice of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu in this regard who said that there should be no benefit given to minors when they commit such heinous crimes and underscored that political will is needed to implement it?

Why does India figure even far below Pakistan and Bangladesh in happiness index ranking at an abysmally low 140? It is because in India just two rapists are hanged from 1982 to 2003 and from 2004 to 2019 just one rapist is hanged on circumstantial evidence alone! Is this what is fair and can this be justified in the guise of “due process of law”?

Why should our outdated colonial laws like IPC, Evidence Act and CrPC not be changed drastically to meet the present circumstances? Why should human rights of women not be accorded the topmost priority? Why when incidents of rape, gang rape by 4 men or 14 men or even more followed by stabbing and followed by setting her ablaze not be followed by gang hanging?

How many incidents of gang rape are followed by gang hanging? Why our rape laws ensure that gang rapists are never hanged? Should we not be ashamed of this?

Why judiciary never ensures that gang rapists are gang hanged? Why we are happy just after seeing that one poor Dhananjoy Chatterjee is hanged on circumstantial evidence alone? If gang rapists who first gang rape and then set the women ablaze after stabbing her also not deserve death penalty then this death penalty must be kicked out of India right now!

Today that is December 10 is “Human Rights Day”! We must always accept that even “woman” is “human” and not just “men” alone! Therefore, our law makers must ensure that human rights of “women” are accorded the top priority and those who dare to violate them are dealt with swiftly and sternly in accordance with law which must be now amended urgently to ensure that no criminal is able to mock at women and yet escape lightly just by using his “money and muscle power”!

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,

s/o Col BPS Sirohi,

A 82, Defence Enclave,

Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,

Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh

Cognitive Science Research Initiative (CSRI)

Cognitive Science is the study of human mind and brain, focusing on how mind represents and manipulates knowledge and how mental representations and processes are realized in the brain. The field is highly transdisciplinary in nature, combining ideas, principles and methods of psychology, computer science, linguistics, philosophy, neuroscience etc. In Indian scenario which is full of diversity, it is important to foster scientific research in interdisciplinary field of Cognitive Science for better understanding of Indian mind sets, languages and cognitive disorders etc. With this aim, the Department of Science & Technology (DST) had initiated a highly focused programme “Cognitive Science Research Initiative (CSRI)” in 2008 during 11th Five year plan. The Cognitive Science Research Initiative facilitates a platform to scientific community to work for better solution of challenges related with cognitive disorders and social issues through various psychological tools & batteries, early diagnosis & better therapies, intervention technologies and rehabilitation programmes.

Objectives:

Cognitive Science Research Initiative is aimed to revolutionize research in various fields, such as:

Nature and origins of mental disorders, of physiological, social and neuro-chemical origins.
Design of better learning tools and educational paradigms.
Design of better software technologies and artificial intelligence devices.
Streamlining of social policy formulation and analysis.

Thrust Areas: Cognitive science has wide horizons which covers different aspects of cognition. DST has identified specific thrust areas in Cognitive Science which include Foundations of Cognition; Language and Cognition; Computational Intelligence; Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience etc.

Activities Supported under CSRI:

Individual R&D Projects: Grant is available for R&D projects in any thrust areas identified. Support will be provided for Equipments, Manpower and other research grant.
Multi-centric Mega Projects: Multi-centric projects are encouraged to provide better solution of issues related with social relevance, better understanding of neurodegenerative diseases and their therapeutics.
Post Doctoral Fellowship:Two years ‘Post Doctoral Fellowship’ Programme is aimed to develop human resource in Cognitive Sciences. The Scheme provides Opportunities to Young Scientists (below 40 years) for pursuing innovative research in frontier areas of Cognitive Science.
Support for Schools, Training, Workshops, Conferences etc: The CSRI programme extends partial support for organizing conference/seminar/symposia/training programmes/workshops/schools on a selective basis. The support is provided to Academic or Research Institutions, Universities and other Professional bodies to encourage young researchers and keep scientific community abreast of the latest developments in various areas of Cognitive Science.

Programme Schedule: Department invites Individual Project Proposals and application for Post Doctoral Fellowship once in a year through advertisement in all leading Newspapers and DST website. Mega projects for intensified research in particular area are supported under top-down approach in discussion with DST and stakeholders. Proposals for conducting Schools /Conferences are open throughout the year and considered on request.

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Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam 2020, scheduled on 31 May, deferred

New Delhi, 07 May 2020: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) held a special meeting today to review the situation after the second phase of the nation-wide lockdown due to COVID-19. Taking notice of the extension of restrictions, the Commission decided that it will not be possible to resume examinations and interviews for the present.

The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2020, scheduled to be held on 31 May 2020, therefore stands deferred. Since this examination also serves as the screening test for the Indian Forest Service Examination, the schedule for the Indian Forest Service Examination is also deferred. The situation will be reviewed again on May 20, 2020 and fresh dates for these examinations shall be notified on the UPSC website in due course.

The Commission has already deferred the following: (a) Personality test for remaining candidates for the Civil Services Examination, 2019; (b) Notification for the Indian Economic Service/Indian Statistical Service Examination, 2020; (c) Notification for the Combined Medical Services Examination, 2020; (d) Notification for the Central Armed Police Forces Examination, 2020 and (e) the NDA & Naval Academy Examination, 2020.

As and when dates are decided for the deferred tests/examinations, it will be ensured that candidates are given a notice of at least 30 days.

Publishers to rein in informal circulation of newspaper PDFs

Print news publishers are cracking down on online groups and platforms that have been sharing PDF versions of popular newspapers to readers every day.

For a lot of newspaper management bodies, these informal circulations on social media are nothing but a form of piracy. Soon only subscribed members will be able to access online newspapers.

“It has come to our attention that some publications are facing issues with distribution of the print copies and a lot of piracy and theft of newspapers is happening, especially in the digital format,” said Mary Paul, the secretary-general of the Indian Newspaper Society Secretariat.

Many newspapers are now available in the epaper format online in the morning every day, some of which are free. The availability of the epapers across platforms has been a hit, especially since the beginning of April 2020 when newspaper circulations were forced to stop at several places across the country in the wake of the global pandemic.

According to the INS, many users are creating PDFs out of newspaper pages and circulate them on WhatsApp and Telegram groups to the readers, leading to a loss in both subscription revenue for the print newspapers as well as epapers digitally.

The INS also called this circulation of newspaper on social media illegal and said publications are trying to battle it in their own ways.

The body has also come up with recommendations to stop this:

1. Communicate clearly in the apps, websites and newspapers that circulating any copy or part thereof, is illegal and strict legal action will be taken along with heavy penalties.

2. Additionally, also for any legal action taken, publish a few news stories to talk about the huge fines and lawsuits initiated against offenders to deter others from doing it.

3. Take legal action against offenders, especially against WhatsApp and Telegram admins and trigger legal notices (WhatsApp group admins are liable for anything illegal that happens in their groups).

4. Build certain product features which prevent piracy or at least slow it down. These include:

a. Limiting downloads of PDFs, Images

b. Adding Javascript code on pages to prevent copying

c. Inserting a user identifier code which is not human visible, so circulated PDFs on Social Media can be tracked back to individuals

d. Auto-generate a list of users downloading greater than a certain number of PDFs per week and block them

Some of the newspapers have already started following the recommendations. Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar has already published a story talking about the piracy of newspapers in the form of online circulation on WhatsApp and Telegram groups.

“The newspaper is the property of the management of that paper. It can be read by either buying it or subscribing to it online. The industry is already going through a tough time and we do not want our readers to abandon the print media. The newspapers are all together in this and we will soon come out with a plan to combat this. We are sure are patrons will stand by us in this,” said the marketing head of a popular language daily of North India.

My Experience at Holy Sri Hazur Sahib Gurudwara at Nanded, Maharashtra

As academician, I had the opportunity and still get opportunity to visit many places of our country (although I am senior citizen and retired on superannuation) and whenever I get an opportunity, I inspire to visit Temple, Church, Mosque or Gurudwara. On 7 March 2020, I had the scope to visit Sri Hazur Sahib Gurudwara at Nanded, Maharashtra, India, a wonderful and holy place where I was enthused for doing meditation, in addition to prayer as in this place (Nanded) Sri Guru Gobind ji left for heavenly abode on 7 October, 1708. Also, I am pleased to mention that I could visit Sri Patna Sahib also known as Harmandir Sahib, Gurudwara, the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh ji, (born in 1666). The Patna Sahib Gurudwara is considered to be one of the holiest of the five ‘Takths’ or ‘Seats’ of the Sikhs, located in old city of Patna, Bihar. Thus, his Birth place and ‘Paralok Prapti’ place (heavenly abode) i.e. both the divine places I could visit for which I am feeling lucky.

Before penning down few lines about my experience in Sri Hazur Sahib Gurudwara, Nanded, I extend my Pronam to Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the 10^th Sikh Guru, Poet, Philosopher and Spiritual Master also as he was the pioneer to establish this Gurudwara. This holy place has greatly attracted me because of its pristine beauty including its surroundings. The campus is neat and clean and is difficult to find a piece of paper anywhere.

Guru Gobind Singh, while conferring Guruship of the Holy Book, Guru Granth Sahib, had named Nanded region as Abchalnagar (steadfast city), located on the bank of the River Godavari. In addition, other major Gurudwaras in Nanded and its vicinity are Nagina Ghat, Banda Ghat, Sangat Sahib, Baoli Sahib, Mal Tekdi, Shikar Ghat, Hira Ghat and Mata Sahib, etc. As already mentioned, Sri Guru Gobind ji left for heavenly abode on 7 October, 1708 at Nanded and before return to his heavenly abode (Paralok Prapti’) he uttered, “The Eternal Father willed and I raised the Panth. All my Sikhs are hereby ordered to accept the Granth (Holy Book of the Sikhs) as their Preceptor. Have faith in the Holy Granth, as your master and consider it the visible manifestation of the Gurus. He who had a pure heart will seek guidance from its holy words”. His sole mission was to restore mankind to brotherhood. He institutionalized the Khalsa by baptizing five persons in Sikhism (literally, Pure Ones), who played the key role in protecting the Sikhs after his death. He fully realized human beings are perishable, but noble ideas sustain forever – they are eternal. The five persons who were baptized in Sikhism, on the day of ‘Vaishakhi’ by Guru Gobind ji in 1699 were Daya Ram (Bhai Daya Singh), Dharam Das (Bhai Dharam Singh), Himmat Rai (Bhai Himmat Singh), Mohkam Chand (Bhai Mohkam Singh), and Sahib Chand (Bhai Sahib Singh). According to Guru Gobind ji, “He who keeps alight the unquenchable torch of truth, and never swerves from the thought of One God; he who has full love and confidence in God and does not put his faith, even by mistake, in fasting or the graves of Muslim saints, Hindu crematoriums, or Jogis places of sepulchre; he who recognises the One God and no pilgrimages, alms-giving, non-destruction of life, penances, or austerities; and in whose heart the light of the Perfect One shines, – he is to be recognised as a pure member of the Khalsa” (Guru Gobind Singh, 33 Swaiyyas)

The 300 Gurudomship ceremony of Guru Granth Sahib and 300 Joti Jot anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh were celebrated in a massive way at Hazur Sahib, Nanded in 2008. The then Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh ji addressed to the Sath-Sangat on the main function. For creating awareness among common people, ‘Jagriti Yatra’ was arranged which journeyed through different places across the country and also many places in abroad.

However, in the context of Hazur Sahib Gurudwara, it is pertinent to mention that, the most important aspect is that there are two number of sanctum sanctorum. While all the functions are carried out by the priests in the outer room, the inner room is a vault which houses priceless objects, weapons and other personal belongings of the Guru. No one except the head priest can enter this holy vault.

Before winding up, seven teachings of Guru Gobind Singh ji that can guide us throughout life are presented below:

Do not gossip, nor slander, or be spiteful to anyone.
Do not be proud of riches, youthfulness or lineage. (Regardless of maternal and paternal caste or heritage, all of the Guru’s Sikhs are siblings of one family.)
When dealing with enemies, practice diplomacy, employ a variety of tactics, and exhaust all techniques before engaging in warfare.
Do as much possible to serve and aid foreigners, those in need, or in trouble.
Realise that considering a daughter as property is poison.
Donate a tenth of your earnings.
Do not ruin anyone’s work by gossiping.

(The relevant information and particulars have been collected from

3) https://www.hazursahib.com/Informations/History,

4) https://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Takhat_Sachkhand_Sri_Hazoor_Sahib

5) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalsa

6) https://www.sikhs.org/khalsa.htm

Dr. Shankar Chatterjee

Former Professor& Head (CPME)

NIRD &PR (Govt. of India),

Hyderabad-500 030

Telangana, India

Email <shankarjagu@gmail.com>

Telephone conversation between PM and President of the Russian Federation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation today with the President of the Russian Federation H.E. Mr Vladimir V. Putin. The two leaders discussed the global situation in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister conveyed his good wishes for early recovery of all those suffering from the disease in Russia and expressed the hope that Russia’s efforts, led by President Putin, to fight the disease would be successful.

President Putin conveyed to the Prime Minister his good wishes for the success of measures adopted in India to combat COVID-19.

The two leaders agreed on further consultation and cooperation in adequately addressing all challenges faced by this major global crisis, including those pertaining to health, medicine, scientific research, humanitarian matters and impact on global economy. They stressed the significance of international cooperation for unitedly fighting COVID-19, including within the framework of G20.

The Prime Minister appreciated the cooperation of Russian authorities in ensuring well-being of Indian students in Russia and hoped that the same would continue. President Putin assured all help in this regard. The Prime Minister told President Putin that Indian authorities concerned would continue to facilitate in all possible manner the efforts for ensuring the well-being and organised return of Russian nationals, as and when required.

The two leaders also agreed to continue their close cooperation for maintaining the excellent momentum and the warm of the cordial and time-tested bilateral relations. They reiterated that they looked forward to several opportunities for their interaction in person during the course of the year.

*****

Senior Citizens in Gated Community: A Case Study from Hyderabad

Ageing is an issue in a society as after attaining 60 years of age different types of problems crop up inter alia of which are health problem, earning problem, dependency syndrome, security of life and property etc. In India according to the website, www.popeindia.org/english/elderly-people, two major socio-demographic changes have contributed to bring about significant changes within the family and are having a major impact on communities. The first one is the increased longevity of people and the second one is a breakdown of joint family and the emergence of nuclear family. Industrialization, westernization and globalization are the major factors responsible for the breakdown of joint family system. Increased individualization and new technologies are also leading for marginalization of the senior citizens and, unfortunately, today they are considered as a social burden. Based on the author’s study, he (the author) has observed that many senior citizens prefer to stay in a gated community because of security, prompt health facilities etc. In this paper, a case of senior citizens staying in a gated community is presented. In Hyderabad city at Bandlaguda Jagir, a gated community is located which is spread over to an area of 17 acres of land having all faculties like basic indoor and outdoor games, gym, park, swimming pool, function hall etc. The gated community can accommodate 192 households; of course around 80 percent have been occupied. This gated community, under the banner of ‘Libdom Villas’ has been constructed under the leadership of Sri G. Vinod Reddy of M/s. Niyas Projects.

In the ‘Libdom Villas’ gated community, 19 senior male citizens in between age of 63 years and 84 years have remained active as every day they have been sharing different types of information, news, proverb, ‘dos and don’ts’ etc. by forming one WhatsApp group. In addition, every evening many of them sit and chit-chat in the park and happily passes the time. The author while interacted with them came to know few of them have come by selling their individual house from other place and settled here by purchasing a villa and few have come on rent also. While interacted with them, the author came to know that they are from different service background and either retired on superannuation from service or left business handing over to next generation. Regarding service background, it has been reported that someone worked in Indian Navy as senior officer; few were in nationalised banks in senior position, and few others were in various capacities in State Government and Central Government organisations. Further, all in unison informed that they felt happy to stay in the gated community as all facilities which require for elderly persons, toddlers, children, ladies and youths are available. Also, 24 hours electricity, water, security of the area, maintenance staffs, video call if outsiders come, are accessible at the door step. In case of individual house security, maintenance etc. are great issues. And to meet another person even for time pass one has to go.

Before winding up, it may be concluded that (www.un.org/en/events/olderpersonsday)

between 2017 and 2030, the number of persons aged 60 years or over is projected to grow by 46 per cent (from 962 million to 1.4 billion) globally outnumbering youth, as well as children under the age of 10. The older people have always played a significant role in the society as leaders, caretakers and custodians of tradition, yet they are also highly vulnerable.

The International Day of Older Persons is an opportunity to highlight the important contributions that older people make to society and raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges of ageing in today’s world.

Dr Shankar Chatterjee

Former Professor & Head (CPME),NIRD & PR ( Govt. of India), Hyderabad, India

Former Associate Professor, Eritrea

Former Assistant Prof, Govt. Degree College, Tripura, India

Former Senior Planning Officer, Govt of Assam, India

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Objectives:

Activities Supported under CSRI:

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The body has also come up with recommendations to stop this:

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