List of Sample Essays for Practice: Free:

Drug Abuse is a Social Evil Scientific Temper and Rational Planning Information Technology and Small Enterpreneurs Scourge of Unemployment Chemical arfare and India

here does Capitalism go from !ere Education as a Short of Commodity Today Parties" Parliament and #a$% A real Conflict !uman Rights &iolation Policy of Compensatory Discrimination% A need for Revie$ 'ass Communication and Social Change Resource Crunch in Education Proper 'anpo$er Planning% A 'ust for Development School" Society and (amily 'aladies affecting Education System )ust as roads need Speed*+rea,ers" Developing Economies need Protection Ignoring Innovation is closing Significance of (orests Is So 'uch Emphasis on Information Technology )ustified Ambit of Information Technology If USA has fifty States" India can recast its federation United .ations% Instrument of International Understanding and orld Peace indo$s of -pportunity

e are inching to$ards moden polity% There is no need of /od to come to po$er

(orest to Tribals as

ater to (ishes

Secularism is simply verbal replacement of $ord Tolerance International Co*operation through Science and Technology Education for all three% +ody" 'ind and Intellect !uman beings share a common Destiny !uman resource Development If 0outh ,ne$" If Age Could A .e$spaper is al$ays a $eapon in someone1s hand #augh and the $orld laugh $ith you" Cry and you cry alone Sports have deeper significance than mere entertainment (orest needs conservation Should Stri,es be banned Teach a men and you teach a individual" Teach a $omen and you teach a generation Repression brings revolution Environmental Pollution All $orld is a stage and All men and $omen are merely players

Link to essays of the Essay Contest winners: Apr. 2009 Examrace Essay Contest (irst inners:

inner% Arti Singh 2Clic, here to read the essay3 inners:

Fe!. 2009 Examrace Essay Contest (irst Second Third

inner% /lobal Impacts of Recession2Clic, here to read the essay3 inner% 0outh and Terrorism 2Clic, here to read the essay3 inner% /lobali4ation and Urbani4ation 2Clic, here to read the essay3

Peace "n the #in$ is Peace E%erywhere "Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace." Peace is a state or condition in $hich there is absence of aggression" anger" violence and hostility5 It is a state or condition in $hich our mind" body and soul is at rest5 It is an e6perience of being calm and cool from $ithin5 Peace is a condition of harmony" establishing mutual and cordial relationship from $ithin and $ith others too5 If a person has peace in mind" his thin,ing po$er and imagination s,ill increases5 There is rise in his resolution s,ills and he $ill opt for a superb 7udgement5 As per 'aslo$ theory of 'otivation" !uman needs are categorised in 8 levels% +asic or physiological needs " Safety needs " #ove and belongingness needs " Self Esteem .eeds and lastly Self Actuali4ation .eeds5 An Individual is surrounded by all these needs in order to fulfill it and In doing so he loses and forgets his peace of mind5 !e forgets his real action5 !e forgets to ta,e proper care of his o$n body" his health and above all meditate5 orst form against peace is frustration" stress and tension $hich provides for the evolution of disaster in the society5 .o$ a days" Terrorism is a common term $hich is ,no$n to everybody5 Terrorism is also a danger and disastrous form due to lac, of peace of mind5 !ere goes a story $hich I heard from my father in Childhood% There $as a ,ing $ho announced a pri4e to that artist $ho $ould paint the best picture of peace5 'any artists tried5 The ,ing loo,ed at all the pictures5 +ut there $ere only t$o he really li,ed" and he had to choose bet$een them5 -ne picture $as of a calm la,e5 The la,e $as a perfect mirror for peaceful standing mountains all around it5 Above it $as a blue s,y $ith $hite clouds5 All $ho sa$ this picture thought that it $as a perfect picture of peace5 The other picture had mountains" too5 +ut these $ere rugged and bare5 Above $as an angry s,y" from $hich rain fell and in $hich lightning occurred5 Do$n the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming $aterfall5 This did not loo, peaceful at all5 +ut $hen the ,ing loo,ed closely" he sa$ behind the $aterfall a tiny bush gro$ing in a crac, in the roc,5 In the bush a mother bird had built her nest5 There" in the midst of the rush of angry $ater" sat the mother bird on her nest * in perfect peace5 hich picture do you thin, $on the pri4e9 The ,ing chose the second picture5 Do you ,no$ $hy9 :+ecause": e6plained the ,ing" PEACE I. IT!I. -.ESE#( IS PEACE E&ER0 !ERE5

&lo!al "mpacts 'f (ecession The advancement of technology and globali4ation has led the individual national economies under one roof of the global economy5 The economic gain or loss e6perienced by developed economy ma,es a

deep impact globally5 The era from ;<<; to ;<<=" the developed economies $ere en7oying the gro$th period so as the $orld economy5 The global managers and reputed funds estimated the gro$th to continue at a double pace from there too5 In order to earn competitive edge over other and to gain supremacy" every economic participant doubled their operations capacity $ithout ta,ing sufficient ris, measures" $hich ultimately resulted in 1Recession* A curse to the economy15 The prevailing recession in the $orld economy started $ith the famous US Sub*Prime Crisis5 This crisis in their probation period $as the hint to the economy reformist for the up coming problem they are li,ely to face5 +ut they failed to crac, the hint and in their accordance it $as not so big to tac,le5 This crisis also resulted in recession $hich had very adverse impact on the $orld as a $hole5 (irstly" it led to closures of big financial institutes > ban,s $hich $ere operating from centuries5 #ehman brothers propounded by t$o brothers in ?@=8 filled his ban,ruptcy because of this crunch5 DSP 'eril #ynch operating from last 8< decades had to shut its shutter because of the credit crunch5 Citi group" +ear Sterner" AI/" )P 'organ are some other institutes $hich got deteroited in this recession storm5 The problem doesnAt stop here5 The failure of these institutions created the problem of credit for the industry and business $hich reBuire a huge amount of credit to finance their operations5 As a result the running companies found themselves in suffocating environment of viscous circle5 Secondly" there $as the loss of confidence5 (or the smooth running of trade > business a mutual trust and a ,een confidence is a must in the mar,et5 Recession in the mar,et led to the loss of confidence among members5 As a result" it led to the suspension of the contracts > agreements bet$een the parties5 Realtors > the infrastructure companies $ere the ma7or losers on this ground5 'any land deals" acBuisitions deteroited and conseBuently resulted in big losses to the companies5 Thirdly" unemployment came as a very devastating conseBuence of the recession5 The shut do$n of the institutions and big concerns resulted in 7ob loss of thousands of s,illed and semi s,illed personals5 The problem doubles itself as the ne$ entrants enter the mar,et5 The situation is very adverse and pitiful as the potential > substantial resource of the country remains idle5 +ecause of the unemployment" the resource $hich is contributor to the gro$th becomes the consumer > hurdle of the gro$th5 The /ro$th and the Recession" both are li,e t$o side of the coin" the $hich $ay it going to spins no one ,no$s5 +ut $e should ta,e enough measures to ta,e care of both the situations5 (uture is unpredictable" so every economy should have suitable ris, management scheme to deal $ith such devastating problem5

)o*th an$ +errorism The first $ord that comes to mind $hen one hears the $ord youth is ebullience" enthusiasm and energy5 The energetic youth" the so called future of country are li,e the 7uvenile stage of river $hich is full of flo$ and e6uberance5 and gradually slo$s do$n as it meets the ocean in its mature stage5 Similarly" the youth gro$s up to face the $orld and loo, to$ards the challenges $hich emphasi4es more on e6perience rather than amateur talented youths5 +oth river and youth can be tapped for advantages and thus can be used as e6cellent corporeal5 +ut to tap the best potential of todayAs youth is not an easy tas," as they thin, that they are mature enough and best in the $orld5 The main issue of concern today is that the talent and energy of the youth is getting vulnerable and easily plundered5 Acts of terrorism underscore the urgent need to promote peace" particularly initiated by youth as they are talented" intelligent and lifeline of the nation5 Unfortunately today some youths are diverted to$ards anti social activities by the destroyers of the future or the anti*social agents5 There is an urgent need to chal, out the ma7or reasons that attracts the intelligent and potential youth of the nation5 Is it money9 Is it a better living9 -r is it 7ust revenge9 The ma7or reasons are They $ant some e6citement 2As the case of A7amal Casab convict of ;DE?? 'umbai terror attac,3 They are not eBuipped $ith most po$erful tool $hich a human being can have i5e5" ,no$ledge and studies5 Some people may argue that even talented engineer" doctors and many philanthropist even resorts to this anti human act5 Ans$er to that Buestions are as follo$s" they eBuip themselves $ith all the technology so that they can carry for$ard their mission 5$hich has been handed over to them after telling them the fa,e stories that if they $ould do these activities then so called 7ihad mission $ould be completed or /od $ould become happy5 Since $hen they are 7uvenile" they are flooded $ith feelings $hich are antagonist to humanity5 +ut the dar,er side of the image is that they are taught that this is the best $ay to persuade /od5 Terrorism has ta,en several forms today it is not 7ust by creating terror in bet$een people by planting bombs" but also today cyber terrorism" bio terrorism and space terrorism are also present to steal a$ay sleep of the common man5 All these types of terrorism are blessed by constant support and ma7or participation of youths5 So ho$ these practices can be ended or at least stopped5 People $ould say that government should ,eep eye on these activities5 +ut it is not possible for any country to ,eep eye on its o$n progeny5 It is only active participation from common people that can reduce such activities and the day on $hich this thing $ould happen the famous ma6im by respected late P' Shri #al +ahaduri Sashtri $ould attain its global recognition5 F)AI )A A. " )AI CISA.G5

Also madarssa education system should also be chec,ed" youth especially in their salad days should be given proper attention5 And the $hen these thing $ould happen every slum dog $ould become millionaire and not terrorist5 F)AI !I.DG HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH &L',AL"-A+"'. A./ 0(,A."-A+"'. /lobali4ation and Urbani4ation are the terms $hich are interlin,ed $ith each other in spite of the very dissimilar definitions5 /lobali4ation is a process of economy $hich deals $ith trading across the borders for mutual gro$th and thus ma,ing $orld as one urban city5 here as urbani4ation is a gro$th process of economy through $hich the rural areas are developed into a high living standard area that is urban area5 +oth concludes to gro$th and prosperity" but are some $hat different in their perceptions5 In the $orld $here $e live globali4ation is very essential for a country to gro$5 hen trades are done at a higher pace $ith different foreign countries" foreign capital starts to flo$ in $hich thus increases foreign direct investments and this in turn increases our /DP by significant numbers5 This is a basic economic policy $hich human beings are dealing from a very early stage of their civili4ation5 These policies brought industrial revolution in many $estern countries5 hich in turn let their financial condition to gro$ and prosper and no$ they have most advanced cities5 The citi4ens of these countries have a better healthy life style5 Today India is soaring high in economy" its /DP is increasing" economic condition is getting better" more number of people are getting employed" per capita income is increasing $hich means people are getting rich and their life style is getting better" the people under poverty line are decreasing5 'ore and more villages are getting good infrastructure and loans are getting $aived off due to substantial gro$th of our service sector and thus urbani4ation is ta,ing place around the villages and the concept of r* urbani4ation2 a recent term in use3 can be visuali4ed in the countryside areas as many barren and unused lands are been ta,en up by many companies for SEI purpose5 This in turn is increasing 7ob prospect for many s,illed $or,ers $ho use to earn less through agriculture5 Indeed globali4ation is one of the important factors that led to all this development5 ItAs 7ust because $hole $orld has united and has come so close that demand of Buantity $ith Buality has increased many folds5 That is $hy India has come up $ith so many shopping malls" multiple6es" and many desi Indian handicraft shops has directly opened their outlets in foreign countries5 This has been possible only because of globali4ation5 This economic reform of the ?JJ<As has given India such an economic boost that it is at present second fastest gro$ing economy after China5 India has already fle6ed their economic muscle and if this pace of globali4ation and thus trading continues" it $onAt ta,e more than ten years to become a super po$er5 +ut as $e ,no$ everything has both positive and negative side" similarly globali4ation has both sides5 Till a year bac, $e sa$ a very prosperous side of globali4ation" but no$ as the recession hit American economy" the globali4ation factor made the business in various countries feel serious 7olts5 This happened because of over dependence on American economy $hich actually happened because of this globali4ation factor5 !avenAt the other countries relied on each other for e6port and import to this e6tend the scenario $ould have been much different5 In India $here /DP $as sailing to near about J58K" due to this global meltdo$n it is e6pected to come do$n to around D*=K5 This meltdo$n ripped off many 7obs and about ;< la,hs people in India are

7obless to date5 This in turn has affected the urbani4ation process severely" as government is going on poor funds for gro$th5 Thus here the main villain is the globali4ation5 !ence $e sa$ that globali4ation $as the messiah" $ho brought unbelievable economic gro$th in India" and thus helped in urbani4ing the villages and also to raise the status of people5 +ut again due to over dependence on this ,ind of policy $e sa$ the global meltdo$n and thus causing unemployment" poverty and thus reduction in economic gro$th" $hich thus caused recession in urbani4ation5 So $e can say that over dependence is the main culprit5 A balance is therefore reBuired to gro$ and prosper efficiently5 /r*1 A!*se is a Social E%il :Drug is Death% Say no to Drugs : and other similar slogans visible on billboards and ne$spapers are proofs of the social a$areness drug abuse has attracted5 Drug related crimes are eBually conscience stirring and have made people much over it5 e all have relied on the drugs5 -ur doctors have prescribed for the various diseases" so" ho$ can its use be an abuse5 The use of psychoactive substances for obtaining relief from mental tension or physical discomfort i5e5 for therapeutic uses is legitimate use of drugs5 Contrary to this" $hen used for attaining pleasure or ne$ e6periences and conseBuent physical or psychological harm is termed as drug abuse5 Such drug abuse induces drug dependence and ultimately addiction and habituation5 In drug addicts there is enslavement to drugs and compulsion to obtain and consume it by any means5 They develop a psychological and physical dependence on the effects of the drugs and an effect detrimental to the individual and to the society5 The abusable drugs are of various typesL sedatives or depressants that rela6 the central nervous systems" induce sleep and provide a soothing effect5 Stimulants activate the central nervous systems and relieve tensions" ma,e them aggressive and counteract fatigue5 .arcotics" li,e depressants affect M the central nervous system and produce feelings of pleasure strength and lesson inhibitions5 !allucinogens produce distortion of perceptions and dream images5 Drug abuse has been e6plained by psychologists and sociologists5 It is generally regarded that pleasurable sensations produced by drugs reinforce their use or it satisfies certain psychological needs" or is a response to fear and insecurity to the conditions of modern life" often association $ith users is also regarded as a reason for accepting drugs5 Drug abuse can also be e6plained in terms of $ea,ening of social bonds bet$een individuals and society due to malad7ustment alienation and noncommitments5 A ne$ dimension in drug abuse has been its use by sports persons to enhance their potential beyond humanly endurable limits5 The incident of +en )ohnson $as a 7olt to the sports lovers all over the $orld and has caused much thin,ing on effort to curb the recurrence of such incidents5 !o$ever" $ith unfailing regularity such controversies erupt" for e6ample Catrin Crabe5 It $ould be appropriate here to search for the causes of drug abuse5 Among sports persons it can be safely attributed to the search and urge for glory5 It can be an attempt to gain an unfair advantage over the others in the achievement orientation of modern society5 The ends have become all po$erful and means have been relegated as secondary5

The use of drugs among children $hich is most shoc,ing and astounding can be variously e6plained5 )uvenile delinBuents ta,e to it in defiance and deviance to the social values5 Some children accept it under peer group pressure and as an act of proving their 1masculinity5 -thers ta,e to this due to $ea,ening of emotional bonds bet$een parents and siblings5 The children $ho are in an impressionable age reBuire much effectual and emotional bond to $ean them a$ay from such antisocial activities5 In rural areas the use of psychoactive substance is for religious purposes and on ritual occasions5 !o$ever" it is also used to relieve fatigue and also a source of entertainment5 In industrial urban setting the use is for more or less the same reasons5 Apart from the health and physical disadvantages drug abuse causes" it has also led to e acceleration in crime5 An addict $ould stop" nothing to get his dose of the drug5 There has been a spurt in thefts and murders by these addicts $hose dependence physical and psychological upon the drugs is so great that the accepted values and norms of the society are shelved and their prime concern becomes acBuiring their dosage5 There has been an increase in smuggling and peddling of those drugs as the economic advantages are numerous5 It has also made the gangs engaged in such activities more vicious and violent as the economic sta,es are very high5 This delineation of drug abuse brings us to the point $here reference must be made to efforts to curb their evil5 /iven that the use of drugs have historical and cultural conte6t ma,es prevention more complicated5 Efforts have been made to combat drug traffic,ing" treat addicts and prevent drug abuse5 India being on the transit route faces a challenging and unenviable tas,5 !o$ever" our .arcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act has not been very effective" Sei4ures have increased and so have indictment for offences but that is reflective only of the increase in those activities and not any positive development of control of drug abuse5 -ther legal sanctions are merely suggestions of intention and not actions5 /overnment regards drugs as a source of revenue and therefore its cultivation cannot be stopped5 The inefficiency of administrative machinery in policing and preventing abuse needs no highlighting5 The only positive development is the establishment of de*addiction and deto6ification centers $hich" have enabled us to salvage some people from destruction5 !o$ever" these centers are e6pensive and the addicts have a tendency to relapse unless they have a strong $ill po$er and a desire to abdicate the malaise5 &oluntary associations have also been doing a commendable tas,5 In conclusion" $e can say that drug abuse has been reali4ed as a ma7or evil5 It is a social problem and has legal ramifications5 It has been given a high profile no$ and mass media has been disseminating information to educate people $ith the intention of preventing drug abuse5 The battle continues and $ar on drugs is on5

Scientific +emper an$ (ational Plannin1 :Reali4ing these limitations of reason and scientific method" $e have siill to hold on to them $ith all our strength" for $ithout that firm basis and bac,ground $e can" have no grip on any ,ind of truth or

reality:5 These are a large number of people in our society $ho have formally studied or are studying science" clearly driven by 7ob e6pectations5 This has caused the retreat of traditional values and a degree of moderni4ation and homogeni4ation of society" it Is no$ certainly far less segregated along lines of caste" language or religion5 Those $ho are engaged in industry" business and1 commerce have no time to determine $hat identity their counterparts belong to5 This is certainly a ma7or achievement in free India5 !o$ever" if one loo,s at some of our fundamental problems" there is much cause for dismay and disappointment5 Ta,e the Buestion of population5 Even 8< years ago5 At the time of Independence" the Indian subcontinent $as already cro$ded5 Today1s India is adding in population in terms an Australia every year5 +ut $e are not adding to our resource base in the same proportion5 Irrationality is the lac, of access to safe drin,ing $ater and sanitary toilets for a large ma7ority of our population" $hile a small segment is busy $ith star T&" C.." 'T& and so on5 After independence a substantial and comprehensive base of science and technology has been created and several scientists and technologists trained5 Among the laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research" there have been some very good e6amples of integration $ith application5 To mention only t$o % the Central #eather Research Institute has done $ell to help e6port leather goodsL the .ational Chemical #aboratory too has a good record of $or,ing $ith industry5 The other laboratories" in spite of high Buality manpo$er and facilities" have not yet been able to upgrade industry or provide ne$ designs and processes5 A recent move to ma,e them earn fifty percent of their operating cost outside of the government funds" may force them to integrate $ith industry5 Agriculture has seen a really successful tieup bet$een the laboratories and the farms5 e must continue their association as agriculture $ill no$ face another revolution based on biotechnological innovations" it is in atomic energy and space sciences" $here the applications have been tightly ,nit $ith laboratory $or," that progress has been really very impressive5 Indian scientists and technologist e6pected that lin,s bet$een thelaboratories and application areas $ould be strengthened" and that $e $ould soon see a strong" selfreliant industrial and agricultural development5 +ut no$ $e face irrationality5 The opening up of the economy and liberali4ation" after four decades of regulation and control" has been $idely $elcomed5 If the ne$ open door policy succeeds" India Is e6pected to have large manufacturing bases for products of multinationals" hopefully supplying an overseas mar,et $ith goods that $ill compete globally in price" Buality and performance5 This could happen at least in a range of products $here our resource base $ould augment the advantage of lo$cost s,illed labor5 -n the other hand" $e $ill only be manufacturing to designs evolved in one of the advanced countries5 The design capability $e have built up is in danger of $ilting5 The e6ceptions $ould be $here the ' Cs find it1 profitable to integrate Indian design effort into their mainline $or,5 This is li,ely to be limited5 hat are the prospects of product of Indian technology brea,ing into the e6port mar,et9 Soft$are e6port has been gro$ing $ell and there is considerable scope for e6pansion5 As a general rule" the scale of manufacture has been small5 Even our larger activities $ould be mini or micro in international comparison5 'any of these industries have been too small to support independent design effort" let alone research and development5 There is a real danger to the survival of many of these industries In the face of competition from overseas giants $ho can indulge in price cutting and dumping $ith ta,eovers" dismantling of any line of manufacture could easily happen in the guise of rationali4ation5 hy is it important for India to continue its faith in selfreliance9 'any people $ould point out that many economics such as those of South Corea" Tai$an" Thailand" Indonesia" 'alaysia and others have done $ell in gro$ing as part of international division of labour5 #et us recall that Indian $ith a population of @<< million and China $ith over one billion are the t$o potentially largest economies5 They $ill gro$ for the ne6t several decades5 They $ill therefore" be large mar,ets for both capital goods and consumer articles5

India $ill continue to build po$er stations" e6tended electricity supplies" add to its fleet of truc,s" moderni4e the rail$ay system" build petroleum refineries" and so on5 EBually" the consumer demands for automobiles" t$o $heelers" T& sets and so forth $ill also continue5 It is important" therefore" that $e not only manufacture these articles in the country but also improve them $ith ne$er designs based on research and development underta,en in the country5 There is a need to integrate ourselves into the global economy at our o$n pace as eBual partners but not be stamped into 7oining as second class citi4en5 henever one defends the policy of the opening up of our economy the case is on the basis of bringing in the latest technology reBuired to rapidly build up the nation5 Nuite often $e end up getting technology" for soft drin,s or fast food5 &erghese Curien posed the Buestion : hy do $e need to import the technology for potato chips9: A ne$s item tal,s about the entry to India of the American fast food chain" 'c Donalds5 The entry is 7ustified on the ground that it $ould attract overseas tourists5 The list of irrationalities does not end here5 At another level" there is the irrationality of the Indian Science Congress instituting an a$ard for astrology5 Another irrationality staring us in the face is the Dun,el Draft that is being negotiated by the /ATT5 estern Pharmaceutical companies have complained in the past about India1s patent la$s5 Even if" these la$s did not suit them" the country has been able to supply lifesaving drugs at affordable prices5 Under the ne$ dispensation" this may not be so5 Even more ominous are the provisions relating to intellectual property rights as they apply to agriculture5 According to noted agricultural scientist '5S5 S$aminathan" free flo$ of ,no$ledge across national frontiers helped the gro$th of agriculture and animal husbandry $orld$ide5 The provisions" of the Dun,el Draft favour Europe and .orth America and mitigate against the developing countries5 Even in the field of computer soft$are" the Dun,el provisions mitigate against the hours5 In a number of cases" court orders $ere $rongly interpreted to the chagrin of the affected parties" forcing them to go the !igh Court or the Supreme Court for contempt proceedings5 .ot surprisingly" the system of ready 7ustice dispensed by criminals and antisocial elements $ith the connivance of political parties is finding increasing acceptance in society5 The Cini murder case is only the tip of the iceberg5 Political parties are not prepared to ta,e up the cudgels against the trend5 Rather" they denigrate the 7udiciary5 It is not therefore" surprising that the leaders of political parties at the national level are tal,ing of reasserting the supremacy of Parliament visavis the 7udiciary and of amending the Prevention of Corruption Act to e6clude the elected representatives from its purvie$ and so on5 There is also a move to amend the provisions of the Constitution to bring the 7udiciary under the undisputed hold of the e6ecutive in the matter of appointment and transfers of 7udges of the higher 7udiciary5 The latest in this series of the proposed onslaughts is the move to curtail the scope of Public Interest #itigation by ma,ing it obligatory for the applicant to pay a deposit of Rs5 ? la,h and to confine the eligibility of the applicants to those $ho are belo$ the poverty line and so on5 The arrogance and insensitivity of the e6ecutive at the State and Central levels $ere decisively brought home recently once again by its actions of invo,ing the provisions of the -fficial Secrets Act5 In a recent PI# case in the +ombay !igh Court pertaining to the reported death of over ?5<<< children during the last four" years in the tribal area of 'elghat in Amravati district" the 'aharashtra /overnment too, the unbelievable stand that the t$o reports of inBuiry made by Secretaries to the /overnment could not be made available s they $ere secret5 (ortunately" the court did not uphold this plea and directed that they be made available to the parties to the litigation immediately5 The other PI# onan eBually vital public issueMthe safety standards in nuclear establishmentsMas,ed $hether precautions $ere being ta,en conforming to international standards and $hether the regulatory and overseeing institutional arrangements $ere adeBuate5 Again" a plea of the matter being secret $as ta,en in the court by the /overnment of India5 Unfortunately" the court accepted the plea and dismissed the PI#5 As it happens" the State /overnment concerned is being ruled by a coalition of the Shiv Sena and the

+)P" and the Centre by a coalition of ?O political parties $ith Congress support5 Therefore" in a sense" almost all political parties are partners in ma,ing a moc,ery of an open" transparent and responsible government $hich a democracy is e6pected to provide5 It also sho$s their disregard for the 7udicial process and 7udicial revie$ in such areas of critical public interest5 This inevitably raises the Buestion of the direction in $hich the Indian democracy is heading5 Sooner than later" the Buestion $hich 'r5 Thac,eray as,ed : ho rules this country" the e6ecutive or the 7udiciary": $ill have to be ans$ered in no uncertain terms5 It is the rule of la$ $hich governs the country5 The e6ecutive or the 7udiciary or Parliament are mere instrumentalities5 It is a travesty of truth to say that during the 8<th anniversary of our Independence" ans$ers to such basic Buestions are still unclear to the ruling political elite5

"nformation +echnolo1y an$ Small Entreprene*rs A small scale enterprise is the dream of an ambitious individual $ho does not $ant to be employed by others but to stand on his o$n legs5 Such a person $ants to have guidance in the tas, of setting up the enterprise5 If he succeeds he becomes $ealthy and if he loses he has lost everything5 Therefore all his decisions should be sound and there is the importance of information5 Entrepreneurs reBuire varieties of information $hen they get involved in the process of identifying and formulating the pro7ect" raise various resources" implement them and ,eep the same gro$ing5 hile in the process of identifying the pro7ect he needs to have a chec,list of pro7ects that may suit his bac,ground" $ithin his capacity to invest" relevant to the location he prefers" and so on5 Then" $ith the list of products or pro7ects he has to underta,e mar,et research" and by process of elimination select that single pro7ect of his dream and 5prepare a detailed pro7ect report" thereafter he has to raise resources" arrange for land building" plant and machinery" recruit personnel" e7ect and commission the eBuipment" develop products" establish mar,eting channels" sell his products" get customer feed bac," ,eep competing in the mar,et and gro$5 All these activities reBuire a mass of accurate and uptodate information5 (or a given investment the employment potential of the small industry is the highest5 Since a government has to give high priority to solving the unemployment problem so as to remain in po$er the State and Central governments have established a number of organi4ations to underta,e development of large" medium" small" tiny" and cottage industries5 Since the last three are very large in numbers running to millions spread far and $ide there are hundreds of organi4ations functioning at the district level" state Capitals and throughout the country also5 The Small Industry Development -rgani4ation of the /overnment of India $ith its vast net$or, of institutions across the entire country" state level industry departments" district industry centers" small industry development corporations" state financial corporations" village and ,hadhi industries commissions and boards" and many more such organi4ations are spending enormous amount of resources5 All these organi4ations are supposed to provide varieties of crucial information to the entrepreneur and help him ta,e the right decision every time5 Some organi4ations have the mandate to provide uptodate pro7ect profiles for entrepreneurs to ma,e investment decisions5 (or about @<<< pro7ect profiles containing number of variables $ith respect to item" location and chosen technology there is no one to provide a reasonably uptodate pro7ect profile $hen demanded by the entrepreneurs5 The same is the fate unreceptive of getting mar,et research data" analysis and reports" industrial potential reports" area development study reports" reBuirements of product and services from small industry by large and medium industry" central and state governments" are also supposed to be $ithin the reach of small entrepreneurs5 Then there is the need for the small entrepreneurs to ,no$ about foreign trade information concerning importers" e6porters" countries" their industry and business profiles" sources of technology" ra$ materials" eBuipment" patents" Buality standards" pi ices" government rules and regulations" ta6es and duties" and so on5 +ut the entrepreneurs

do not get the information5 The e6port promotion councils" and government underta,ings have severe limitations to fulfilling the needs of small entrepreneurs $ho themselves cannot afford to gather the same5 .o$ information services are $ell organi4ed in the developed $orld due to the developments in electronics" computers and telecommunication5 The development in electronic data processing" personal computers" net$or,ing" lin,ing pc5 modems and telephones have no$ made it possible to collect large magnitude of data5 Instant online retrieval of information and storage through $hat are called CDR-' des,s have become a reality" in the developed $orld data base companies such as Cnight Ridder information inc5" Compuserve" America -nline and orld Trade Centre net$or, are revolutioni4ing business5 Internet is proving to be a fantastic for not only information but also communication through Email" fa6 possibilities5 +usiness publicity through Internet is spreading li,e $ild fire5 There are something li,e ten thousand database companies collecting daily global information" updating and ma,ing the same available $orld$ide5 Although many organi4ations in India" both government 5and private are in the business of providing information they have severe limitations $ith regard to resources" e6pertise" technology and vision5 A fe$ organi4ations such as the centre for monitoring Indian economy" +IS.ET of rICCI" India on line by DART" I.SD-C" .ational Informatic Centre" and others have appeared on he scene5 Internet has been introduced5 +ut these developments have hardly been of any help to the small industry sector5 Electronic data processing is yet to be ,no$n to the small industry development organi4ation5 .ational Informatics centre is no$here near developing database for small industry5 Enormous information $as gathered $hen the CE.SUS of small industry $as organi4ed5 This $as supposed to be for understanding the sector and ta,ing policy decisions for the development by the official machinery5 hile no one ,no$s of any policy decisions haying revolutioni4ed the sector" it is Buite obvious that an e6cellent opportunity to develop a database of small industry $as lost5 About t$o decades ago the .ational small industry e6tension training institute had put in a lot of effort to build a documentation centre5 +ut due to various reasons it has not emerged as a national institution for coordinating the information needs of small industry5 It is time there is an ape6 organi4ation net$or, $ith all the promotional institutions in India as $ell as abroad to build a speciali4ed database centre for small industry5 The single most important database of crucial interest to millions of Indian entrepreneurs is the pro7ect profile database5 It should cost around hundred million rupees5 There is need to database concerning government policy" procedures" ta6es" finance" technology" mar,ets and company profiles5 Speciali4ed database industry $ise" area $ise" and so on $ill also be needed5 Since small entrepreneurs individually cannot afford to spend on their o$n to establish information centers there is a need for the /overnments or nongovernmental organi4ations to ta,e up the initiative in the matter5 Considerable investment may be reBuired to bring in eBuipment and e6pertise5 !undreds of organi4ations across the country $ill have to net$or, $ith each other and share the cost and $or,5 +ut $ho $ill bell the cat9 To meet the needs of millions of small entrepreneurs it may be reBuired to establish hundreds of database5 The Investment reBuired $ill be substantial5 The e6isting organi4ations $or, in $ater tight compartments and have no idea of the magnitude of the tas,5 There is a $idespread vie$ that information should be provided to the entrepreneurs $hen as,ed for $ithout any cost5 There is no $ay for organi4ations to share the information and cost5 .either the official machinery nor the small industry associations understand the importance of information5 hile the official machinery plans for ma,ing stringent rules and regulatory la$s to ration the concessions" reliefs and subsidies the entrepreneurs and their associations develop e6pertise to find shortcuts to get doles from government departments5 The infrastructure needs such as information" po$er and roads" are easily forgotten5

There is tremendous scope for service industries all over the $orld5 Information services can also be profitable $hen millions of persons are see,ing the service" it is true that the poor Buality of service organi4ed $ith lot of investment but offered almost free of cost at present is a discouraging factor5 +ut it is the e6perience of almost everyone $ho has involvement in the e6tension services to the small industry that entrepreneurs do not mind paying as long as the information is uptodate" available $hen as,ed for and reliable5 The technology that is emerging is e6citing and can be easily mar,eted5 The country is moving to$ards an information revolution5 !ighly trained manpo$er is easily available5 Science and technology par,s are being established5 Therefore it is a matter of time that this service sector gets noticed by the entrepreneurs themselves5 'illions of unemployed persons need net get frustrated and ,eep hunting for 7obs5 Upto date information" available at affordable cost $hen as,ed for" $ill act as motivation for them5 So many small industries need pot fail for having ta,en decisions based on $rong or insufficient information5 Instead of loo,ing for local mar,ets the industry can hope to get overseas mar,ets5 .et$or,ing $ith global entrepreneurs means better Buality products at cheaper prices for the consumers5 It is not only empo$ering the entrepreneur but also enriching him or her5 'a7or restructuring of promotional institutions is necessary to establish an ape6 organi4ation to coordinate the development of database centers for small industry in India5 It is also necessary to encourage private and non private institutions to 7oin hands $ith government departments to promote information services5 The entrepreneurs should understand the importance of information and be $illing to pay for it5 Such developments $ill benefit millions of persons5

+he Sco*r1e of 0nemployment -ne of the principal manifestations of and factors contributing to the lo$ levels of living in developing nations is their relatively inadeBuate or inefficient utili4ation of labor in developed nations5 Underutili4ation of labor is manifested in t$o forms5 (irst" it occurs as underemploymentMthose people" both rural and urban $or,ers $or,ing less than they could5 Underemployment also includes those $ho are normally $or,ing full time but $hose productivity so lo$ that they $ould have a negligible impact on total output5 The second form is open unemploymentMthose people $ho are able and often eager to $or, but for $hom no suitable 7obs are available5 It is this form of underutili4ation of labor $hich is of our concern here5 -pen unemployment" often includes s,illed $or,ers highly trained in sophisticated technologies $ithin its ambit5 This involves a colossal $aste of the nation1s human resources5 -n a different plane" such unemployment causes unfathomable trauma and alienation on the person thus affected5 The number of unemployed persons in a developing country depends primarily on the si4e and age composition of its population5 In this conte6t t$o observations" are of the prime significance5 Developing countries li,e India succeeded in substantially reducing the death rates $ithout bringing about a commensurate reduction in the birth rates but also created high present dependency ratios and rapidly e6panding future labor ratios5 The second observation relates to the impact of fertility decline5 Even if fertility rates $ere to decline its impact on labor force si4e and age structure $ould be visible after a considerable period of time5 !aving made these observations $e no$ turn to$ards the aim of development for developing countries $ith special reference to India5 In developing countries most of the unemployment is structural" here the demand for labor falls short of employment account of agricultural bac,$ardness" underdevelopment of industries and small si4e of the service sector5 #i,e all other underdeveloped countries" India presently suffers from structural unemployment $hich e6ists both in the open and disguised forms5 Apart from structural unemployment the phenomenon of industrial recession in the last couple of decades has also introduced" $hat is called cyclical unemployment5 !o$ever" this type of

unemployment can be removed by antirecessionary policies and by raising effective demand5 !ence" structural unemployment remains our principal aliment5 (or analytical purposes unemployment in the country may be thought to e6ist in t$o forms % urban and rural5 Urban unemployment includes industrial unemployment and educated unemployment $hile rural unemployment can be either open or disguised5 An important section of rural unemployment in India is seasonal in nature5 'ost of the unemployment in urban areas is open and undisguised5 Industrial unemployment in urban areas is on the rise despite the phenomenal e6pansion of the industrial sector during the Plans5 The circumstances $hich led to such an eventuality are many5 (irst" there has been a rapid increase in the economically active population $hich has far outpaced the gro$th of economy5 Secondly" population in urban areas has gro$n faster than other$ise $arranted because of a large influ6 of rural migrants5 The slo$ gro$th of industries has retarded the capacity of urban centers to absorb this surplus labor5 The education system in India continues to churn out la,hs of matriculates and graduates every year5 These people have little or no vocational training and they are unfit for any s,ilful employment5 The conseBuence of this is that they all han,er for $hite collar 7obs and other lo$ paid uns,illed 7obs5 It is not uncommon" therefore" to find graduates and others $ith still higher Bualifications competing for unbecoming 7obs5 The imperfect education system $ith its theoretical bias" lac, of aptitude" malad7ustments bet$een demand and supply of educated $or,ers are some $ell documented causes of educated unemployment5 #et us no$ loo, at some aspects of rural unemployment5 Seasonal unemployment in the farm sector is a normal occurrence in India5 Indian agriculture being a gamble $ith monsoons and the e6istence of a very small proportion of irrigated land ensures that the persons $or,ing on unirrigated tracts remain unemployed during the dry months unless they get some employment else$here M$hich is very difficult5 A $idely ac,no$ledged fact about Indian agriculture is that it is characteri4ed by the e6istence of considerable amount of surplus labor5 In green revolution belt" demand for $age labor has increased and agricultural laborers have had to be brought in to meet this demand5 As already mentioned most of the unemployment in India is structural5 Its main causes need a deeper insight5 Evidently" the demographic factor has played a ma7or role in contributing to the rapid gro$th of labor force in the country since independence5 !o$ever" in the Indian conte6t social factors affecting the supply of labor are as important as demographic factors5 The emergence of educated $omen has added a ne$ dimension to the supply of labor force5 These $omen have a changed perception of employment and they have come for$ard in a big $ay to compete $ith men for the fe$ 7obs available5 The brea,do$n of the )a7mani system of tradition order" upcoming ne$ occupations and the e6pansion communication and transport facilities have increased the mobility of labor5 This has resulted in an e6odus from rural d$ellings to urban locales thereby e6panding the labor supply in urban areas5 Evidently" economic development in cities has failed to cope up in providing additional 7obs to these ne$ urban entrants5 Thus" in a $ay" at least some unemployment in the cities can be definitely characteri4ed as a spillover of unemployment in the countryside5 The si4e of employment in any country depends considerably on the level of development5 As the country develops a large proportion of $or,horse gets absorbed in the secondary and tertiary sectors5 This has happened in India too but not at the desired rate because barring a fe$ e6ceptions the actual rate of gro$th of national income has fallen short of the targeted rate in all successive Plans5 'oreover" the Indian planners seem to have overloo,ed the argument that in the early phase of development there e6ists a real conflict bet$een the ob7ectives of economic gro$th and employment5 Another argument relates to the choice of technology mi65 Though no longer very fashionable" the argument rests on the premise that for a labor abundant country li,e India labor intensive techniBues of production should have been employed $hich has not happened5 The situation has been because of ste$ed administering of factor prices in favor of capital5 The distorted factor price 5structure encouraged

greater capital absorption at the cost of labor5 As already mentioned the education System in India is also responsible for our predicament5 e have been follo$ing the 'acaulay scheme $hich ma,es no attempt at development of human resources5 It is structured to provide cler,s and lo$er level e6ecutives to the governmentL 5and government1s needs are limited5 Thus"1 those $ho receive this ,ind of education are according to /unnar 'yrdal" not only" inadeBuately educated but also $rongly educated5 Unemployment has a very high lin,age $ith ? poverty and income distribution5 It not only leads to tremendous economic hardships but also a traumati4ed individual e6istence5 It reduces the self esteem of the individual and inevitably leads to his alienation from the society5 The roots of the current problems of youth unrest" 7uvenile delinBuency and gro$ing crime rates can to a large e6tent be traced bac, to the problem of unemployment5 As already mentioned unemployment underemployment in the countryside leads to urban migration5 This put and immense strain on civic amenities in these areas thereby reinforcing the spirit of despondency and alienation5 The /overnment is a$a,e to$ard this scourge on civili4ation and it has launched various schemes li,e )a$ahar Ro4gar 0o7ana" .ehru Ro4gar 0o7ana" etc5 +ut these 0o7anas though necessary because they open direct assault on poverty need to be streamlined and supplanted5 Streamlined because these plans have a tendency to overlap" they are manned by unmotivated" uncommitted and corrupt personnel and they do not have a clear line of action" as such they are incapable of rising to the challenge5 In any case" they have to be supplemented by a vigorous attac, at the root of the disproportionate rise in labor force problem vi45 population e6plosions5 !o$ever" " even the most effective population control drives $ill ta,e a long time to overcome the 1population momentum15 Therefore in the short run the need of vocationali4ing of education and e6panding self*employment cannot be overemphasi4ed5

Chemical

arfare an$ "n$ia

'edia reports some time ago suggested that .e$ Delhi $as $orried about India having signed and ratified the Chemical eapons Convention" $hen the United States" Russia" China and Pa,istan appeared to be dragging their feet5 Some reports even $ent so far as to say that .e$ Delhi $as loo,ing for loopholes that $ould let it renege on the commitment5 Cur ratification is not only morally correct but also in our best security interests5 If India indeed has second thoughts" an informed debate is must5 Unfortunately" there is very little a$areness of the implications of chemical $arfare in South Asia for such a debate5 Chemical agents could be nerve agents that are li,e insecticides and $hich ,ill very Buic,ly5 +lister agents are liBuids that primarily burn and blister the s,in" $ithin hours of e6posure5 These $ere used $idely in orld ar I" and mustard gas is an e6ample5 Cho,ing agents are volatile liBuids" the fumes of $hich $hen inhaled" cause death by in7uring the lungs and causing cho,ing5 They are less po$erful than the nerve agents5 +lood agents li,e the cho,ing agents are also breathed in and they ,ill by preventing body tissues from utili4ing o6ygen5 These are also less potent than nerve agents5 In a nonnuclear situation" the possession of chemical $arfare capabilities $ould be seen in the strategic sphere as a formidable blac,mail asset in the armory of the opposing side5 It $ould also be seen in the operational or tactical spheres as an invaluable asset for restoring an adverse situation5 In a nonnuclear $eapon scenario" a one*sided Chemical arfare 2C 3 capability $ould be destabili4ing5 ChinaP openly possesses such capabilities" and India and Pa,istan have the technological and industrial $here$ithal to easily create C capabilities5 Under these circumstances" the pressures on both the countries to actually do so either openly or clandestinely $ould be great5 In a situation of nuclear asymmetry" a much touted belief e6ists that C is a poor man1s ans$er to an adversary unclear capability5 If the nonnuclear po$er uses its C capability" there has to be the

presumption of an almost certain nuclear retaliation5 It can be argued that this fear of escalation into nuclear response $as $hat deterred 'r5 Saddam !ussain from ma,ing first use of C either against Israel1s strategic targets or on tactic as targets in the combat 4one during the /ulf ar5 At any rate" a nuclear retaliation to a nuclear first stri,e $ithout provocation or $hen only conventional hostilities are under$ay5 -n the other hand" a C retaliation to a nuclear first stri,e5 hether in the strategic or tactical spheres" is in terms of damage" going to be so puny by comparison" to say nothing of other uncertainties including $ind and $eather" that its deterrence value $ould be Buestionable5 -n balance" therefore" the vie$ that a C capability can deter an adversary1s nuclear capability is too simplistic and ought noL to be accepted by any serious planner5 -nly nuclear $eapons can deter nuclear $eapons5 #et us assume that a minimum nuclear deterrence is operating mutually in the South Asian conte6tL this might be un$eaponi4ed5 !o$ever" as long as it is tacitly accepted by all parties to be capable of being used $ithin a matter of hours of being needed" the first use of C by any country seems most unli,ely" as the target of chemical attac, is almost certain to retaliate by ma,ing a second stri,e $ith $eapons of mass destruction" if it possesses both a C and a nuclear capability" the second stri,e might use either" depending upon a number of variablesL ho$ever" the initiator $ill have to assume the $orst5 Therefore" it is most unli,ely that C $ill be initiated5 In case the target of the C stri,e is either $ithout or believed to be $ithout a C capability" it $ould be almost a6iomatic that nuclear retaliation $ould ensue and deterrence $ould be stronger still5 hen a minimum nuclear deterrence is in place" therefore" creating or deploying a C capability $ill be an e6ercise in futility5 The threat of use of C against city targets $ould have a high degree of effect on the morale of the target population5 -nce used" this effect on morale" $hich is caused primarily by the fear of the un,no$n" $ill decrease dramatically $ith every successive attac,5 The use or threat of use of C against city targets $ill have some impact but not on the scale that the threat of use of even nominal yield fission $eapons $ill have5 The damage from nuclear $eapon use is of magnitude more severe than the damage caused by C 5 .either India nor Pa,istan can afford to eBuip every soldier" sailor and airman $ith complete protective clothing and eBuipment for C " especially if nerve gases have also got to be ta,en into account5 Even if one assumes that this $ould be possible" there are other difficulties in providing protection against a surprise attac," and in continuing to $ear protective clothing for militarily significant periods5 In the plains and the semi*desert and desert terrain on the Indo*Pa, borders" especially in summer" it $ould be impossible to $ear protective gear for long enough to perform $orth$hile missions $ithout unacceptable loss of efficiency5 There $ould be a severe danger also of heavy casualties from heat e6haustion5 In the summer" it is impossible to survive inside tan,s and armored vehicles" closed do$n5 These factors indicate that the protection of troops against a surprise C attac, $ould be virtually impossible5 This $ill lead one to believe that only premeditated first use might permit one1s troops $ho are in the 4one to be $arned and protectedL !o$ever" such activity might lead to a loss of surprise" $hich is an essential prereBuisite for a successful C attac,5 (irst use in defense to restore an adverse tactical situation $ould be possible close to our o$n defenses only if the defending forces have been eBuipped $ith protective gear and $arned about the intended use of C " This may or may not be possible depending upon a number of factors" especially $hether the adverse situation developed suddenly" or $hether there $as adeBuate lead time to deploy protective C eBuipment5 'a,ing first use of C in areas that may not have an adeBuate and reasonably Buic, impact on the immediate tactical situation $ould serve little purpose5 Thus in this case" too" $e do not see any great $isdom in ris,ing chemical or nuclear retaliation by ma,ing a C first stri,e5 A retaliatory second stri,e is the only sensible and effective $ay of using C if one1s adversary starts this form of horror5 The target can be chosen in such manner that the troops in the target area are unprotectedL a total surprise can more easily be ensured" because the choice of targets is $ide in type and geographical location5 The corollary is that $hen both adversaries have C capabilities" it appears that C $ould be more suited for deterring each other1s chemical $eapon capabilities than for first use in proactive situations5

Countries that have a nuclear $eapon capability have truly no necessity for developing" maintaining or deploying a C capability5 Doing so $ould definitely not be cost effective" apart from being foolish" and going against the encouraging international trend of proscribing C 5 Those that do not or cannot have a nuclear $eapon capabil1 ity $ill find that the C capability is only cost effective as a deterrent against C and not against nuclear $eapons5 In a $orld that is moving decisively to$ards the abolition of chemical $eapons5 Creating such a capability at this 7uncture $ill not be cost effective5 Those that have clandestinely created such a capability $ould no$ be $ise to come clean and destroy stoc,piles" synchronising $ith the destruction of stoc,piles" $here applicable by their potential adversaries5 India should maintain an effective minimum nuclear deterrent vis*a*vis China and Pa,istan5 This has to be tacitly seen as being credibly present5 As to $hether it is $eaponi4ed arid deployed or other$ise is not material as iong as it is believed all round that this capability can be put to use $ithin hours if there is a nuclear or chemical first stri,e against India by of its adversaries5 /iven this" India need not produce" maintain or deploy chemical $eapons systems5 If 5any stoc,piling has indeed ta,en place" India can even destroy its stoc,s unilaterally" and clearly state that any chemical attac," $hether in the strategic or tactical sphere" $ill be met by activating in an adeBuately timely manner" a nuclear response5

here /oes Capitalism &o from 2ere 3 +ut $here does capitalism go from here9 Al$ays a broad crunch" it seems all the broader no$ that the competing paradigm 2the command economy3 is dead5 ill the various species of capitalismM American" European" East Asian" to name but threeM come together or move further apart9 /iven the ne$ demands that $ill be put on developed economies over the coming decades" $ill $estern capitalism of a recogni4able sort even survive9 The main varieties of capitalism have al$ays differed in significant respects5 In America" for instance" shareholders have a comparatively big say in the running of the enterprises they o$nL $or,ers" $ho are for the most part only $ea,ly unioni4ed" have much less influence5 In many European countries" shareholders have less say and $or,ers more5 In /ermany" for e6ample" the representatives of unions serve on supervisory boardsL the companies1 principle ban,ers also have plenty of clout in the strategic decisions of management5 -n this spectrum" )apanese capitalism lies even further a$ay from the American variety no role e6cept to provide capital" managers have been left alone to run their companies as they see fitM namely" for the benefit of employees and of allied companies" as much as for shareholders5 Despite these differences" all species of capitalism have had certain essentials in common5 These are the things that $ill need to be preserved if liberal economics is to go on to further success5 (irst and foremost" capitalist countries have separated" to a high degree" the realms of politics and economics5 As a result" in capitalist countries it ma,es sense to thin, of each of these realms in its o$n right5 Decisions about $hat goods and services are provided" by $hom" to $hom and for ho$ much" are made for the most part in mar,ets" by $illing buyers and sellers5 /overnments in capitalist countries participate in mar,ets" often in big $ay" either as buyers or sellers" or as regulators5 +ut they do not 2e6cept in certain narro$ areas3 usurp the price system altogether5 hen they hire civil servants" for instance" they pay a mar,et $age according to the ,ind of $or,er they $ish to attract5 Put it this $ay% in capitalist countries" the e6tent of government intervention is a matter of politicsL the manner of its intervention is" by and large" a matter of economics5 Under communism 2as under feudalism3" by contrast" the political and economic realms $ere essentially one and the same5 Those in po$er e6ercised their claims over resources in fundamentally nonmar,et $ays5 Illicit transactions aside" these systems left little scope for voluntary economic arrangements5 Private o$nership has usually been a feature of capitalist economies5 Certainly" it is a natural counterpart" a reflection of the separation of politics and economics5 +ut it is not in fact a necessary counterpart because" in achieving that separation" control matters more than the o$nership does not

guarantee control5 That is $hy you could argue" for e6ample" that for much of the ?J@<s southern China $as a more capitalist place than India5 In southern China state o$nership of property $as 2and still is3 the rule" but enterprise managers 2li,e farmers throughout China3 $ere given increasing freedom to run their business themselves5 Even $ithout private property" a separation oQ politics and economics $as achieved" and the price system began to direct the allocation of resources5 India" on the other hand" has much more private o$nership" but until the reforms of the early ?JJ<s it also had a system of state control that rivaled that of the Soviet Union5 A factory ma,ing bicycles needed permission to increase its output" or to reduce it" or to start ma,ing a ne$ ,ind of bicycle5 This :license ra7: $as so pervasive and intrusive that" in effect" it unified the realms of politics and economics" despite the e6istence of private property5 Capitalist economies" despite such institutional differences" also have much else in common5 In the mar,et system that flourishes $hen politics and economics are ,ept apart" decisions about the allocation of resources are highly decentrali4ed5 Instead of an e6plicit organi4ing intelligence" there is spontaneous and un$itting coordinationM the invisible hand5 Instead of planned cooperation" there is competition5 This competition e6tends far beyond the static rivalry of elementary economic theoryM that is" far beyond competition among e6isting producers and their products5 It also encompasses competition among ne$" $ould be producers" ideas of the products yet to be invented" alternative means of production and different nodes of industrial organi4ation5 +ecause capitalism is decentrali4ed and competitive" it is especially good at conducting e6periments5 This may be its greatest strength5 E6periments can be conducted on a small scale and at correspondingly small e6pense in resources5 Successful ones reap big re$ards5 That" of course" provides the incentive to underta,e the e6periment in the first place5 +ut profits are also the signals for others to follo$" so successful innovations 2of product" service" method of production of mode of organi4ation3 are Buic,ly ta,en up else$here5 EBually important" e6periments that failM as the over$helming ma7ority do M can usually be abandoned $ith comparatively little pain" and at no cost to the politically po$erful5 These conditions offer the ma6imum encouragement for efficient innovation5 It is unsurprisingL therefore" that $estern capitalism has been relentlessly innovative5 Rapid development in East Asia has already caused much tension over trade in America and European Community5 As economic liberali4ation spreads" the pressure of competition on the $est1s lo$ and medium tech manufacturers $ill increase5 The US already runs large bilateral trade deficit $ith China" a fact the5" $eighed as heavily in last year1s debate about $hat tariffs to set on China1s e6ports as did protests over China1s infringement of civil rights5 -pponents of America1s free trade agreement $ith 'e6ico emphasi4e the threat that cheap imports pose to America1s manufacturers5 In the same $ay" the European Community has been ine6cusably slo$ to grant the reforming countries of Eastern Europe liberal access to the Community1s mar,ets5 These are disturbing" if unsurprising" signs that the spread of capitalism in the poorest parts of the $orld may undermine support for the mar,et economics in the countries $here it has already $or,ed $ell5 Against the pressures threatening to undermine capitalism in the coming years" the strongest countervailing force is li,ely to be technology" and especially the revolution in communications5 In many industries technological progress has reduced the fi6ed costs of production" ma,ing it easier for smaller firms to compete $ith larger onesL or else it has developed ne$ products that broaden the possibilities of competition in another $ay5 The communications industry itself is a stri,ing e6ample5 here there $as once a natural monopoly needing to be regulated" namely the telephone company" there $ill be competition in the future5 The same phenomenon is li,ely to become more common in other sectors5 To deal $ith it" governments $ill try to cooperate $ith each other in devising ne$ systems of international regulation 2for e6ample" the +AS#E capital standards for ban,s" or the harmoni4ation of national rules in the European community35 +ut this is difficult" as it is li,ely that technology $ill continue to move faster than governments5 As these opposing forces $or, themselves out" governments of every political comple6ion

ought to ,eep t$o broad choices in mind5 -ne" in effect" is to give $ay to the pressures that $ill tend to impede the mar,et system M that is" to favor more trade protection" help for declining industries" an eve% e6panding $elfare state" and measures to limit cross M border regulatory avoidance5 This may $ell be the course that best responds to popular demands5 +ut it is also the option that operates against change" and hence against gro$th5 The alternative is to continue the $or, of the ?JO<s" in both rich and poor countries" to e6tend the scope of the mar,et5 It means" among other things" free tradeL policies to protect $or,ers unluc,y enough to be in declining industries" rather than policies to save their 7obsL and a $elfare state that helps the poor" not the middle class5 This may be politically impossibleL capitalism is held in lo$ esteem in the countries it made rich5 It is" nonetheless" the pro*change pro*gro$th choice5

E$*cation As a Short of Commo$ity +o$ay -ver the past three decades" there has been a sea change in the attitudes of people connected $ith education Teachers" administrators and planners" students and parents are all loo,ing at education as a sort of commodity that leads on to better earnings and status in society5 It is not surprising that it is so5 +ut $hat is unfortunate is another development leading to an attitudinal change in society5 The intrinsic value of education is no longer recogni4ed although pious platitudes are mouthed Buite freBuently5 The main reason is that the flu6 of change has caught up $ith education much more dramatically than $ith other areas of activity5 hile the demand for education has been gro$ing steadily in the developing countries including India" Buality has not ,ept pace $ith it5 Another factor" and an eBually disturbing one" is the politici4ation of the campuses5 .ot only colleges and universities" even high schools seem to be getting infected by this virus5 It is not uncommon to find on many campuses pedagogues espousing the cause of one political party or the other" no in any academic sense" but $ith a fervor that $ould do a party spo,esman proud5 About O< years ago" student unions and debating societies discussed live political issues5 The debates $ere of a high level $ith the participants thorough in their home $or, Communication s,ills too $ere good and even those $ho set their sights on politics as a career $ent through this e6ercise $ith earnestness and sincerity5 Similarly" moc, parliaments mar,ed the academic calendar in many collegesL the professors in charge spent a lot of time and energy guiding students and training them in the art of debating5 These debates attracted a large number of students $ho came to cheer their compatriots5 There $as on all sides a desire to learn" be informed and to enlarge the mental hori4on5 This aspect" $hich made college life in the fifties and si6ties valuable" is sadly missing today on a vast ma7ority of the campuses5 0et another aspect is that the pedagogues $ere by and large scholars $ho believed in furthering ,no$ledge5 They had an abundant love for their students and could spare time for those $ho cane to clarify their doubts5 Thus" the mutual bond of affection and scholarship helped cement a lifelong relationship bet$een the teacher and the taught5 This is conspicuous by its absence today5 These losses cannot be counterbalanced by an impressive infrastructure in the form of stately buildings and an array of instruments in laboratories5 The human material of the earlier years did in a large measure fulfill the tas, set out for it" namely becoming teachers in the true sense of the $ord and this $as done in an environment of virtual poverty of hard$are5 It is here that the mentors of the olden days score over the pedagogues of today5 Perhaps" the teachers of these days $or,ed in a spirit of self* effacement5 An ine6haustible love for learning characteri4ed their daily schedule and this got transformed into an abiding love or teaching" in a $ay" this $as the ne6t best that one could $ish for in

the place of the ancient :guru,ula: pattern5 +ut the institutionali4ed classroom instruction has degenerated in the last three decades or several reasons5 The unholy preoccupation $ith things that are material 2$hich" of course" is the result of the present consumerist trend3" the craving to get rich Buic,ly" the closing of the avenues for certain fields of study to the youth $ho genuinely pine for these and the decadence that has set in society as a result of the erosion of ethical values are to blame5 Caste considerations in the selection of candidates to courses and 7obs are also contributing factors5 Educationists" by and large" feel that this type of affirmative action by the Centre and the State /overnments has been carried to the e6treme and need9 to be modified to meet the aspirations of the rising generation5 It is a pity that parents are no$ intent on pushing their children into certain grooves of academic activity5 This is evident from the obsession of parents $ith getting for their $ards seats in the professional institutions5 There are instances of middle class parents becoming almost paranoid about seats in engineering and medical colleges5 The proliferation of these :self*financing: colleges has in a $ay satisfied this great demand5 +ut the categori4ation of seats under the labels :free: or :payment*based: and :payment: has led to an anomalous situation5 The students selected ur5der the :free: seat Buotas are perforce to pay tuition fees as prescribed for the /overnment or aided colleges5 -ften" the hapless scholars have to pay something more on the sly" especially $hile opting for preferred courses such as computer science arid engineering5 +ut those selected under the :payment: category have to shell out three or four times more5 .ot une6pectedly" this type of differentiation M t$o sets of students paying vastly different fees for the same course M produces in the minds of the youth a distorted sense of values5 To be fair to the private managements" it must be said that the cost of establishing and running a professional college has gene up steeply in the last fe$ years5 Also" the pressure on the managements to improve the facilities has increased" than,s to the statutory bodies such as the All India Council for Technical Education and the 'edical Council of India5 The ob7ective" no doubt" is to ma,e the errant managements $ho are in the habit of commerciali4ing education mend their $ays5 This has had a salutary effect in almost every State $here the self*financing colleges came up5 The conduct of e6aminations by different agencies including the school boards and universities is another pric,ly issue5 In the last fe$ decades" the number of candidates appearing for various public e6aminations right from the SS#C through the higher secondary to the degree and postgraduate levels has gro$n up by leaps and bounds5 Indeed" it is becoming unmanageable 2running into la,hs of candidates in certain categories3 for any centrali4ed agency such as the school boards5 A strong case can be made out for decentrali4ing the system ta,ing care at the same time that a modicum of uniformity in evaluation and assessment of ans$er scripts in maintained5 hat is to be guarded against is the lea,age of Buestion papers that has come to characteri4e the modern scene5 The :necessary evil: of e6aminations cannot in the present conte6t be replaced by any other system% the only remedy is to ma,e the entire process" right from the setting up of Buestion papers" invigilation" paper dispatch and valuation to the announcement of results foolproof5 henever a ree6amination is ordered" it is the hard$or,ing" studious candidates $ho undergo greater hardship5 The curbing of malpractices is only one aspect" refining the techniBues of evaluation and selection of teachers of integrity to be in charge of the process is the crucial part5 Campus $atchers are struc, by the distortion that has crept into the academic field in the last three decades" namely the neglect of languages" the humanities and the social sciences5 A study of sub7ects such as history" politics" sociology" economics" psychology" philosophy" languages and literature provides for a deeper understanding of human relationships" behavior and social currents5 A ma7ority of students go in for sciences and commerce5 hile this trend is in consonance $ith the science and technology age" the s,e$ed preference for these sub7ects may not in the long run benefit society5 There must be some $ay of ma,ing the humanities attractive to youth" both from the point of vie$ of employment opportunities and from a higher plane5 Also" the teachers $ho handle the sub7ects must be

men and $omen of e6ceptional ability" capable of spar,ing student interest5 Unfortunately" such teachers are d$indling in numbers all over the country5 A vigorous effort must be made to attract talented youth to the humanities $hich are essential for the evolution of human development5

Parties4 Parliament an$ the Law 5 A (eal Conflict

(or all its familiarity" a political party is a peculiar entity5 Presiding officers recogni4e it by the number of elected members in a !ouse5 The Central Election Commission ad7udicates $hen there is a dispute over the symbol by t$o groups5 The courts have their o$n criteria for deciding the true claimant to the original nomenclature and assets in the event of a split5 It may e6ist at one level" li,e the T'C" in the #o, Sabha" and not at all be officially recorded" in the Ra7ya Sabha5 here you stand in Indian politics does not depend on $here you sit in Parliament5 !ad 'r /5C5 'oopanar become Prime minister in the $a,e of 'r !5D5 Deve /o$da1s e6it" the United front coalition $ould have been led by a Congress party member of the Ra7ya Sabha5 's )ayanthi .atara7an" 'inister of state for civil aviation in the U( government" is also a member of the Congress in the Ra7ya Sabha records5 The Tamil 'aanila Congress" of $hich 'r 'oopanar is the president and 's .atara7an a member" has no official presence in the Ra7ya Sabha5 Political parties are not an organic $hole and this could be the cause $hen the Election Commissioners is see,ing stricter compliance $ith provisions" such as holding organi4ational elections" maintenance of proper accounts and filing ta6 returns5 The suggestion by one of the Election Commissioners that parties should desist from issuing a $hip in presidential elections" is yet another provision $hich may catch up $ith the conscience of political parties before they are prepared for this brea, $ith tradition5 The cumulative result of having to meet more e6ternal reBuirements $ill chip a$ay at the :po$er of party bosses over members5 The situation is further complicated $here parliament and courts do not accept each other1s 7urisdiction and the EC 4ealously guards its o$n domain5 ith the result" by the same set of la$s" a party that is split in Parliament may be an undivided organi4ational body" and a split parliament party may be a unified legislature bloc5 Theoretically" there could be as many as si6 versions of a split party if it is affected at these three levels5 Parties are the result of their status being sub7ect to different rules of recognition by different constitutional offices and by the 7udiciary5 hen the organi4ational $ing of a party splits" the rival claimants see, to settle the matter in a court of la$" or before the Election Commission $hich ad7udicates on the symbol5 Under the anti*defection la$" $hether a party has split or hot is decided by the Spea,er5 +ut the ruling in the #o, Sabha could be at variance $ith that delivered in a state assembly5 And these t$o $ings of the party" split or other$ise" get legally disconnected from the general body and its organs $hich have to turn to the courts and the EC5 Elections to the assembly and Parliament remain the ultimate test of vindicating the true claimant5 And5 ironically" therein lie the root of the problem5 To remain in the election process reBuires the party to adhere to EC rules and guidelines5 This burden is greater on the party than on the candidate contesting the poll5 It is the party that has to maintain accounts of income and e6penditure and file ta6 returns5 It is the party that has to e6ert itself to hold organi4ational elections and go through the forms to ,eep its members eligible for elections5 And $hen a member 7oins the elected elite the falls under the 7urisdiction of the Spea,er" and often the party needs him more than he needs the party $hich is the bigger force5 A group of 'Ps or 'I#As can reduce their party to role and failing to achieve that" brea, a$ay by inviting e6pulsion5 'r P5&5 .arshima RaoL overcame the minority status of :his party in Parliament by

$inning over small groups of 'Ps from other parties5 'r &5P Singh1s government $as ,ept on tenterhoo,s even before it fell by a group of 'Ps $ho $ere controlled by Congress strings5 The anti* defection la$ institutionali4ed the primacy of legislators over the party organi4ation" e6cept for the minor distinction it ma,es bet$een a defection and a split5 All that it did $as legitimi4e $holesale defection and put retail traders out of business5 Regardless of a party1s share of votes" en masse defection could nullify its very mandate5 It is a travesty of representative democracy $hen elected representatives can retain their parliamentary status even after being alienated from the party1s popular base on $hich they $ere voted in5 In this situation of declining party po$er" the $hip remains one of the fe$ means of restraining errant members5 And parties resisting surrender of this slender rein on its elected members are understandable5 The EC did $ell in not hastily adopting the suggestion for this presidential election5 It is not the relative merits of a party $hip" against conscience vote $hich prevented the matter from being pursued any further5 It $as recognition of the fact that no master $hat a constitutional scheme may be" its $or,ability depends upon the consent and cooperation of political parties" and not the clout of regulatory bodies li,e the Election Commission5 Political forces have al$ays ta,en the vie$ that constitutionalism ta,en to the e6treme can mitigate against the spirit of the statutes5 +y the same logic parliamentarism carried to e6cess in the name of democracy can ,ill both conscience and content5 In a party democracy there cannot be partyless parliamentarism to its $orst sense" $hich is $here politics $ould drift to if elected members $ere freed of primary commitment to their parent bodies5 This cannot be chec,ed by as,ing Spea,ers" courts and election commissioners to ,eep out of party terrain" because that is neither desirable nor possible5 A practical $ay out is for political parties to ta,e the initiative for evolving functional norms that meet the EC1s terms for electoral purposes" do not clash $ith the 7urisdiction of presiding officers" reduce areas of conflict bet$een courts and legislatures and" strengthen their organi4ational hold on members regardless of their place in elected bodies5 Unless parties reform themselves" e6ternal regulations $ill continue to be vie$ed as the only option $ith the bureaucracy gaining in primacy over political forces5 !ad political parties functioned as they should $ith regular elections" proper boo,,eeping and filing of ta6 returns there $ould be little room for e6ternal intervention to enforce these5 Compliance $ith procedures $ould strengthen their credibility and moral authority to resist interference in areas of political management5 It $ould be in the interest of parties to begin addressing these issues no$ instead of $aiting until they reach another flashpoint5 -n Article O8D" parties have more or less arrived at a certain unanimity5 In much the same manner" issues of party management need to be resolved so that recurrent conflicts involving the EC" courts" defections and splits are ,ept to the minimum5 Parties $hich have to be disciplined by official fiats can hardly be effective in providing political leadership to the bureaucracy $hen in po$er5

2*man (i1hts 6iolations The prevention of child labor has become a crucial issue because it is not merely a Buestion of e6ploitation but also creates the problem of 7uvenile crime5 The recent legislative curbs have brought about some changes in the pattern of employment of children in the organi4ed industry5 Child $or,ers fall mostly in the age category bet$een ?< and ?8 and are engaged in gainful occupation $hich e6poses them to ha4ardous $or, hampering any chance of their development5 According to the #abor (orce and Planning Commission" the number of child labor had gone up to O"=D8 la,hs till ?JJ8 and by the year ;<<<" there could be a threefold rise to ;8 millions5 At the root of the problem lies the Buestion of poverty and the very lo$ family income of child $or,ers5 In recent years" there has been a decline in the proportion of child labor in the organi4ed sector but it has

spread its tentacles in the unorgani4ed sectors such as road construction" $eaving industry and restaurants5 According to the ?J@? census" )ammu and Cashmir had ?<58O per cent" the highest number of child labor incidence out of $hich about @8 per cent $as engaged in handicrafts and handlooms5 Aristotle had compared the superiority of the educated over the unlettered and said that it $as :as much as the living are to the dead5: The importance of education for the physical" intellectual and moral $ill of an individual cannot be overemphasi4ed and its success lies in releasing the individual from the clutches of ignorance in all possible permutation and combinations5 The .ational !uman Rights Commission 2.!RC3 has concentrated on eliminating child labor" particularly child prostitution" $hich in a $ay has become an organi4ed" clandestine profession5 The Commission has made stupendous progress in eliminating child labor in the glass industry of (ero4abad district in Uttar Pradesh5 The ne$s of the deportation of =8 Indian children" including girls" from Saudi Arabia points the underground functioning of a po$erful syndicate $hich sells poor" deformed children" particularly female children" from the 'urshidabad district of est +engal5 The Commission can play an active role by involving nongovernment organi4ations and creating a$areness among the general masses5 It is parado6ical that $hile the percentage of literacy is increasing" the total number of unlettered has also been increasing5 +esides" there is a tremendous difference bet$een the male and female literacy ratio5 In ?JO?" there $ere 8D< male literates for every ?<< literate females In ?JJ?" the tally $as DO5J and OJ5O?5 Though there has been a significant improvement in the literacy rate of the females and the difference has narro$ed do$n to a certain e6tent" the overall position of $omen has not improved much5 omen $or,ers are e6ploited in the private and public sectors5 In certain unorgani4ed sectors" the $omenfol," especially those belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes" face se6ual harassment and are denied eBual $ages5 Concerted efforts by the .!RC and nongovernment organi4ations are needed to remedy the situation5 Another ma7or challenge is the alarming population gro$th 2?D per cent of the $orld1s population3" rendering efforts to$ards tac,ing unemployment difficult5 The International #abor -rgani4ation1s report on orld Employment" ?JJDJ= says that the economies of most countries have noticed a declining trend in employment opportunities but the overall scenario of employment in India" the Philippines" Pa,istan" Sri #an,a and 'yanmar is particularly pessimistic5 It is important that a ma7or portion of the national resources should be used to generate more 7ob opportunities5 A !ome 'inistry report" Crime In India" says that 8"DJ; cases of 7uvenile crime such as a criminal breach of trust" burglary and counterfeiting $ere registered in ?JJR"5 Tamil .adu reported the highest number of 7uvenile offences 2O58;?3 follo$ed by /u7arat 2=<O35 Education can play a ma7or role in removing these distortions and discrepancies in society5 !ence" an organi4ed attempt to impart education to even the poorest is essential5 Chec,ing the abuse of po$er is a crucial strategy for maintaining human rights5 -n many occasions" the Army and the paramilitary forces have gone berser, $hile tac,ling terrorists and protesters5 There are many instances $hen they have not even spared the $omenfol, and children5 +esides" the armed forces have also been accused of atrocities including torture" rape and ,illing in fa,e encounters5 The po$ers given to police are enormous that incidents of custodial deaths" counter ,illings" missing persons and torture are increasingly being reported over the years5 +esides" the prevalence of several repressive Acts is an indication of the interference of the State machinery in the lives of the people5 The Terrorist and Descriptive Activities 2Prevention3 Act" ?J@8" originally enacted to tac,le terrorists in Chandigarh" Pun7ab and Delhi" $as e6tended to other parts of country5 The main criticism against TADA is that the accused is considered guilty unless he proves his innocence5 Under this Act" a police officer can even act as a magistrate $hile the identity of the $itness produced against the detenu is ,ept secret and confessions 2apparently e6tracted under torture3 are permissible as evidence5 Amnesty International has critici4ed torture by policemen and fa,e encounters and the inhuman conditions in 7ails5 Police must advise a multilayered approach based on a system chec,s and balances to gain credibility5

The policy of transparency that the /overnment has adopted after .!RC urged it to allo$ the activists of Amnesty international to visit the Cashmir valley has been helpful in reestablishing the /overnment1s credentials5 A lot of a$areness has ta,en place after the establishment of .!RC but there are still myriad challenges reBuiring a careful handling5 The gro$ing problem of refugees has added a ne$ dimension to the problem5 The Chief E6ecutive of the United .ations !igh Commissioner for Refugees 2U.!RC3" in her address to the D8th convention of the Indian $omen1s conference titled the :Empo$erment of Uprooted omen: has highlighted the acute problem of refugees and the violation of rights across the globe5 She said that =< per cent of the ;D million displaced people $ere $omen5 Afghanistan is having the ma6imum number of such refugees5 About ?5; million refugees have been stranded in the $ar 4one of eastern Iaire leading a stalemate5 .e$ Delhi has ;8"<<< refugees of different origins5 The problem of refugees generally ma,es the condition of $omen vulnerable5 They are invariably sub7ected to in7ustice and foul play5 In the past" several incidents too, place in $hich $omen faced abuse and rape5 'any Somali $omen refugees $ere se6ually abused $hen they too, shelter in CenyaAs camps5 The Chinese authorities tortured and imprisoned many Tibetan nuns $ho $ere supporters of the cause of Tibetan independence5 The fourth United .ation Conference omen has provided a platform for the promotion and protection of $omen1s human rights by ma,ing them a core issue for international agenda5 +ut this alone cannot yield results unless the decisions are properly implemented5 Coordination bet$een the United .ations and various $omen organi4ations $ill be useful5 E6treme poverty" natural calamity" violence" environmental degradation" civil $ar and terrorism are the main causes of the refugee problem5 A humane approach" $ith an attitude change to$ards the refugees and long term structural solutions such as the provision of 7ob -pportunities" $ill be of help5 Cooperation bet$een U.!RC and .!RC can yield positive results5

Policy of Compensatory /iscrimination: A nee$ for (e%iew Compensatory discrimination is one of the most controversial issues5 +ut out of the $hole issue one of its most debatable program is the policy of reservation5 It is often confused that compensatory discrimination or protective discrimination and reservation program are the same thing5 In fact" reservation program is one of the programs of the policy of compensatory discriminations5 lt includes" financial" housing and health facilities apart from reservation in 7obs and educational institutions5 It is true that reservation has generated much passion than any other issue5 There are reasons behind it5 Reservation for SCs and STs had been accepted in late ?JR<s by our ?st generation leadership $ho $ere much committed for the organic unity of the Indian society5 The stigma of 1untouchability1 in case of SCs and 1isolation1 of STs could be bro,en only by education aid mass emancipation5 (or this" the masses $ere also educated" $hich is evident especially after ?JO;" i5e5" Poona Pact /andhi7i1s special drive for the emancipation of the untouchables helped to generate an ideology $hich could counter the communal ideology of untouchabiiity5 Thus" reservation for the depressed classes $as an outcome of ideological campaign along $ith the fear to lose national unity5 So the $hole issue had been internali4ed in a different sociopolitical situation" forty years ago5 .o$ the situation has changed along$ith a ma7or shift in the issue5 At present reservation is demanded not for :untouchables: of :Physically and culturally isolated tribal groups:" $ho constituted minorityL but for a large section of masses $ho constituted 8;K of the total populations" $hich includes some big land o$ning castes li,e 0adavas > Curmis 2in +ihar35 Secondly" there is no threat to the unity of India" after forty years of independence it is more secured5 .o$ people $ant their share in the ca,e of national polity5 And in this particular point the reservation policy ta,es political dimension5 The trend to use reservation as a tool to mobili4e certain sections of

masses is also having a long history5 In ?JOJ" Chaudhary Charan Singh demanded 8<K reservation for the farmers5 #ater in ?JR= he $rote an article in !indi in this regard5 !e achieved a little success to mobili4e Cisans5 As neither constitutes a class or a community5 In fact the present structure in India is not homogeneousL they divided among big landlords" middle peasants and landless laborers5 So to unite them as one class is something out of Buestion5 #ater" Chaudhary Charan Singh too shifted to mobili4e masses on the basis of caste5 This is evident in his political career during the )anata /overnment5 A similar move could be seen in the political mobili4ation of Shri Ram 'anohar #ohia $ho tried to brea, the hegemony of +rahmins and +anias by mobili4ing the shudders and other bac,$ard classes5 The .5(5 /overnment1s move on August" ?JJ< is very conspicuous in this regard5 The Prime 'inister $as blamed dividing national unity on caste lines and promoting casteism for personal political gains" the circumstantial evidences raised a needle of suspicion on the intention of &5P5 Singh5 +ut all these attempts at national level failed to mobili4e a vote ban, of more than 8<K masses5 The reasons are Buite simple5 (irstly" the 8;K of -+Cs 2as calculated by the '5C5R53 is not a homogeneous category5 There are economic" social" political" cultural and ritual differences $ithin these groups5 There are depressed castes" communities 7u6taposed $ith politically dominant and economically $ell of castes5 The dominant sections have vested interest in the policy of reservation5 +ut the really depressed are so bac,$ard that they are not educated enough to reap the benefit of reservation5 In fact" it is a political battle of t$o groups of elitesL the elites $ho belong to :for$ard castes: and the elites $ho belong to the other: bac,$ard castes:5 The third group of elites" i5e5 the elites of SCs and STs had already had their share5 And they do not find any substantial gain by ta,ing side of the -+Cs as this $ould dilute their o$n interest5 hereas elites of SCs and STs have their o$n mass bases" the elites of for$ard castes and -+Cs do not have distinct mass base5 .o$" this is clear that both the elites are trying to carve out their o$n mass base so as to ensure their political position5 +ut" $here the SCs and STs are homogeneous and distinct categories the -+Cs are heterogeneous hence their calculation is bound to fail5 Secondly" the nonacceptance of reservation policy by a vocal section of people of India could be understood in terms of regional variations5 The policy of reservations for the -+Cs is tremendously successful for South Indian states $hereas it failed in the .orth Indian states 2i5e5 !indi belt" e6cept +ihar35 It is because of the historical and ideological roots of the -+C movement in the state as it generated the socialist and secular political forms $hich has ta,en support from the masses of both SCs the STs as $ell -+Cs5 This is mainly due to the social composition5 The masses of South Indian states are largely deducted and the -+Cs are dominant there both numerically and politically5 This is not the same for .orth Indian states $here dominant sections belong to the upper castes5 There are various other reasons5 The policy of 7ob reservation could e6cite small sections of masses but not the $hole people5: The :Economic #iberali4ation: has challenged the public sector corporations and government 7obs5 Their absorption capacity is bound to decrease5 In an open mar,et" naturally merit $ill be given priority5 !ence" there is a need to revie$ the $hole policy of compensatory discrimination" if $e are really concerned about social 7ustice5

#ass Comm*nication an$ Social Chan1e :-ne of the ob7ects of ne$spaper is to understand the popular feeling and give e6pression to itL another is to arouse among the people certain desirable sentimentsL and the third is fearlessly to e6pose popular defects:5 M '5C5 /andhi !istorically" social structure and tradition in India remained impervious to ma7or elements of modernity until the contact $ith the $est began through coloni4ation5 This contact had a special historicity $hich brought about many farreaching changes in culture and social structure of Indian society5 There $as" ho$ever" one important feature of Indian moderni4ation during the +ritish period5 The gro$th of this

process $as selective and segmental5 It $as not integrated $ith the microstructure of Indian society" such as family" caste" village community5 At these levels" the +ritish by and large follo$ed a policy of least interference" especially after the rebellion of ?@8=5 #ater" in the t$entieth century" as the nationalist movement gathered momentum $hich felt strong need to mobili4e masses in the active policies5 The press became the chief instrument for carrying out the tas, that is for arousing" training" mobili4ing and consolidating nationalist public opinion5 The influence of the media on Indian masses $as tremendous5 It not only educated the masses politically" but also motivated them to discard irrational" old and evil social practices5 The media of communication $hich have accelerated the rate of gro$th and cultural diffusion of moderni4ation have also been introduced in India by the colonial masters5 Printing $as introduced by the Portuguese in the second half of the si6teenth century and incentive for this $as provided by the Christian missionaries5 In the +ritish territory" the first press appeared in +ombay in ?D=R on the initiative of an Indian named +him7i Pare,h5 In early eighteenth century a printing press $as established in South India by the Danish #utheran 'ission5 ritten ne$spapers called A,bar are ,no$n to have been in circulation during the time of the 'ughal Empire" but the printed ne$spapers came into e6istence only after the contact $ith the $est5 A beginning in this direction $as made about the first Buarter of the ?@th century5 Similarly" the +ritish also introduced telegraph" rail$ays and modern postal system in India5 The changes $hich have follo$ed since the e6pansion in these communication media in India constitute an indirect but concrete inde6 of moderni4ation5 During ?JR<R?" India had bet$een O<<< to R<<< printed ne$spapers and periodicals published from a variety of centers in seventeen different languages" a fe$ bilingual5 The number of ne$spapers and periodicals increased by almost R;5= percent in almost t$enty years5 At the end of ?JDD their number $as ?<"J==5 Phenomenal increase has also been made in the means of communication such as postal service"" movies" radio and information media through: posters" hand bills" and mobile filmsho$ units5 The increase in costal facilities alone may be evident from the fact that in ?@OD there $ere only ;=D postoffices in India $hich increased to =R"8JD in ?JD;5 Similar increase has also been made in the other media of communication and transport5 The e6pansion in transport by the rail$ays" road$ays" air$ays and $ater$ays has contributed to the intensification in the volume of interaction and contact bet$een one region and anotherL travelling by rail$ays and buses $as an immediate blo$ to the principle of caste hierarchy basedL on the theory of pollution and purity" since in the same rail$ay coach or bus people of all castes" high or lo$" had to travel5 In the beginning there $as some resistance from the conservative section of the upper castes" but such movements soon petered out" devaluing by rail$ays and buses $as not only accepted but these $ere increasingly used for pilgrimages and for other socioreligious purposes5 These technological innovations have" therefore" to some e6tent brought changes in the traditional outloo,5 !o$ far this impression is valid in India of today9 !o$ far do the press" radio and television mould public opinion and bring about a change in the attitude of the government and the people on important problems9 The politicians and the bureaucrats ac,no$ledge the importance of the press and its freedom" and about the proper use of the government controlled electronic media but $hen the need arises" have no hesitation in putting curbs on the press and in using the electronic media for one sided propaganda5 -n its part" the 5press $hich claims to be freeL conveniently forgets the constraints under $hich it functions because of the control and o$nership by large business houses5 These in turn are obliged to government for a number of things vital for publication of ne$spapers and the other business interests of the proprietor5 The editor has lost the importance and freedom that he once en7oyed5 In other $ords" the po$er of pen is no longer as po$erful as it once $as5 The reasons are obvious5 They lie in the changed political situation in the country as also the changes in the structure of the press during the year since independence5 In his autobiography" 'ahatma /andhi defined the role of the press in these $ordsL one of the ob7ects of

a ne$spaper is to understand the popular feeling and give e6pression to itL another is to arouse among the people certain desirable sentimentsL and the third is fearlessly to e6pose popular defects5: In the preindependent days publication of a ne$spaper $as a mission" it $as another front of the freedom struggle5 Circulation $as small and so $as the revenue from the advertisements5 .o$ publication of a ne$spaper meant for the proprietor the opportunity to convey his point of vie$" influence public opinion and the government5 'ultiple edition ne$spapers" chain ne$spapers and ne$ ne$spapers o$ned by industrialists sprouted" professional 7ournalism course has reduced the prestige of an editor o $hich he used to en7oy earlier5 .o$ his pen is directed in the direction of the publisher5 .o$ publication of a ne$spaper has become a commercial enterprise5 5 Apart from print media" electronic media has revolutioni4ed the society5 Television has altered lifestyles" living patterns and indeed life itself5 Some sociologists see this as a portent of the second dar, agesL to most it is the onset of an e6citing ne$ millennium $here information is the ultimate po$er tool5 Alvin Toffler" once said that: the po$er of the state has al$ays vested on its control of force" $ealth and ,no$ledge5 hat is professionally different is the changed relationship among these three5 The ne$ supersymbolic System of $ealth creation thrusts a $ide range of information related issues into the political agenda5 Is the Indian nationstate ready for this paradigm shift9 Are Indian media professionals ready for this change9 And $ill these farreaching changes actually affect a third $orld country li,e India9 The sheer si4e and comple6ity of India ma,es it a difficult country for mass media5 ith over 7 2O=< million people tal,ing in ?D ma7or languages and a variety of lifestyles to boot" it is obvious one cannot address all of them together all the time5 The all pervasive influence of television cannot be denied5 hat is it that ma,es T& so very different from other media9 'ost obvious is that it is audiovisual" unli,e ne$spapers or radio5 It is a domestic medium $here the images are received in the privacy of the home5 It is lo$ cost" reaches large numbers and gives $atchers a sense of participation5 And" in a country li,e India" $ith its high rate of illiteracy" it informs and educates" even as it entertains5 Every use of media presupposes manipulation5 Each ne$spaper has an editorial policy $hich gives its ne$s a particular slant5 !ere in India" already the parameters laid do$n by Doordarshan are $rapped" confused and out dated5 Similarly" the attitude of Iee T&" the Star T& has been disappointing5 Despite the brouhaha over its launch" it is obvious that Iee is still grappling $ith an identity problem5 And because the o$ners have other business besides broadcasting" they re,eeping a$ay from hard ne$s5 All ne$s is elitecentredL but T& ne$s is usually more ethnocentric5 Its accent is on people" places and events5 +ut T& ne$s must go beyond mere reportage of facts" and capture the story bet$een the lines5 Television is also a great $indo$ to the global mar,et place5 /oods and services are continuously being sold through T&1s dream$orld5 Doordarshan has created many products successesL Rasna" .irma" 'aggi etc5 +ut they are all pointers to the po$er of the medium as $ell as its dra$bac,5 T& sells a lifestyle" not 7ust a product5 This lifestyle must have an element of fantasy mi6ed $ith identifiable characters and concepts5 As is often said" T& spa$ns desire" not demand5 hat is true for soap and noodles is also true for politician and leaders5 The e6pansion in the technological means of travel and transport and increase in the number and circulation of the ne$spaper as forms of media e6posure are directly associated $ith cultural moderni4ation5 In the Indian case" this media e6posure results both in moderni4ation and traditionali4ation5 Postal and telegraph services not only bring $ith them more information about distant places and the relatives located distantly" thus increasing peopleAs mobility" but also the facility to organi4e caste associations and other traditional group activities more efficiently5 !ence the moderni4ation of the channels of communication results into a ,ind of cultural bet$een the value systems of tradition and modernity5

(eso*rce Cr*nch "n E$*cation :Education has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish $hat is $orth reading5: Institutional education is the focal agency $hich 1sociali4es1 the individual after his primary e6posure $ithin the family5 Education does not mean attaining literacy" nor does it mean pursuing ,no$ledge" nor does it mean pursuing ,no$ledge merely for the sa,e of ,no$ledge5 It means much more than that5 Ideally spea,ing education must instill and transmit the norms and values of a societyL it should prepare the young people for adult roles and select young people in terms of their talents and abilities for appropriate roles in adult life5 'oreover" education must reali4e its potential for creating a more eBual and 7ust society5 The imperative of the structure of education in a country are derived from its historical education pattern and the present priorities5 In India" historically our education system $as conspicuous by its specificity5 (or a long time access to learning $as considered to be the preserve of higher castes and that too only for males5 Although there have been glaring e6ceptions to this but this has been the general trend5 The content of education $as nonsecular and $as oriented to$ards ma,ing the individual accept and conform to the structure of society and completely subsume his individuality into the society5 Seeds of modern education $ere so$n by foreign Christian missionaries" the +ritish /overnment and some progressive Indians5 The introduction of modern education in India $as basically motivated to$ards catering to the politicoadministrative and economic needs of the +ritish coloni4ers5 As such the system $as geared to$ards providing cler,s and lo$er level $hitecollar $or,ers to the Ra7 and reBuisite attention to$ards vocationali4ation of education $as not paid5 Someho$" this system $as maintained in postIndependence period too" resulting in an immense proliferation of 2substandard3 institutions of higher learning" a drain on the e6cheBuer and $orse the creation of a vast population of educated unemployed youth thoroughly disenchanted $ith the system5 The inadeBuacies in terms of Buality and Buantity of primary education" the inaccessibility of education to sections of $omen and other $ea,er sections of society are apocalyptical5 Recently the education process has been further vitiated by the process of politici4ation of education5 Politics has crept into education at the level of academic appointments" as $ell as student activism and last but not the least" even to the 1content1 of education imparted to students5 -n top of it all" is the financial burden thro$n on the education system by the government by announcing reductions in educational allocations5 In fact the drying out of financial support from the government to education is only the logical fallout of the resource stringency faced by the government grants5 In this conte6t the tal, of privati4ing higher education and even privati4ing te6tboo,s is gaining currency5 In an era of prevailing financial e6igency and the ongoing economic reforms" the need for devising strategies for ensuring costeffectiveness of educational schemes cannot be overstated5 There are sufficient reasons to rationali4e the funding of higher education on the grounds of eBuity and efficiency5 In this conte6t it $ould be $orth mentioning that higher education en7oys government support to the e6tent of eighty five percent and the government decision to free4e grants has come as a blot from the blue to the university community5 As it is" the education sector had been reeling under a less than adeBuate budgetary support 2appro6imately R percent in the Eighth Plan as against a si6 percent up$ards pro7ection of the .ational Policy on Education Revised" ?JJ;3 and the double impact of rapid inflation and rupee" devaluation5 The combined impact of all this is that the 1real1 allocation to education has declined over the years5 The university community can legitimately fell outraged because the level of funding has1 been decelerated at a time $hen they are already plagued $ith underinvestment and fiscal deficits5 +esides" the free4e has been slapped on" $ithout providing alternative avenues of fundingli,e liberal loan scheme or ta,ing policy initiatives on the fiscal front for mobili4ing additional resources by universities as are generally available to autonomous bodies5

The most important issue therefore is to identify alternative sources of finance $hich could be e6ploited5 At the same time effective and gainful utili4ation of available resources is essential5 Thus" a t$o pronged strategy can be envisagedM one relates to measures for effecting economy in e6penditure and other to the mobili4ation of additional resources5 'ore than si6tyfive percent of university e6penses go to$ards the salary bill of teaching and nonteaching staff5 Economy measures therefore largely affect the staff in terms of either retrenching staff or postponement of recruitment of faculty members5 This not only undermines the university plans to carry out ongoing schemes but also stri,es at the root of the intellectual viability of the university system5 !o$ever" since economy in budgeting is unavoidable one $ould be betteradvised to chec, nonacademic e6penditure by scaling do$n dependence on nonteaching staff and cutting administrative e6penses5 Economy can also be effected by devising methods of interinstitutional sharing and lending of facilities li,e libraries and laboratories on $hich huge investments are made and yet they are not fully utili4ed5 As far as the Buestion of mobili4ation of additional resources is concerned" a case can be made out for raising tuition fees5 Though" the reBuirements of universities are too high even for raised tuition fees to sufficiently provide for" yet a beginning in this direction is most $elcome5 'ore so" because most1 of the beneficiary groups largely hail from the better off section of the society5 In this conte6t schemes need to be devised $hich $ould e6tract fees from beneficiaries according to their income ability or allo$ them to meet the educational e6penses out of interestfree loans $hile the education of poor sections of society should be suitably subsidi4ed by the /overnment5 +esides an up$ard revision of fee structure 2especially in professional courses3 other resource augmenting measures include full recovery of costs of education from foreign students" mobili4ation of resources from industry by $ay of initiating relevant programs for managerial and technical staff of industries and other commercial organi4ations" underta,ing consultancy pro7ects from industry" revising users charges li,e hostel" laboratory fees" library etc" Thus" unless an eBuitable and efficient funding mechanism is devised the process of upgradation of human capital the sine Bua non of enhancing resource use and productivity $ill be seriously handicapped5 'oreover" productivity enhancing ne$ innovations and technologies $ill also be difficult to come by from the conveyor belt of institutions of higher learning5 Privati4ation of Te6tboo,s Privati4ation or denationalisation of te6tboo,s is put for$ard as an e6tension of the process of privati4ation of education5 #et us first see $hat 1denationali4ation: of te6tboo,s means and $hat its implications are5 .ationali4ation in its classical sense means the state or its agencies li,e the .ational Council of Educational Research and Training 2.CERT3 and its affiliates in the states 2SCERTs3 are responsible for the editorial" printing and distribution of te6tboo,s5 In this light one can argue that the debate on denationali4ation of te6tboo,s is irrelevant because firstly prescribed te6tboo,s e6ists onS" for school level classes 2I to TII3 there are no 1te6tboo,s1 as such for higher classes and secondly because the state does intent the private sector to share the enormous load of printing of te6tboo,s and is completely dependent on the private sector for their distribution5 Despite" the at best 1partial nationali4ation1 of te6tboo,s that $e presently have in India" to lobby of private publishers $ant this sector to be thro$n open to them $hich means that they $ould be able to cater to the enormous demand of the gro$ing school population5 .ormatively" there can be no ob7ection to such a proposal if it $ill lead to better te6tboo,s in terms of language" style" sub7ect matter and production5 The ability of private publishers to singularly meet the enormous demand and the cost to the consumer can be the only other considerations in this regard5 The prospects of private sector cunning out better te6tboo,s are very blea, if the past performances of this sector are any indication5 'ostly" private publishing is5a one man sho$ $ith a ma7ority of publishing houses lac,ing in even the mandatory editorial departments not to spea, of production staff" proofreaders etc5 The ability of the private sector to handle the vast magnitude of demand is also suspect because no

single publisher can possibly have the reBuisite infrastructureMin professional staff" $arehousing spaces" sales outlets etc5 besides the huge financial investment reBuired5 As far as the price to the consumer is concerned $e can e6pect a steep rise in prices because the private sector does not $or, on the ecclesiastic principle of 1noprofitnoloss15 Private sector $or,s only for profit5 If $hat $e have said above seems li,e an advocacy ofstatus Buo ante then $e $ould li,e to Buic,ly state that $hat is reBuired is a rational costbenefit analysis of the t$o e6tremes5 The private sector should $eigh its merits visavis the state endeavor and devise $ays $hich ma6imi4e benefits to the society as $ell as the entrepreneur5 Surely entrepreneurship cannot be given precedence over the sub7ective Buality of education5 Efficiency of resource utili4ation $hile at the same time ensuring Buality in education so as to enable it to perform the sociological tas, e6pected of true 5education should be the only guiding criteria5

Proper #anpower Plannin1: A #*st For /e%elopment The third $orld countries are e6posed to the process of change operating at the national and local level simultaneously" e6tending and e6pending both geographically and socially" affecting both the form and functions of groups and organi4ations" and evolving ne$ patterns of living and thin,ing5 The ruling elites of these countries are influenced by the liberal or revolutionary philosophies of the est either of their earlier colonial masters or of their allies in their battle against Imperialism5 They have been eBually impressed by the industrial strength of the est supporting its production machine5 #eadership of the third $orld countries is therefore endeavoring in every $ay to introduce change on this pattern and to strengthen its process* the process of development5 (or its leadership development therefore is a recurring theme and a common idiom in the vocabulary5 Development" basically" is change $ith a predetermined direction affecting various segments of the society5 Politically it e6presses faith in individual development in the conte6t of liberal or collectivist philosophy as adopted by the governing elites5 It also encourages individuals1 conscious participation in its decision*ma,ing and decision implementing process5 Economically it aims at increasing goods and services and increasingly putting economic efficiency 2cost*benefit relationship3 and follo$s gro$th indicators of /.R Administratively it $or,s for functional speciali4ation amongst its operating organi4ational structures and tries to support it by the concept of professionalism5 Collectively it ma,es the $hole process communitarian $ith increasing social mobility and $ith natural mobili4ation of community associations ma,es the $hole process participative and pervading stable and enduring5 -n the eve of independence day as a third $orld country $as stuc, do$n in her efforts of development $ith lo$ capital formation" lo$ per capita income" lo$ literacy rate including lo$ functional literacy and lo$ level of production organi4ationL but $ith very high population gro$th" high unemployment and under employment mar,5 Planning has not been ne$ to Indian leadership and in administration a department of planning $as constituted even before independence5 After independence" full fledged planning machinery $as envisaged in the establishment of Planning Commission at the Centre $ith Prime 'inister as its Chairman5 It $or,s on a comprehensive data" collected" compiled and classified on different indices of development and provides rationale for plan targets and 7ustification for plan implementation The .ational Development Council provides political dimension to the process of planning and ma,es it more responsive and therefore more adoptive5 'ember States also have similar machinery and their plans are discussed and finali4ed $ithin the broad frame $or, prepared by the planning Commission5 The Prime ob7ective of planned development is naturally economic gro$th*increasing the production of

goods and services and increasing levels of individual consumption5 To sustain this process" the economy eBually needs increasing levels of capital formation5 India adopted planning strategy $ith a positive role for public sector to reali4e the goal5 !uman resources are an important variable in the overall efforts of development5 !uman beings are ends and means at one and the same time and give meaning and 7ustification to the $hole gamut of activities5 The ob7ectives of five year plans therefore lay emphasis on policies of employment creating 7ob" opportunities as $ell as moderni4ing production processes for higher per labor output5 The plans also aim at increasing general literacy and functional literacy by providing facilities for acBuiring technical s,ills5 This is in addition to literacy drives5 +asically committed to social 7ustice" the plan programs ta,e special care of bac,$ard classes and disadvantaged and unorgani4ed groups of the population and dra$ them into the main stream of development5 &arious poverty eradication progress li,e the .ational Rural Employment program 2.REP3 Plan" the integrated Rural Development Program 2IRDP3 Dth Plan" Rural landless Employment /uarantee Program 2+#E/P3 8th plan" The )a$ahar 0o7ana 2=th Plan3" Development of $omen and children in Rural areas 2D CRA3 =th Plan" The .ational Scheme of Training of Rural 0outh for Self Employment 2TR0SE'" Dth Plan" Rural Training and Technology Centre 2RTTC3 =th Plan" collectively strengthen functional s,ills of $or,ing population and aim to ma,e production efficient5 Population adeBuate Bualified is an asset" a productive as set5 Population of developing countries has al$ays been gro$ing and gro$ing at a faster rate5 This complicates the problem of development and the problem of balanced development5 In these countries political revolution has preceded industrial revolution5 Socialist revolution has increase anticipation from the people5 +ut /overnment machinery in these countries is underdeveloped and ill*eBuipped to tac,le the problem of development $ith social 7ustice in India today support% nearly ?8 p5c5 of the $orld population" its population has been steadily increasing and the decadal gro$th rate has therefore been consistently rising5 Population has functional and dysfunctions effects5 !ealthy and better eBuipped population can support industrial gro$th $hile poor population $ould ma,e country poorer5 Application of 'althusian la$ is ruled out and a positive strategy $ould be 2a3 the adoption of family $elfare programs 2b3 implementation of manpo$er planning 2c3 the diversification of productive activities in the secondary and tertiary sectors5 (amily $elfare programs envisage a ne production rate of ? p5c5 by ;<<< A5D5 In demographic transitionL high gro$th in the second stage" but the third stage is characteri4ed by lo birth rate" lo$ death rate" small si4e families a leading to decline in the rate of population gro$th In rural areas primary health centers provide host of services under one roof5 A massive nutrition programs $ith a$areness of community health is operated through governmental and nor governmental agencies5 The special .utrition Program caters children bet$een <*D years an pregnant $omen and nursing mothers5 In manpo$er planning emphasis on investment in human capital is aimed at5 This is reali4ed through health and educational Program operated in rural urban areas5 This $ill improve adaptability" productivity and mobility of labor5 The @th plan aimed at universali4ation of elementary education and eradication of illiteracy in $or,ing age population5 There $as an e6tension of 1-pen #earning System1 Schemes li,e D CRA" TR0SE'" RE#E/P" CRTTC" .ERP have a positive role to play in this field as rural unemployment" underemployment" disguised unemployment is its main target5 The @th Plan e6pected employment gro$th rate to reach O p5c5 Diversification of secondary and tertiary activities has been aimed at from the Second (ive 0ear Plan5 ithin the frame $or, of mi6ed Economy the plans give priority to public sector" activities $hich aim to create infrastructure for development5 In ?J8?" there $ere only 8 non*departmental public enterprises $ith an investment of Rs5 ;J crores5 +y ?J@O*@R the number of public enterprises 2central3 has gone to ;;@ $ith a total investment of Rs5 R;5<<< crores5 Chadi and village industries also occupy a vital place in the process of industriali4ation and gro$th $ith balance5 ith a total investment of Rs5 ;<<< crores in the =th plan it provided employment to nearly 8< la,h people5

Development is a multifarious phenomenon and population policy 5one of its variable5 Proper manpo$er*planning $ould definitely ma,e the available human capital more productive and $ould help to reduce its pressure on future gro$th5 Properly lin,ed $ith the strategy of industriali4ation and moderni4ation" population policy $ould open this vast potential gro$th resource available to the third $orld countries e6tending the reach out of development benefits and ma,ing its face more human5

School4 Society an$ Family Discipline is a scheme $hich is designed to facilitate school and society both $or,ing of some activity $hether it is the acBuisition of ,no$ledge by students or any other field li,e craftsman5 To each best possible end in each this" energy has to be harbored and canali4ed" time must be measured arid allotted and many of man1s impulses temporarily curbed5 Discipline is needed to subdue the natural ego*centric so that they can live in and $ith society5 Rules represent order" and the foundation of an orderly" disciplined $ay of life is laid in schools from $here the child begins5 +ut many people today believe that maintaining order in the school is becoming difficult" though this should not come as a surprise5 Society itself is changing and authority is under attract society has changed5 Primitive people $omen" home or fuel5 As civili4ation gre$ the need of la$s to regulate the action of individuals and groups in community $as recogni4ed5 #a$s $ere made and given an aura of holiness because they $ere necessary to enable society to survive5 +ut inevitably there $ere those $ho felt they are treated un7ustly" they challenged the la$ often by force5 The problem arises $hen some section of society sees la$ undermined and perceive profit for them in the challenge itself and act $ithout regard to conseBuence5 hen violence is seen to bring advantage violence increases5 That is $hat is happening today5 0oung people see the e6ample of violence as the successful challenge to 5authority and tend to emulate it5 Communication media attempts: to present: the ne$s" gives violence and disruption" acceptance arid do not condemn It5 0oungsters seeing it uncondemned come to regard it as acceptance5 Children today are treated $ith a tolerance $hich allo$ for the re7ection of authority5 Parado6ically parents are often critical of la6 school discipline $hilst tolerating such behavior at home $hich $ould not have been $idely accepted ;< or O< year ago5 Even more difficult to understand is any steps to ma,e discipline in school more effective is Buestioned5 +eing brought up in a tolerant atmosphere children are often shoc,ed $hen attempts are made to ma,e them behave reasonably at school5 They find themselves having to adapt to t$o Buite different behavioral patterns5 This has a traumatic effect up on some children" $hich is itself an incitement to indiscipline5 Society as a $hole appears to accept that the ma7ority of children $ant to learn and that to enable them to do so discipline must be maintained in schools5 Schools in this age * cannot operate in isolation" $hatever happens and $hatever is tolerated in the $orld has an effect on the school5 The attitude of adult $ith $hom children come into contact" either by direct e6perience or through media condition the attitude of the pupil to all influences on their lives5 Until recently the fe$ $ho disrupted school $ith e6treme behavioral problem $ere from environments $hich thrived on violence and misbehavior5 +ut the gro$th of mass media specially and the decline of censorship lies introduced a much $ider group to e6tremes of behavior5 Thus a society $hich e6pects and believes that its children must be educated in a reasonably ordered situation tolerates the daily visua? e6position of activities $hich can undermine and destroy that reasonable order5 The problem arising from this contradiction is% $hen schools attempt the reasonable order $hich society $ants" the support of the society is conditional5 And in the long run this situation becomes intolerable5 There is an Increasing amount of violence and disruptive behavior5 #iberal attitudes among adults have probably given encouragement to these youngsters $ho have such disruptive inclinations5 +e it any country" one

sees the difficulty into $hich undue tolerance can lead5 Rules represent order" and ho$ever anarchic $e may feel" $e need order" no one ,no$s completely the ans$er to the problem of maintaining order in schools5 Schools cannot operate on their o$n5 This is a social problem $hich cannot be disregarded by society and left to the schools5 .either must the schools assume that the teaching profession alone can deal $ith it5 -ne reason 5for the dissatisfaction of the young $ith the society and family pattern in $hich they gro$ is" there is no hard and fast line to give them security5 They themselves gro$ in an atmosphere of adult uncertainty leaving them be$ildered5 Parental involvement and understanding is vital to the schools both in the avoidance of e6treme indiscipline and to its solution $hen it occurs5 The main duty of the parents is to eBuip the child for living and for ma,ing the best of life" and ho$ to benefit from the advantages of being a social animal5 -ne of the lessons should be that in order to get the advantage certain sacrifices have to be made5 Society must face up to the problem society is creating5 Tolerance" overindulgence" neglect of standards" abandonment of guidance" un$illingness to accept and reason are social attitudes $hich are affecting the school5 At the same time social neglect in poor housing" unemployment" deprivation" lac, of provision are also stimulating and fostering the development of bad attitude5 To discipline a child means to teach him ho$ to live $ith others" it does not mean brea,ing but teaching" not only through rules" but its o$n attitude to$ards others and our o$n to$ards it5 It is essential to convince that it is possible and also if necessary to disagree but this does not involve loss of dignity5 The thin,ing needs long term plan for social change5 The fact is schools have their problems5 They must be dealt $ith and society must supply the support to the schools5 This is a demand $hich involves the protection and $ell being of the ma7ority of children $ho $ant to get the best out of the very effective educational provision5 If investment in children1s education is investment in our society1s future" then it is essential that society safeguard its investment by supporting those to $hom it has entrusted the reali4ation of its children1s future5

#ala$ies Afflictin1 the E$*cation System

The Indian educational scene today presents a picture of be$ildering contradictions butane feature stic,ing out li,e a sore thumb is that of utter confusion5 The contradictions arise from a variety of factors $hich include% social ineBualities" rising e6pectations of the emerging generation and erosion of the value system $hich prevailed during the mid*t$entieth century" in fact" these had led to the creation of educational institutions of different types ranging from the very good 2alas" very fe$ in number3 to the average or mediocre type and $ay do$n to the poor 2a very large number35 The disparities in relation to the Buality and commitment of the teachers" the type of laboratory and library facilities and the amenities li,e playgrounds are to say the least startling5

The confusion arises on account of the pulls and pushes $hich the system is sub7ected to by a $ide array of agencies" both government and private5 There are a fe$ bright spots in the picture but these are fast d$indling5 Come )une" the scramble for admission into the higher educational institutions becomes almost painful to the parents and their $ards5 hile a large number of arts and science colleges have sprung up in the last t$o decades ail over the country" the number of seats also going up in proportion" the gro$ing

number of aspirants desiring to acBuire degrees must also be rec,oned $ith5 There has been unfortunately a sort of distortion in the $ay students are gaining entry into the collegesMtheoretically all those $ho are eager to gain ,no$ledge must be accommodated but due to various reasons it has not been happening5 Several social factors and ineBualities have led to this situation5 There is no$ a danger of the social fabric itself being torn asunder since the divisions into caste" sub*castes" communities apart from religion are playing havoc $ith the campus atmosphere5 .o part of subcontinent is Immune from this malaise5 hen it comes to professional education" the picture turns still more mur,y5 The parents of the student completing the school leaving stage 2?<th class3 get into an an6iety syndrome" $orrying constantly about the sub7ects their $ards should ta,e up in the higher or senior secondary stage 2??th and ?;th class3 $hich goes by different names in different StatesMintermediate or pre*degree or plain higher or senior secondary5 It is at the end of the ?;th class that the pupils must be prepared to get grilledM appearing for a number of entrance tests 2)oint Entrance E6amination or )EE for the Indian Institutes of Technology" State level engineering or medical colleges35 April" 'ay and )une turn out to be a harro$ing period for a large number of middle class families as a result5 ith several thousand students appearing for these e6aminations and the chances of only a fe$ getting in" the outcome is Buite grim5 It is frustration all round5 The amount of time" money and energy spent in preparing and appearing for these tests is staggering5 In some cases" almost a permanent scar is left as a result of this traumatic phase5 The /overnments in several States have evolved different norms for selection of candidates to the engineering" medical and other professional courses5 Since the competition is very stiff" a sort of ad7ustment in relation to reservation" Buota for other States and special categories becomes necessary but no$here in the country has a satisfactory system been evolved5 The emergence of the self*financing professional colleges over the last t$o decades has in a $ay eased the situation but other complications arose" mainly relating to the huge amounts collected by $ay of capitation fees 2euphemism for donation" not of a voluntary type3 and the tuition fees levied5 The Supreme Court1s intervention has no$ resulted in a fee structure $hich goes to prove that the remedy is $orse than the disease5 Indeed" right from the ,indergarten stage" the education of a citi4en is being shaped in devious $ays5 In recent years" the demand for seats in the C/ classes has gone up5 Actually" people go to any e6tent in order to admit the toddlers even in the pre*C/ section5 This is part of the early childhood education 2ECE3 scenario5 Several arguments are given in favor of this trend5

These include% 2a3 the children get a head*start in schooling and in these days of hectic competition" the little ones must get used early to the habit of turning :sociable:L 2b3 since both parents are almost invariably employed" it is difficult to ,eep the children at home or entrust them to the care of some domestic helpL 2c3 after the brea,*up of the 7oint family system" house$ives by themselves are not able to loo, after the little ones since no in*la$s or mothers are there to help5 hat must ma,e the people sit up and ta,e note is the erosion of values in the social set*up5 Respect for the elders and a spirit of give and ta,e have virtually disappeared among the youth of today5 This can be traced to the influence o films and television $hich" unfortunately" portray in a star, fashion the seamier side of life5

7*st As (oa$s .ee$ spee$8!reakers /e%elopin1 Economies .ee$s Protection

'ultinational corporations are routinely complaining that they do not have a level playing field in India Mand that 7ustice and T- ali,e demand that they get it5 -n the other hand" Indian businessmen also feeS that they are denied a level playing field vis*a*vis '.Cs" +oth sides" therefore" $ant a level playing field" it should" therefore" be possible to e6amine $here" to $hat e6tent" for $hom and ho$ it may be leveled5 Indian businesses certainly have certain advantages in India5 They ,no$ the country and the people5 They ,no$ their $or,ers" their managers and their consumers5 And they ,no$ their government5 !o$ever" these are advantages en7oyed by every business on its respective home ground5 e have the advantage of cheaper laborL but this labor is not as s,illed as in the est5 And" in any case" $e have to employ much more labor than there5 Also" $hen an '.C starts manufacturing in India" it also acBuires the advantage of cheaper labor5 In addition" Indian business did" for years" have the protection of import substitution and high tariff $alls5 !o$ever" today" these $ails have been all but pulled do$n5 So much so that" to give 7ust one e6ample" today many steel mills in India" big and small" have had to close do$n because of cheaper imports5 +ut" on the other hand" the big foreign companies M the '.Cs M have tremendous" even over$helming advantages5 To treat Indian and these foreign companies on par $ould be li,e thro$ing the lamb to the $olves M In the name of 1eBuality15 +ecause the est has dominated the $orld for the last t$o centuries5 Its domination sho$s in every sphere5 Since it has more $ealth and more capital" interest rates are much lo$er in the est5 hile an American 'I'C may have to pay only five percent interest" an Indian company has to pay ;< per cent5 The same $ith technology The est is not only ahead of us in technology" it often refuses to sell state* of*the*art technology us5 The US not only refused to sell cryogenic engines to usL it pressed Russia not to sell them to us5 Although much of the oil comes from the Persian /ulf area" $orld oil prices are determined by adding $hat it $ould cost to transport this oil to Te6as" in the /ulf of 'e6ico" and using it as the base price5 .o $onder oil is cheaper in the US than in India5 All this is possible only because American and some other $estern oil companies control the $orld petroleum mar,et5 These companies even organi4ed the oil crisis of the seventies" to raise oil prices high and earn oil superscripts5 These oil profits $ere then used by the orld +an, to tempt developing countries to borro$ money by the billion M and so $al, into debt*traps5 As a $estern robber*baron engaged in telling even great ?"<<<*year old trees" put it candidly% There1s a story about the golden rule5 !e $ho has old rules" .or is this $estern predominance confined to the material factors of production5 It is" if anything" even more pervasive in the non*physical factors of economic life5 Today $e are living in a $orld of instant communications and informalities5 And hero again the est is miles ahead of us5*There are riot only more $estern satellites in orbit monitoring the $orld *** and its marine and underground resources M $estern electronic media is penetrating evenU noo, and corner of the $orld5 It is influencing not only economic choices but also tastes and values5 The $estern advertising blit4 is pushing $estern products5 Today even Delhi police station name boards carry Pepsi advertisements5 hen developing countries refuse tobacco ads" these '.Cs sponsor sports events to promote their smo,ing message5 And so $hile smo,ing is going do$n in the US M because of its ,no$n carcinogenic properties M tobacco company profits are going up5 'r5 #a$rence Summers" chief economist of the orld +an," openly advocated that polluting industries and garbage be e6ported to developing countries5 In the name of a level playing field" American ban,s have set up shop in India5 +ut they never fulfill the social responsibilities shouldered by Indian ban," $hich latter have to open branches in rural areas and give loans on concessional terms to agriculture" small stale industry and cooperatives5 This ineBuality sho$s even in the realm of la$5 (oreign companies cc ling to India do not $ant to be 7udged by Indian la$L they invo,e the la$ in a third country5 In simple $ords" the level playing field of '.Cs amounts to 1heads $e $in and tails you lose5:

The est has not only more guns and more gold M and even more grain in a hungry $orld5 Ail the po$erful international organi4ations M $ith $hich to dominate the $orld" The U." orld +an," International 'onetary (und5 orld Trade -rgani4ation and International Court of )ustice M are based in the est and captive to the est5 As 'r5 Samuel P !untington of !arvard candidly puts it in an artrcle in (oreign Affairs Nuarterly% :Through the I'( and other international economic institutions" the est promotes its economic interests and imposes on other nations the economic policies it thin,s appropriate5 : This leads to resentment and the emergence of a conflict bet$een :the est and the Rest:5 And so 'r5 !untington concedes% :In any poll of non*$estern people" the I'( undoubtedly $ould $in the support of finance ministers and a fe$ others" but get an over$helmingly unfavorable routine from 7ust about everyone else5 +ut instead of redressing the grievances of Lhe South" 'r5 !untington $ants :the est to maintain the economic and military po$er necessary to protect its interests in relation to these civili4ations : This is the reason $hy the US does not $ant India to go nuclear or develop a missile capability5 If India developed military muscle" the est $ould not be able to e6tract more and more concessions from us for its '.Cs5 It $ill thus be seen that" in the name of 1globali4ation1" the est is only trying to perpetuate its hegemony on the $orld5 Coming bac, to the economic domain" $e don1t have to be ta,en in by the glib tal, of :free trade:5 )ust as roads need speed*brea,ers" developing economies need protection5 A ?<< years ago" $hen +ritain as,ed the UStc abolish its tariff $alls and engage in free trade" then US President Ulysses /rant reminded it that the UC had protected its industries for ?<< years before launching out on free trade5 The US" said /rant" $ould also do the same after ?<< years5

"1norin1 "nno%ation is Closin1

in$ows of 'pport*nity

There cannot be any progress $ithout the $hole $orld follo$ing in the $a,e and it is becoming everyday clearer that the solution of any problem can never be obtained on racial or national or narro$ grounds5 Every idea has to become broad till it covers the $hole of this $orld" every aspiration must go on increasing till it has engulfed the $hole of humanity" nay" the $hole of life" $ith its scope This $as &ive,anada1s prophecy in ?@J=" a century ago5 Advances in science and technology" and the conseBuential comple6 cause and effect interactions $ith the agriculture" industry" economics" business" trade" politics or culture" have truly brought us to a stage $here diabolism is really felt in many $al,s of life5 Trans*border flo$s of ideas" images" ,no$ledge" goods" services" capital or people are ta,ing place on an unprecedented scale" despite the fact that most societies are still clinging to many age*old concepts of governance" domination" controls" tariffs or denials5 Even $hile the grand vision is true" the nitty*gritty of actual living poses many problems and challenges" to individuals" groups and societies5 The impact of global competition is felt by domestic industries brought up in a protected regime5 Nuestions naturally arise $hether the doors are opened too early and too fast5 'any institutional mechanisms such as financing mechanisms" regulatory bodies" social $elfare systems 1or indigenous technology development systems are being severely 7olted5 Aspirations for follo$ing the rapid gro$th models and consumption patterns ta,ing place else$here are also having an impact on local infrastructure in the country5 There are increasing problems of urban environmental pollution5 'ultiple lobbies and pulls and pressures from different groups in the country are also creating a confusing picture5 !o$ do $e face these challenges before the country9 .o country can easily follo$ some other model" that too at a different period in history5 So $e have to learn" to innovate $ith our o$n systems5 Innovation is someho$ inhibited in our country in a number of $ays5 'ost of those $ho control the levers or our economy M the administrators" business persons" financiers" diplomats" and those in charge of public accountability systems M are often allergic to or intolerant of failures and" therefore" are afraid

of innovation5 Even $hen their e6perience sho$s that they have reached the end of the road" many prefer to ,eep their engines on at idling speeds" rather than e6plore ne$ paths5 (or any ne$ idea that is thro$n up" the standard Buestions are% !as anybody done it else$here in the $orld9 hat is their e6perience9 Is there any e6perience of doing it in India9 -thers e6perience often dominates our thin,ing5 e tend to forget that the persons" the business houses or administrations $hich had earlier e6perimented may not al$ays share $ith us the details of their e6perience and they themselves may have innovated further steps based on their e6perience5 ith our penchant for caution" $e of*ten emphasi4e e6perience over innovation5 If $e have to be successful in the rapidly changing $orld of today $here" as 'r5 A5R)5 Abdul Calam" puts it" :Strength respects strength:5 !e should learn to treat ,no$ledge*based e6perience and innovation as t$o sides of the same coin5 Such an approach is especially useful $here $e have considerable gaps in our ,no$ledge base" $hich essentially means $e have lagged behind in building up an e6perience base through innovations5 This is particularly true of the technology scenario in the country" $here $e lag behind significantly in many areas5 Around the $orld" most firms most firms $ho are $orld leaders no$ have built up their technological strengths through an assiduous process of continual and incremental innovations5 In this process" they may occasionally be benefited by a fe$ brea,throughs" giving 1 them a considerable lead over their competitors5 It is often difficult for the late*comers" $ho try to imitate the leaders" to bridge the gaps easily5 'any researched studies indicate that imitation is often as difficult as innovation in such competitive environments5 So most Indian firms" $ho have large gaps in their present technological strengths" have to learn to tap the1 e6perience base of others rapidly as $ell as learn to innovate simultaneously5 (or e6ample" having missed the opportunity of venturing into large scale microelectronics production about t$o decades ago" most Indian firms or laboratories may find it difficult to attempt it no$ $hen investment for a viable microelectronics production facility $ould cost V ?58 billion5 +ut there is a reasonable e6perience base in the country to produce system level products using microprocessors5 e even have e6perience in ma,ing parallel processors or supercomputers5 e also have a fair bit of e6perience in application soft$are5 +ut $e need to learn to venture forth in a big $ay and not limit the innovation to a minor level5 e have suffered pilot plant syndromes too long5 Innovation in order to capture and capitali4e on our strengths $ould mean instituting several measures" easier access to finance% many special 4ones to attract industriesL promotion of competitive researchL facilitation of potentially bright ne$comers in their early days of start up arid so on5 A fe$ failures out of these should not deter us5 They can form the e6perience base" for further correction5

Si1nificance of Forests India is e6tremely rich in its ecology $hich is varied $ith genetically diverse forest resources and is one of the $orld1s top t$elve nations having mega diversity in terms of biological resources5 The plant $ealth found in India1s forest are made up of R8<<< species of trees" shrubs" herbs and climbers $hich account for about ?; per cent of the global plant $ealth5 The flo$ering plants alone number ;?<<< species and almost a third of these are endemic" located mainly in ;D endemic centers of India5 India1s forests are the home of over =8"<<< species of animals of $hich about O=; are mammals" ;"<<< birds" ?" DJO fishes and as many as D<"<<< insect species5 (orests are removable resources and they contribute substantially to the social and economic development of the country5 They have ma7or role to play in enhancing the Buality of our environment5

The history of forest is lin,ed $ith the history of civili4ation5 The R<<< year old Agnipurana mentions that a man should protect trees to ensure material prosperity and religious merit5 ;8<< years ago" /autam +uddha preached that a man must plant trees every five years5 The great epics Ramayana and 'ahabharata give attractive description of forests li,e Danda,aranya" 'andavana and Chandvan5 The Supreme /od of Indus &alley $as supposed to live under Pipal trees5 Pipal and +abul Plants $ere believed to have descended on earth from heaven5 The people in ancient times lived in harmony $ith their ecosystem" $hich $as formed by the forests5 They did not cut the trees rec,lessly and the forests produced more than enough for everybody5 The first indication of forestry administration is found in O<< +5C during Chandra /upta 'aurya1s reign" $hen a Superintendent of forests $as appointed to protect forests and $ild life5 .und Rishi" the saint of Chare* shreef" preached that there $ould be enough food only $hen there $ere forests5 (rom top of the hill" he could could see the fertile valley do$n belo$ and reali4e that the miracle $as due to fertile soil produced by the hill forests5 Similarly #ambo7i" the founder of the &aishnio sect in the desert of Ra7asthan" $as preaching that to survive in the desert" green trees should not be felled and no animals and birds be ,illed5 The +ishnois have ,ept alive this tradition of saving the Che7adi 2Accacia3 trees even at the cost of their lives5 'odern science too recogni4es that forests are mothers of the rivers and factories of soil manufacture5 (or the +ritish" Indian forests $ere an ine6haustible source of durable and ornamental timber and other forest products5 Tea, forests along the coast of 'alabar $ere over e6ploited to meet the reBuirements of the +ritish .avy5 The Sandal$ood trees of South India $ere e6ploited for the European mar,ets5 The t$o $orld $ars $ere also the periods of great devastation of Indian forests5 (orests $ere cut rec,lessly to meet the increased demand5 As a result" rich productive forests vanished" causing an irreparable damage to the ecosystem and to the Indian people" especially the tribes5 Unfortunately" the forest destruction did not stop even after the +ritish had left and it is estimated that India is losing about ?58 million hectares of forests annually5 (orests have a significant role not only in ensuring the environmental stability but also achieving economical benefits5 (orest is not 7ust a group of trees" but is an ecosystem in itself" comprising all the living and non*living components5 The main living components of a terrestrial ecosystem are plants dominated by trees" forming the consumer element and decompresses of the micro organisms5 Soil" $ater" air and sunshine form the non*living components of a forestUterrestrial ecosystem5 These components interact $ith each other and evolve the ecological energy cycle $hich consists of t$o other cyclic processes" namely $ater cycle and matter 2organic and inorganic3 cycle5 These processes maintain the dynamic eBuilibrium bet$een the living components and non*living components $ithin an ecosystem5 Any imbalance or deviation in this process $ill lead to a total collapse of the ecosystem5 Droughts and floods are the t$o most important conseBuences of the imbalance in forest ecosystem caused by the indiscriminate felling of trees5 The forest ecosystem fulfils e6tremely important protective" regulatory and productive functions both for the $ell*being and development of society5 The importance of forests in the ecosystem can never be overemphasi4ed5 (orests have numerous roles to play both natural and manmade5 .atural functions involve protective and regulative services" $hile man imposed functions relate to production and socio*ecological services5 Plants are valuable for us in many $ays" besides protecting and improving the environment in1 $hich $e live" they control run off" chec, floods and soil erosion" improve soil fertility and help in reducing temperature and pollution5 Thus they $or, as environmental conditioners5 According to one estimate the real value of a 8<tonne medium si4ed tree" by adding the prices of all items of its produce and social benefits" rendered during the 8< years of its life time" economic benefits of around Rs5 ?8"=<"<<<U*is generated to the community in the form of generation of 2i3 o6ygen valued at Rs5 ;58 la,h" 2ii3 controlling of soil erosion and improving soil fertility by Rs5 ;58 la,h" 2iii3 recycling of $astes to the tune of Rs5 O la,h" 2iv3 controlling of air pollution valued at Rs55 8 la,h and other secondary benefits to the tune of Rs5 O58 la,h5 Thus one can visuali4e ho$ much economic benefits tric,le do$n silently to the community through a single tree over its life span of 8< years5

Rapid destruction of forests results in natural calamities" soil erosion and also contributes to the greenhouse effect5 Plantations cannot be the substitute for the natural forests as forests are ecosystems in itself3 but it can reduce the pressure on natural forests for timber" fuel" fodder and other forest products5 Therefore" opting for plantation $ill be beneficial to the man and as $ell as to environment in the long run spite global a$areness" tropical forests are brindled at the rate of =; acre a minute5 orlds five billion acres of tropical forests are threatened by agriculture and poor farmers in the developing $orld alone5 Some O8< million people in the tropical countries live in forests and depend upon them in one $ay or another for subsistence5 During the process the farmers slash and burn patches of forests to gro$ crops and once the soil gets depleted of nutrients then the poor farmers move on to clear another patch5 This $anton destruction of forests is seriously affecting the environment and is straining the biosphere5 India has a land area of O@58< million hectares under good forest cover $hich $or,s out at ?J5RD per cent against a target of OO per cent for the plains and DD percent for the hilly regions5 Although located in the tropics" the productivity of Indian forests is amongst the lo$est in the $orld5 At the present level of consumption of forest resources" the country needs a minimum <5R= hectares of forest land for every individual against the actual availability of <5<J hectare5 (orests in most of the states in India are Bualitatively and Buantitatively very poor5 The foremost reason is the drastic gro$th in population5 Comparing India1s per capita forest land of only <5<J hectare" Canada has per capita forest land of ?;5R hectares and D5@ hectares for Australia5 The human demands on forests are comple6 and diverse5 They are related not only to matter and energy but also to space and diversity5 -n the basis of available data" India needs to have ?<?5OO million hectares5 2OO5OO per cent of reported area3 under forests $hereas it has only about D=million hectares at present leaving a deficit of OR5OO million hectares5 This deficiency can be made upto @O5=8 per cent by afforesting the land under miscellaneous tree crops and groves5 The rest can be covered by afforestation of 858D million hectares of barren land from the available ;< million hectares of barren and uncultivated land in the country5 The solution to problems of Indian forests are a lot more complicated than simply passing ne$ la$s or restricting losing companies" or echo*labeling or any other panaceas that are often on offer5 (orest science needs to ma,e a conceptual shift if it is to contribute its full potential to today1s needs5 It $as poorly lin,ed in the past to research on social" economic and biological issues relating to forests5 During the post independence period" efforts have been made to conserve the forests" ho$ever" the performance does not seem to be encouraging5 There is dire need for a comprehensive effort to plug root causes of deforestation" vi4 population" steeped in poverty" bad natural resource management and of course distorted forest policies" other$ise $e are heading for a :Stressful biosphere: as $e enter the ne6t century 2;<<?35 Depletion of forests on the planet earth $ill be contributing to gro$ing concentration of carbon*dio6ide and by the middle of the ne6t century civili4ation might oe on the threshold of 'eso4oic heat 2$arming3" spelling doom5 A rise of ? degree to ; degree C around eBuator and = degree to ?< degree C at the north and South Pole" $ill result in melting of static glaciers on mountains and the sliding of huge icebergs from poles" rising of sea level and conseBuent inundation of coastal areas5 The $anton destruction of forests is seriously affecting the forests and the environment5 This is going to lead us to disaster5 The demand for timber" pulp $ood" fodder etc5 is increasing at a very high rate5 'easures to minimi4e the gap bet$een demand and supply of these products do not indicate any positive response" since the demand is increasing $ith the increase in the population" accompanied by the increase in income levels of the people Ta,ing the demand of greeting cards" each greeting card reBuires ?< gas of paper pulp and if $e assume that ? per cent of the total @8< million population of the country uses greeting cards to the e6tent of ?8< cards per individual" then the paper pulp reBuired $ill come to ?5;8 million tonnes and such a huge Buantity of paper pulp $ill entail the felling of one million trees to obtain O5@ million tonnes of $ood5 This is 7ust" one e6ample of the demand of natural resource and the1 severe strain this biosphere has to undergo5 It could be said that forests have moved from diffused 2o$nership $ise3 unmanaged and unlimited

resource*status to a fully o$ned 2/ovt5" o$nership3" centrally managed 2forest department3 and very scarce resource status in the last century5 All attempts of the /overnment to conserve this resource appear to have isolated the resource from the people as far as their responsibility to$ards maintenance and development of the resource is concerned" $hile their dependency and in*built pressures on the*resources have on the contrary increased due to population e6plosion and advancement in the use of technology5 The alarming increase in human population $ill demand at least four times more energy than today by the year ;<R< and the pro7ected increase in the use of industrial $ood ?O fold5 here $ill the huge volume of $ood reBuired for energy useM solid $ood products and paper ma,ing come from9:To thin,ing people around the $orld" $ood from natural forests is becoming an unacceptable ans$er5 A recent report of the (ood and Agricultural organi4ation says" the demand and consumption of forest products has risen so steeply that large investment $ould have to be made for future use5 It recommends private initiatives in the industry5 A $orld thin,*tan," headed by Dr5 iliiam Sultan" Director of Research and Strategy at (letcher Challenge (orests" .e$ IealandL advocates a bold and novel concept5 2?3 A ma7or portion of any increased $ood supply" must come from ne$ly created plantations 2;3 the initiative and capital to gro$ large scale plantations must come from business sector5 To meet the instigated demand of the domestic mar,et" it is essential to redefine the ob7ective of forest management in the conte6t of the national development5 Thus there should be a change from the present conservation oriented forestry to a more dynamic program of production forestry5 Considering the advantages of an aggressive orchard silviculture or creation of manmade forests by planting" the future program should concentrate on clear felling the mi6ed forests on good soils" opening them by communication" and the planting of these areas $ith fast gro$ing and valuable species" indigenous or even e6otics" yielding higher returns per unit area" per year5 ood remains one of the most basic needs of man" $ith large scale uses in construction of homes" ships" furniture" sleepers for rail$ay trac,s as $ell as fuel5 ith industriali4ation and urbani4ation" forests have been indiscriminately felled all over the $orld5 The earth loses almost forty million hectares of forest area $ith no replacement" adding to an ever increasing shortage of timber5 India is having the best agro climatic conditions vi45 tropical" sub* tropical and temperate climatic 4ones $here diversified tree species can be planted thus increasing the production $ith elite management practices to have ma6imum biomass5 This $ould go a long $ay in conserving the ecosystem of the country $ithin a short span of time5 The estimated cost of such national level plantation efforts comes to several thousand crores5 Such an investment is surely beyond the government resources $hich are already under constant pressure to increase social spending5 !o$ever" the magnitude of investments reBuired to establish plantations is $ithin the scope of the business sector5 (or this purpose production of forests should be increasingly privati4ed and involvement of people must be from the initial stages of plantation5 This further envisages that the state forest departments should have a broader approach in forest management activities and involve people at various decision ma,ing levels5 The present day forester no doubt tal,s of involving people in the protection and management of forests" but the people at the grassroots level feel alienated5 Such a situation does not augur $ell in the forest management and immediate corrective measures need to be underta,en5 -f late" there is a positive response from the corporate sector" in forestry development5 'any a private companies $ith dedication have Underta,en mass area plantations in various parts of the country5 Although this is mostly to cater the needs of the industries" it $ould also go a long $ay in adding to the Buantum of forest products available to the people at large" that is $hy private sector companies are attempting to raise captive plantations to augment ra$ materials for industries5 Thus their sphere of activities encompasses" providing soil cover and thus reducing the pressure on biosphere and side by side provide employment opportunities to the rural poor and above all involving the people at the grassroots level in restoration of tree environment5 Efforts need to be made by the government both at the centre as $ell as at state levels to involve all possible agencies in a massive tree planting efforts based on sound management practices accompanied by latest technologies5

"s so m*ch Emphasis on "nformation +echnolo1y 7*stifie$3 The economy of a country is no longer measured by the strength of traditional industries but by its technological advancement5 Information Technology should be loo,ed upon not as an end by itself but as a means for achieving overall development5 The IT sector is perhaps the last opportunity in regaining competitive advantage for the country" to develop rapidly" to improve the standards of living of our people and to gro$ out of poverty5 Unli,e traditional industries" the IT sector is people intensive and creates vast employment opportunities5 This implies a very lo$ capital output ratio and an opportunity for all of us to gro$ Buic,ly5 Presently" it is estimated that over O<<<<< soft$are professionals are $or,ing in the country5 According to the .ASSC-' report" India $ill be able to e6port soft$are $orth over V8< billion by the year ;<<@5 The domestic mar,et is li,ely to e6pand to VO= billion at the same time5 This gro$th is e6pected to create an additional ;; la,h 7obs in India5 Some feel that this ,ind of gro$th in IT $ill benefit only the elite5 +ut this is not true5 IT $ill primarily be responsible for eradicating poverty as $ell as strengthening democracy5 IT $ill be useful as a tool for every poor citi4en to demand and secure his right to information5 Ta,e the e6ample of Carnata,a5 The government of Carnata,a has already ta,en several initiatives primarily to ta,e the administration to the doorsteps of the common man5 They have plans to set up ="8<< 'ahithi Centres 2IT ,ios,s3 all over Carnata,a5 Presently" the state has land records of D< la,h farmers in the computers5 They plan to ma,e this information available on the .et5 The same 'ahithi Centres $ill be able to provide many other value*added services li,e email" Internet information" birth and death certification" panchayat ta6es" information on government schemes" etc5 These ,ios,s $ill also provide the details of different government schemes and the amount spent in each and every village" they can ma,e land registration simple and easy5 People go to sub*registrar offices for registering sale deeds" mortgage deeds" etc5 as $ell as for an encumbrance certificate5 This process is e6tremely cumbersome5 To simplify the procedures for citi4ens" government can initiate computeri4ation of the department5 The government can use IT to protect the state1s natural environment5 The forest department can implement computeri4ed system trac, poaching and other forest offences" improve $ildlife management system as $ell as manage rare species5 The ne$ technology can be used to effectively eradicate poverty and empo$er $omen5 The latest technology in eradicating poverty is via self*help group for $omen5 These $omen groups can be organi4ed save money5 The government can step in $ith revolving fund as $ell as ban, credit5 This method can be the most effective in delivering rural credit as $ell as eradicating poverty5 It can use e*governance as a tool and deliver a government that is more proactive and responsive to its citi4ens5 It1ll play a vital role in coordinating $ith the government departments as $ell as underta,e a fe$ critical pro7ects that are li,ely to be used in more than one department5 Since most decisions in our system of democracy are ta,en at the village and districts levels" IT can provide an e6haustive database at a single point made available to all decision*ma,ers5 e canWalso analy4e the data in an intelligent manner and provide a sophisticated decision support system for the use of all decision ma,ers5 These are but a fe$ aspects $here It can change our lives5 The people li,e 'r5 #aloo 0adav says that the use of IT is confined to the hi*fi log5 The masses haveS no access to it and get no benefit from it5 To those $ho harp on IT Buestion is% Can IT plough the fields and provide electricity to farmers9 +esides" ho$ do you e6pect people to ta,e use of IT in places $here there is no po$er most of the time9 It might be a priority $ith the urban elite but for the common man the priority is still drin,ing $ater" health" education and po$er5 ithout these" Internet and email ma,e no sense5

Indeed" if IT is as important as it is made out to be $hy are they having to resort to manual counting of votes in the US9 here are all their super computers9 hat good are they9 The American presidential election has e6posed the tall claims of blind IT devotees5 It is obvious that IT cannot provide solutions to our problems5 Ta,e +ihar" for instance5 (armers there have produced more than @< metric tons of paddy this year5 +ut they are not able to sell it in the mar,et because they are getting less than Rs ;<< a ton" $hich is more than the cost of cultivation5 The Union government is not able to purchase their produce at the minimum support price5 hy9 +ecause it has made a commitment to the orld Trade -rgani4ation 2 T-3 to purchase a certain amount of agricultural produce from the $orld mar,et5 So our o$n stuff is rotting unsold5 hat $ill be the result9 (armers $ill stop cultivating their fields and our agriculture $ill suffer5 Does IT have a solution to this problem9 It needs common sense" not IT $i4ardry" to reali4e the implications of this ruinous policy5 People should ,no$ that India is being treated as a huge mar,et5 -ur shops are being flooded $ith multinational goods M butter" mil," tomato sauce" you name it5 Imagine" even salt might be imported from foreign countriesS And all this is being done $ith the help of the IT*bac,ed electronic media5 In the process our dairies and indigenous industry are being harmed5 Do you need IT to tell you these simple things9 It can never be our sole thrust area5 Too much reliance on IT is an alien approach5 It does not cater to J< per cent of our population5 A more indigenous approach is needed to solve our problems5

+he Am!it of "nformation +echnolo1y India is today e6periencing an IT revolution5 There is hype about information technology and the common perception is that it is a solution for each and every problem of the country" state" city or even individuals5 !ypes are essential tools for $a,ing up the sleeping and la4y lots5 +ut at the same time realistic visuali4ation of the potential" constraints" limitation as $ell as common maladies are reBuired5 Coupled $ith this" is the confusion on the definition and scope of IT5 (or a large number of persons IT is nothing but internet" and its related applications5 IT $ould be only limited to $$$ or dot com or similar acronyms5 'ost certainly" internet is one of the strongest means for information e6change and due to this" physical distances have become meaningless and the $orld is reduced to a global village 2a very often used phrase35 Another common definition of IT is the integration of computers and communication5 This $ill mean that any application on a single computer from des,top to super computers $ill be outside the purvie$ of IT5 In order to understand the ambit of IT in $ider conte6ts" let us get do$n to the basics of information5 Any action by individual or process may be categori4ed in one of the three% P Information P Interpretations P Instruction In fact the $orld is being ruled by the three 1s5 At the individual level" for e6ample" a per*ion 1T1 $a,es up in the morning5 !e loo,s at the $atch5 It is D5<< a5m5 2he collects information3 -hS I am late 2interpretation3 and he ta,es II actions to: get ready fast 2instruction35 A suspicious $ife receives her husband $ho is ? hour late 2information35 She as,s Buestions and may e6amine his manner*ms or clothes 2information35 +ased on previous e6perience" the information is processed and a value 7udgment 2interpretation3 is obtained5 hat are the actions 2instruction3 ta,en if the 7udgment is orated9 In fact" so much of ,no$ledge based processing goes on in our brain that even supercomputers feel shy5 Thus a human being is an information technology system par e6cellence5 -ne can go on debating $hether micro*computer is computer or not5 !o$ever" let us pause and thin,5 Internet $ould not gro$ grains" $eave clothes or construct houses5 Perhaps the latest information on pest management" grain prices" clothes design and architecture practices may be provided through Internet and shared5 Thus

Internet is one of the means of information e6change and sharing" but not a total solution5 !o$ever" $ithout going into the merit or demerit of the arguments" $e shall li,e to analy4e $hether out of the O I1s mentioned above" at least ; I1s are present in such systems and applications5 These are simple information display applications5 The computers and net$or,s are used only for information entry and supply5 The applications include display systems in ban,s" stoc, e6changes" rail$ay stations and utilities5 These may be completely detached from the main applications li,e rail$ay reservations or may be interfaced to main applications for information collection5 There are large numbers of applications in this group5 These may be put in the follo$ing categories% M System soft$are and utilities M Transaction processing systems M Communication systems and protocol M Speciali4ed applications systems M 'icrocomputer based systems M Data acBuisition and supervisory control systems The system soft$are and utilities include compilers" interpreters" D+'S" case tools" /IS" mathematical modeling systems and e6pert system shell5 The system soft$are and utilities are the bac,bones of any computer system and demonstrate the po$er of the computer5 The transaction processing systems include all those on*line applications $here interaction $ith customer is the main part5 Rail$ay reservations" ban,ing" post offices" stoc, e6changes are some of the e6amples5 These applications reBuire large database as $ell as computer net$or, 2mostly intranet3 for transaction processing5 Some of the applications also have Internet connections for information dissemination eg5 Rail$ay reservation5 The speciali4ed application systems include large and comple6 systems having both hard$are and Soft$are combined" designed specifically to cater for any particular application domain5 E6ample include $eather forecasting system" aerodynamic modeling systems and nuclear reactor simulation The applications involve data collection through sensors" ,no$ledge base and po$erful inference engine" mathematical modeling and eBuations solving5 In general" micro*computer based systems are basically used to collect" process and present information to the user on some specific parameters of interest5 In case of instruments" micro computer interprets it" based on either previously stored loo,*up tables or eBuations and then the output is presented on #ED* #CD display5 These $ould include agri*instruments" medical instruments and instruments for other applications" including test and measuring instruments5 Data acBuisition systems applications are varied and thus various names are prevalent arid are used interchangeably5 These are data loggers" data acBuisition system and alarm an enunciator" $here data loggers are used for remote applications" in $hich the system senses" processes and collects the information for defined parameters5 These can be printed and even communicated to computers using standard protocol5 The Remote Terminal Units 2RTUs3 perform the same tas,s for telemetry operations i5e5 the information is transmitted to computers using &!(U!(" $ire line or even satellite communication mode5 The distributed data acBuisition systems are a higher end system and may have many RTUs and data loggers are their components5 They perform the tas, of information and Interpretation over a large area5 The information and interpretation may include even plant modeling" analysis large historical database or even ,no$ledge based system" e6pert systems or fu44y systems5 These are most po$erful and comple6 application in $hich the instruction mechanism controls the system to achieve desired pre*defined information environment5 The applications include from simple temperature control to satellite trac,ing" missile control to po$er plant control and gas po$er$ater distribution control5 Control and automation are generali4ed names for these applications" it is basically an e6tension of data acBuisition systems $ith instructions part also5 Thus all the three functions" information" interpretation and instructions are present in automation or control in general5 Supervisory Control and Data AcBuisition 2SCADA3 system is a generali4ed name of such systems5 The technologies

used for interpretation and instructions may be simple PID or one of the intelligent control techniBues li,e e6pert systems" model based self tuning" or adaptive control5 The systems used are DDC 2Direct Digital Control3"Distributed Digital Control" RTU based telemetry control or programmable controllers5 It is important to loo, into IT $ith a holistic approach rather than in a limited and compartmental $ay5 The real life situations are multi*dimensional and multi*disciplinary5 Solutions for real life problems thus" can be found by adopting a total definition of IT5 5

9"f 0SA ha%e Fifty States4 "n$ia can also recast its fe$eration9 The disintegration of the Soviet Union has important implications for the Union of India5 Re**gional aspirations can no longer be dismissed as chauvinistic" and federalism $ill have1to be ta,en seriously5 in his recent boo, (ederal India% A Design for Change" Professor Rasheeduddin Chan ma,es a plea for a comprehensive revie$ of the entire gamut of Centre*State relations by a .ational Assembly specially constituted for the purpose5 !is plea in substance is for a ne$ Constitution5 The most vital change necessary at this point of history" he feels" is the creation of a ne$ federal balance in India5 The follo$ing measures are vital for changing the present :centrali4ed federation: into a :cooperative and constructive federal policy:% 2i3 territorial reorgani4ation of Stated on the criterion of providing the States :ma6imum homogeneity $ithin and ma6imum identity $ithout:L 2ii3 increasing the autonomy of the States" by incorporation greater administrative and fiscal po$ers to themL 2iii3 activi4ation of the Panchayati Ra7 and .agarpali,a system $ith necessary devolution of authority to build and active grassroots democracyL and 2iv3 building of a ne$ :federal national: consensus to fight communalism" casteism and separatism" and to defend the values of democracy" secularism" social 7ustice and federal nation*building5 (ederalism in the polity and decentrali4ation in administration are comprehended in the same mindset5* #arge" un$ieldy States $ith more po$ers than at present $ill not really federali4e the polity5 A reorgani4ation based on the principles of techno*economic viability" socio*cultural homogeneity and administrative and political the necessity5 The application of these principles leads to the creation of as many as 8@ States5 This $ould help mass mobili4ation and ,eener participation for development" and bring functional politics closer to the people by ma,ing it more responsive to local and specific sub* regional demands5 If the United States of America" $ith one*third of India1s population" can have 8< States" India can also recast its federation to have as many States as are reBuired by the genuine needs of its diverse population5 Incidentally" the complicated procedure for amending the Constitution is not reBuired to be follo$ed $hile creating ne$ States or redra$ing the boundaries of e6isting States% this can be done by an ordinary la$ of Parliament5 hat" ho$ever" is reBuired is that the +ill for the purpose should be introduced on the recommendation of the President" and the legislature of the State $hose area or boundaries are to be altered should be given an opportunity to e6press its vie$s on the proposals5 The Sar,aria Commission did apply itself assiduously to the tas, of e6amining and revie$ing the $or,ing of the e6isting arrangements bet$een the Union and the States5 +ut it $as not given a Carre +lanche5 It $as as,ed to have :due regard to the scheme and frame$or, of the Constitution $hich the founding fathers have so sedulously designed to protect the independence and ensure the unity and integrity of the country $hich is of paramount importance for promoting the $elfare of the people:5 That :scheme and frame$or,: created a federation $ith strong unitary and centrali4ing featuresL the Sar,aria Commission could therefore not suggest an obliteration of those5 The centrali4ing features of our Constitution $ill in all li,elihood be held to be part of the basic structure and hence" indestructible5

+y the same test" a ne$ Constituent Assembly to re$rite the Constitution cannot be called through the present Constitution5 A limited amending po$er itself has been held to be one of the basic features of our Constitution5 In Cesavananda +harati Case" )ustice Channa said that if the people decided to have an entirely ne$ Constitution" they $ould not need the authority of the e6isting Constitution for this purpose5 Apropos this observation" a distinguished commentator says that it is not the business to suggest a revolution5

0nite$ .ations5 An instr*ment of "nternational *n$erstan$in1 An$

orl$ Peace.

The United .ation $as established to :save succeeding generations from the scourge of $ar5555 and to affirm faith in fundamental human rights" and to establish conditions under $hich 7ustice can be maintained:5 To this end" the Charter laid do$n the pursuit of the follo$ing :purposes: by the United .ations% 2i3 To maintain international peace and security through collective measuresL 2ii3 to promote the process of self*determination of peoples or decoloni4ationL 2iii3 to bring about the peaceful settlement of international disputesL 2iv3 and to help achieve international cooperation in social" economic" cultural" educational" Scientific and humanitarian fields5 Arising from these :purposes: and from the common concern of man,ind" the U. has set itself t$o other important goals or ob7ectives" namely" disarmament and the establishment of a .e$ International Economic -r* 'anifestly" the foremost U. goal is the maintenance of $orld peace and security" the primarily responsibility for $hich is centered" the Security Council" In this conte6t" it may be noted that generally spea,ing" only an act of aggression committed or bac,ed by one of the /reat Po$ers 2+ritain" China" (rance" Russia and the USA3 can seriously 1threaten the peace of the $orld5 +ut $hen such is the case" the Security Council in $hich each5 /reat Po$er has a 1&eto1 $ould be structurally and operationally unable the aggressor5 To this day" the U. Security Council has been able to vote for enforcement action only in t$o ma7or conflict situations i5e5 Corean ar 2forty years ago3 and the /ulf crisis arising from IraBi invasion and occupation of Cu$ait5 In the Corean ar" .orth Corea $as ad7udged as the aggressor" $hich en7oyed the support of the USSR5 !o$ever" the time $hen the Coran case came before the Security Council" the Soviet Union had been boycotting the Council5 !ence the enforcement action plan proposed by the US * escaped the Soviet veto5 Thus it $as 7ust an e6ception" $hich confirms the rule of the Security Council1s inability in any aggression committed or supported by a veto*$ielding /reat Po$er5 In the /ulf crisis" the Security Council $as able to as, IraB to evacuate Cu$aiti territory5 It also voted for the bloc,ade of IraB5 This had been possible because of the prevailing East* est detente arising chiefly due to the e6traordinary domestic and global initiatives of the then Soviet President 'i,hail /orbachev5" Surely" a third $orld $ar has not occurred since ?JR85 +ut this has been due" chiefly" to the :balance of terror: bet$een the super po$ers 2the USA and the former USSR3 and their perception that a ma7or direct clash bet$een them $ould" among other probable damage" lead to a near*total destruction of both of them5 As regards the U. record in the matter of 1the peaceful settlement of disputes or conflicts" it may be noted that in the post ?JR8 era" there have been over ?8< critical international disputes or conflict situations" notably" the India*China conflict" India*Pa,istan conflicts" Ethiopia*Somalia conflict" the Afghanistan crisis" the Cuban missile crisis" the crises in !ungary" C4echoslova,ia and Poland" the &ietnam $ar and the Iran*IraB $ar5 In all these cases" the disputes has either lingered on or has been set along three ma7or landmar,s in conflict resolution or the pacific" settlement of disputes * the Shastri* Sirimavo Agreement 2?JD83" the Simla Agreement 2?J=;3 and the (ara,,a Accord 2?J==3" $ere bilaterally negotiated5 #i,e$ise" India1s boundary dispute $ith China $hich has lingered for over three decades is being bilaterally pursued through successive rounds of India*China tal,s at various levels5 Thus the U. has had very little to do $ith the settlement of ma7or international disputes5 !o$ever" the U. has done a lot in the field of 1peace*,eeping1 from the time of the Sue4 crisis in ?J8D through

Cyprus" #ebanon and Congo and other areas to its current involvement in Cambodia" Somalia and +osnia !er4egovina5 +ut the future of these operations is rather uncertain5 (irst there is the problem of funding" for already member nations o$e more than 8<< million dollars to the United .ations on account of these peace*,eeping operations5 Secondly" there is the problem of having to raise a sufficiently strong and trained peace*,eeping force to be used as and $hen an emergency arises5 Aside from conflict resolution and the pacific settlement of disputes" the Buestion of disarmament is also significantly lin,ed to the problem of $orld peace and security5 Enormous stoc,piles of nuclear and conventional armaments and the annual global armament e6penditure of over one thousand billion dollars threaten the very survival of man,ind5 +ut the progress in this direction has been very limited" and the U. involvement in it has been rather minimal5 Even such partial or limited measures as the .on*proliferation Treaty" the SA#T*I > II" the I5.5(5 Treaty and the START treaty $ere negotiated outside the U. frame$or,5 !o$ever" the United .ations /eneral Assembly has had three special e6clusively to arms control and disarmament5 Among these three special disarmament sessions" SS-D*I had some limited success in as much as it adopted a consensual resolution pointing to the grave danger arising from escalating arms race and urging immediate steps to$ards global disarmament5 +ut" in practice" its impact $as almost nil5 As for SS-D*II > III they failed even to adopt a consensual declaration for all their diplomatic noises and fan fare5 In the field of self*determination of peoples and decoloni4ation 2$hich the charter declared the U. record has also been rather peripheral or nugatory5 Thus" Rupert Emerson a leading American e6pert on colonial affairs" says" :The United .ations did not in fact establish $or,ing 7urisdiction over decoloni4ationL and the great bul, of the politics of decolonisation did not pass" as it $ere through the U. funnel" but has been directly $or,ed out 2$hether peacefully or belligerently3 by the colonial po$ers and the peoples $hom they ruled:5 Closely related to the problem of decoloni4ation is the issue of fundamental freedom or human rights5 Surely" in this field" the U. has issued the Universal Declaration of !uman Rights and several Covenants on Civil" political and economic rights5 +ut it has no authority $hatsoever to implement or enforce these solemn declarations in various member countries5 In South Africa and Israel Pareas" occupied Pof Palestine" fundamental human rights are denied to a vast number of people5 And before the recent upsurge in the former USSR and East Europe" these rights $ere generally none6istent in these areas5 The social" economic and cultural activities of the United .ations are operationali4ed through various :speciali4ed agencies:" li,e the U.ESC-" (A-" !-" U.ICE( etc5 +ut" in fact these agencies function ,no$ledgeably on the periphery of the United .ations system5 As an American e6pert" )ohn 'aclaurin" has pointed out" these organi4ations have al$ays operated" so to say" on petty" shoe promote the cultural and socio*economic upliftment of entire human multinationals spend on the publicity or advertisement of their consumer products5 Even so" several member countries to the budgets of these agencies for political or diplomatic reasons5 The U. Charter solemnly declares the principles of the :Sovereign eBuality: of all member nations" +ut" in fact" than,s to structural provisions li,e the 1veto1 and vast economic and resource ineBualities among the member States" some countries 2to use /eorge -r$ell1s phrase3 are :more eBual than the others: in the U.1s structureS and operations5 (lo$ing from this reali4ation a for$ard a demand for the re* structuring of the United .ations" and specifically" for the establishment of a :.e$ International Economic order:5 In 'ay ?J=R the U. /eneL Assembly adopted a resolution to this efficient nations * over $hom the U. has no control * there has been no progress in the proposed .orth*South dialogue to usher in the cherished .e$ International Economic -rder5 Apparently" the United .ations has failed to live up to the principles and purposes of the Charter or fulfill its obligations in the vital field of $orld peace and security and related fields li,e disarmament" decoloni4ation" human rights and the establishment of a ne$ $orld economic order5 0et" in many $ays" it has helped to cool tensions and promote dialogue and international contracts5 In its committees" cafes"

bars" lounges and galleries" various diplomats often meet and happen to chat informally and so daily5 In such rela6ed atmosphere" occasionally ne$ ideas and approaches emerge" $hich sometimes lead to a fuller appreciation of opposite vie$points and their eventual reconciliation5 -n the face: of its" it is a small contribution5 +ut" let us remember" that all big events or achievements have small beginnings5 'ay be" in course of time" these informal approaches $ill tend to affect the formal structures and operations of the United .ations and ma,e it a more viable instrument of international understanding and $orld peace5

e are inchin1 towar$s mo$ern polity5there is no nee$ of &o$ to come to power The ideas of bha,ti" faith" belief and sensibilities are supposed to override all Buestions of reason and logic5 They comprise that area of human interaction that allo$s for no debate5 0ou either believe or you do not5 0ou follo$ or are damned5 There is a note of autocracy and di,tat in it $hich is so easy to use" particularly $hen dealing $ith a group that one $ants to ,eep $ea,5 There are many positive aspects of religious beliefs and teachings5 After all" they form the basis for a central idea of morality that ,eeps society together5 #ife" death" good and evil" the limitlessness of the universe and the limitations of man" all emerge out of religious and philosophical concepts5 hen the out$ard manifestations or symbols of these assume more significance than the philosophical or moral ideas" they become ends in themselves and ob7ects for e6ploitation5 Since in themselves they $ere nothing but mere ob7ects" they had to be imbued $ith special meaning to attract the attention of the simple mortal $ho" at all or some times in life" needs ans$ers to unfathomable Buestions" solace during ine6plicable tragedy" and a peg on $hich to hang his hopes and failings5 A miracle" a divine manifestation" cosmic po$er and hallo$ed ground are all $ords and ideas pasted on to an ob7ect5 A cloth $ith the imprint of a face" supposedly used by Christ to $ipe his face during his crucifi6ion" has attracted *$e*struc, and devout pilgrims for years" until a forensic study $ith the latest technology raised doubts about the authenticity of its age5 Cnoc,*,noc,s and accessories of the priests $ho enable others to conduct a roaring business in blac, and red threads" copper" brass" silver and gold amulets 2tavee43" conch shells" caps" scarves" sha$ls and so on5 Religious institutions such as temples $ere traditionally places $hich supported the $or, of many different types of artisans and $eavers5 The religious bodies and boards gre$ into mammoth institutions $ith a massive amount of $ealth5 ealth meant control" o$nership" po$er5 If one goes bac, to time immemorial" one sees the Christians crusading across Europe" the battles for po$er bet$een different sects of +uddhists across central Asia" the battles right through history almost every$here" bet$een Church and Church" or the Church and the state5 In Pa,istan" the clerics and the army combined to obtain political po$er5 The crossfire bet$een different groups of Si,hs across Pun7ab" all sho$ the Ayodhya* +)P battle as 7ust another e6tension of the same story5 The so*called modern democratic state and the advent of communism $ere all mechanisms to deal $ith either theocratic or feudal po$er5 They both sought to provide an ans$er to people1s daily needs" in the process acBuiring land" collecting revenue through ta6es and laying do$n la$s of governance5 The essence of the matter $as the same" $hether man ruled man in the name of /od" the ,ing or themselves5 The battle today is bet$een those $ho are using the name of /od to come to po$er and those $ho are painfully inching to$ards a modern polity5 Politically" the process has three choices5 Do $e allo$ the &ish$a !indu Parsihad to s$allo$ the +hartiya )anata Party and bulldo4e India in the name of Ram" do $e continue $ith the feudal dynasty of the /andhi*.ehru family $ith its hypocritical" democratic face" or are $e ready for a modern secular state" $here religion is a matter of personal and private action only" and the state1s foremost duty is to uphold the Constitution and the la$s of the land9 The income from the offerings proposed to be e7ected at the temple of Ram" $hen it is built" can that be

used" to finance the controls of po$er5 In fact" the &!P can probably fund the entire +)P in the ne6t election and there $ill be no need to account for the money5 Since the +)P could not come to full po$er by riding on the bac, of the )anata Dai" its plans $ent totally a$ry $hen &5P5 Singh announced in implementation of the 'andal Commission Report5 The name of Ram $as the only rabbit they could pull out of the hat to retrieve and revive their vote for a !indu Rashtra5 And into the trap $ill fall the $ea," $ho $ill save their meager pennies to enrich the coffers of the priestly chiefs" and the trading communities for $hom #a,shmi" $ealth" is /od5 There is no real bha,ti in this e6ercise5 It is only $hipping up of emotions to consolidate votes and notes and has nothing to do $ith Ram or patriotism5 The +)PA!PRSS logic of forgive and forget for the sa,e of nationalism is specious and hollo$5 According to them" !indus" must be recompensed for the hurt caused to their psyche by +abar5 The 'ughals ruled India and as invading e6ploiters harmed us" they say for $hich they $ant be 'uslims to pay the price today5 They as, the 'uslims to give up the three sites" Ram )anamsthanam in &aranasi in a spirit of 1good $ill1 as mosBues here are 1eyesores15 The !indus cannot be as,ed to forgot" but according to them" the 'uslims can5 hy the double standards9 And if today1s 'uslims must repair the harm done R<< years ago" $hy does the same +)P oppose reservations $here by today1s upper castes are being called upon to sacrifice a tiny mite to recompense the in7ustice done to others for 8<<< years9 The double standards reveal the political motivation of such arguments5 The !indu $omen of the 1for$ard1 castes have al$ays had both encouragement and leisure to spend part of their day in a pu7a room or a visit to a temple5 The virtue of a good !indu $ife and mother is supposed to be demonstrated by her piety5 (or her" only /od and her father husband brothers on should matter" $ith /od and the husband being an interchangeable concept The Ram )anambhoomi is trying to further enslave those $omen $ho are part of this syndrome" into mindless devotion to a plot of land and the idea 2only a mere idea3 of a child Rama5 hat ,ind of a society are $e that ,eeps a $omen behind the veil" producing children till an adeBuate number of boys are hand" eating the leftovers on the table" $al,ing miles to fetch $ater and fuel" and remaining" all their life" a mere shado$ hovering about the ,itchen or pu7a room9 omen are not encouraged to become literate or thin, as independent human beings $ho are a$are of development policies" the problems of unemployment" social causes of violence" technological advances in space or medicine" and hundreds of other 1secular1 matters5 +ha,ti above sanity" order or concern for one1s fello$ humans is the slogan they have been brain$ashed over centuries into accepting5 And $hat about all the other gods of the !indu pantheon the thousand names of &ishnu the incarnations of Shiva" a Cali and other forms of mother goddesses9 Aren1t they supposed to be ultimately all one9 Isn1t that one also Christ" Allah and the Supreme /uru9 tf so then $hy are $e chopping all our gods into hundreds of pieces9 And for a piece of real estate to house the idol of one of those pieces" $e are chopping up each other and our country into a many pieces5 India is too large and too diverse to become Ram Ra7ya ruled in the name of the sectarian /od5

Forests to +ri!al:s as

ater to Fishes

India is a land of diverse .atural resources5 It is also a country $ith the strongest traditions of nature conservation any$here in the $orld5 It is true that India has suffered an almost unabated devastation of its natural biological heritage and much of $hat remains has been preserved through the ages because of a $ealth of conservation *oriented cultural and religious traditions5 -ne such significant tradition of nature conservation is that of dedicating patches of forest to some deity by the tribal people5 In fact" the

tribal techniBues are basically conservation*oriented" it is the contact $ith modern civili4ation that has been marring this ethics5 The tribal ethics of forest conservation stems from the fundamental facts of their o$n e6istence5 The dependence of tribals on forests is ma6imum and their long*term interest lies in protection and not in destroying forests5 Someone has said (orests to Xadivasis 2tribals3A as $ater to 1fishesA5 The tribal cultural heritages are shaped and maintained through a symbiotic relationship $ith forests5 +ased on the age*old perception of the surrounding vegetation" they demarcate plants as useful and un*useful" medicinal c5 ? non*medicinal" ritualistic and non*ritualistic" edible and interact $ith them accordingly5 In addition to providing the daily amenities of life" the forests also satisfy their deep*rooted sentiments5 Their fol,lore revolves around the forests5 Their sentiments" Their fol,lore revolves around the forests5 Their $ay of life is intimately connected $ith forests right from birth to death5 In the time of distress forests are their last succor5 Shifting agriculture on the hill slopes is perhaps one of the ma7or anti*ecological practices in today1s conte6t that can be cites against the tribes5 It is the most ancient form of subsistence pattern involving :slash and burn: of forest" follo$ed by mi6ed cropping over the burnt area for a year or t$o and then leaving the nutrient depleted land fallo$ for natural regeneration to get it recuperated of soil fertilityL moving to another field and eventually coming bac, to the earlier one5 hen the forest*d$elling tribal population $as smallL the effects of small clearing in large forest areas too $ere small and the slash and burn cycle $as long enough over ;<*O< years to ensure the system self*sustaining5 In recent times" due to increasing population and steady decline in the area available" the shifting cultivators are forced to return to the same plots and the cycle has been shortened to R*8 years5 Although the economy is sustainable sub7ect to vast availability of forest lands" an increasing practice of shifting cultivation has caused serious environmental damage resulting in rapid desensiti4ation vast tracts of land5 (orests $hich once covered a vast area are no left only in patches5 Despite such colossal disturbances on forests" there are fe$ poc,ets of undisturbed natural forests preserved on religious grounds by the local tribes as 1Sacred groves15 These groves represent near*virgin vegetation preserved in 1in situ1 form $ithout any outside interference and are indicative of $hat forest $ealth the country once harbored5 All forms of life in such a grove are under the protection of the reigning deity of that grove" and the removal of even dead $ood is taboo5 This preservation of the entire vegetation in association $ith a deity is Buite a distinct phenomenon from the preservation of isolate trees li,e peepal5 These sacred groves may range in si4e from a group of fe$ trees to a forest of trees spaced over several hectares of land5 Sacred groves occur in India and some other parts of Asia and Africa as $ell5 In India they have been reported from 'adhya Pradesh" 'aharashtra and 'eghalaya5 (ol,lores play a significant role in confirming the beliefs associated $ith the sacred groves5 Though most of the tribals are illiterate" they have scrupulously preserved their traditional customs" rituals" ceremonies and $ay of forest life through fol, beliefs $ith great fervor5 The tribals believe that all forms of life $ithin the groves are afforded protection by the grace of reigning deities5 These deities often called 1'other /oddess1 by the local people of the estern /hats of 'aharashtra are in fact in the form of stone lumps smeared $ith red lead mostly lying under tall trees5 The red lead represents the blood of sacrificial victims $hich $ere no doubts humans in bygone times5 Even today" the /oddess Shir,ai from the neighboring grove in Pune district is symbolically offered a human victim every year5 The tribal population inhabiting 'eghalaya maintains large tracts of protected forests as sacred grover5 In Chasi hills there three such groves at Shillong Pea," 'a$phlang and 'a$amai5 The Chasis believe that the sylvan spirits reign in the groves often demand sacrifices5 It is a taboo for them to cut any plant or to ,ill anim5ls inside the forests5 The belief is that anybody deities5 All forms of $ildlife" especially sna,es are protected there as the belief goes that a sna,e if ,illed" its dead body $ill breed many to ,ill the culprit5 And the villagers seem to a respect such beliefs $ith great sincerity5 Sacred groves are treasure troves of genetic resources supporting myriad of plants $hich are either rare in the area or are becoming rare $ith the deforestation menace5 These habitats often serve as a last

refuge for arboreal birds and mammals" and no doubt other forest*loving animals as $ell5 +ut is unfortunate that in the recent past" the value system permitting the nature of such environments has been eroded5 As a conseBuence" these habitats are highly disturbed5 Apart from erosion and modifications in the values" sheer economic and other considerations li,e shortage of fuel $ood have forced the: local people to encroach upon these forests5 !o$ever" $hen forest destruction at a rapid rate*such religious practices still survive as the hope and a $ay of conserving the indigenous flora" and every step should be ta,en to protect them as a part of a system of nature reserves5

9Sec*larism is simply %er!al replacement of the wor$ tolerance9 hat is Secularism9 .one can give you the right definition of the term5 Even the most ardent e6ponent of the term differs on its meanings5 In fact" their 4eal to institute secularism in the Indian polity has pushed the term so far a$ay from reality that today it has come to be more of a mirage than an accepted norm5 The vested interests are no$ using this phenomenon of mirage as a magic $and for political gains and popularity among minorities5 It is ironic" not tragic" that minorities in India have come to be identified $ith religion and not $ith community or profession5 This is the reason that secularism today has come to mean as preservation of religious minorities in their traditional modes5 +ut this is not the only meaning that is attributed to 1secularism15 There are others $ho consider it to mean separation of religion from state5 (or some secularism relegates the religion to the bac,yard5 If you are secular you cannot put your religion to the fore5 It must al$ays come after$ard5 +ut after$ard of $hat9 .obody can tell you that5 +efore $e go on $ith $hat secularism means $e must first find out that $hy the necessity arose to adopt this covenant5 e do not have to go far to find the ans$er5 It $as needed because $e $anted to have a stable polity in a religious" lingual and cultural diversity5 In other $ords it $as needed to structure a united nation $ith common goals and ideals $hile preserving the diverse identities in religion" culture and language5 +ut have $e succeeded in it9 .o5 .ot even a little5 In fact" secularism has not only gro$n gradually into an anathema but also has come to be a red rag to the religious leaders $ith political aspiration5 The establishment of such organi4ations as Rashtriya S$ayamseva, Sangh" &ish$a !indu Parishad" 'uslim 'a7lis*e*'usha*$arat" 'a7lis Ittehad*ul*'uslimeen" 'uslim United (ront" Shiv Sena" Adam Sena" United A,ali Dal" A,ali Dal and so on are testimony to the gro$ing antagonism to secularism5 +ecause secularism today is being ta,en as a threat to religious identities" to the e6istence of religious diversities" though secularism $as never conceived as such5 The very fact that secularism has not ta,en roots in the Indian polity reBuires that the term should be revie$ed5 hat is secularism" after all9 +efore $e decide $hat it is $e must tic, out $hat it is not9 (irst of all secularism is not a rational term5 It is not also a philosophical concept5 And it is not altogether a modern concept" as it is generally believed Secularism simply is a covenantL a covenant among the religious identities for co*e6istence and national homogeneity5 Secularism means" in layman1s language" tolerance5 The concept of tolerance $as there even in &edic time5 So $e cannot boast of having conceived it in the modem times5 +esides" the concept of tolerance cannot be treated as a creed or a principle5 It is absolutely" e6clusively an individual affair5 It should have been publici4ed as such5 )ust because $e erred in introducing it at individual level" and instead introduced it as regimentation" $e have failed in achieving the intended ob7ective" that is" a stable polity in diversity" and also in chec,ing the virus of communalism" The need for tolerance" or for secularism" is a compulsion that springs from $ithin the folds of any diverse polity5 +ut this compulsion must not be mista,en for a dictate5 It is further a safe*guard for a homogeneous society5 +ut it cannot be the ideological structure for a society5 Similarly $e cannot ta,e it

as a ground for a democratic setup5 All it can be is a goal5 A goal for a polity $ith diverse religious identities" cultural entities and lingual prolificacy5 The concept of ground precludes the imperatives of game5 +ecause then the teams have the option to play on a particular ground or not5 +ut the concept of the goal preculdes this option5 +ecause the concept comes into play only $hen the game is on5 So $e come to the earlier conclusion again" that is" secularism is simply verbal replacement of the $ord 1tolerances1 that vas in vogue ever in &edic times5 -ne cannot Drench secularism as a legal or logical dictate5 Such a dictate is patently contrary to the fundamental concept of secularism5 'oreover" secularism is a matter of heart and not of mind5 It flourishes in a soil comprising compassion and piety" it dies in administrative or political fields5 Secularism is a free choice5 If $e $ant it inter$oven in the socio*religious fabric then the pre*conditions is free choice5 And free choice on individual level5 .ot on community" religious or political level5 +ecause matters of heart react violently to constraints" bounds and dictates5 As such each religion" each individual has to chart its o$n $ay to the goal of secularism5 There can be no guidelines or guide posts for such a choice5 And that is $here $e have erred5 e have tried to impose the choice" an act from $hich everyone shied5 So $e failed in converting the Indian polity $ith religious diversity into a secular polity5 The Buestion arises at $hich point $e have gone astray from the right course of secularism5 This Buestion leads to another5 ere $e ever on the right course9 The ans$er is no" $e tried to induct secularism into the structure of our polity as a serum and not as a free choice for homogeneity and co* e6istence5 !ence" it $as either a $aste or 7ust induced reaction5 In either case it failed to achieve the intended goal5 The reaction too, others interpreted it as a force separating religion from State yet others though it a direct threat to the very e6istence of religion5 +ecause the $ay secularism has been preached over the years" it had come to mean that be secular first and religious later" or that relegates the religion to the bac,yard because $e do not need it5 e need only secularism5 As such secularism came to be vie$ed upon as a ne$ religion5 And everyone ,no$s that conversions to ne$ religions are not an easy matter5 +ui these are not the only reason for hamstringing the induction of secularism into the Indian polity" there are other and more potent reasons too5 The most potent reason obstructing the induction of secularism into the Indian polity is the constant proliferation of communal sentiments all over India5 A loo, bac, over the communal incidents over the past five" decades sho$s a steadily gro$ing scheme among the fanatics $ho carried the religious standard but in fact" $as having political ambition5 Communalism became the bait for vote catch" Communalism came to be e6clusively identified $ith religious identity5 Suddenly the people came to believe" and the belief $as ,ept alive by the religious crusaders" that their religion $as in danger of either e6tinction or of assimilation by another and larger religion5 The feeling $as not confined to the minority religions5 It even infected the !indu religion5 -ther$ise ho$ one can e6plain the fear and the Bualms of !indus $ho *are in brute ma7ority in the country5 hy should the !indus be on the defensive9 hy should the 'uslims consider themselves as a minority and not a second large ma7ority9 hy should Si,hs feel that their religion is under threat $ithout any reported instances of forcible conversions9 The situation that prevails in India today" that is" e6treme communalism" is the direct result of t$o factors5 (irst" the opportunistic politics" $hich found that the political use of religion can get them captive votesL and second" the economically frustrated intellectuals $ho $ant to ma,e their mar, by bearing the standard of communalism5 +oth the elements are not only the enemy of the Indian polity $ith religious diversity $hich incidentally is still the most stable polity in the Third orld Countries" but also destroyer of the hard $on freedom by the Indians5 e should nDt also forget that $hen $e tal, of fundamentalism or religious bac,lash" $e are cutting the roots of secularism5 The t$o terms belong to the medieval era and are hallmar, of the fanatics and the crusaders5 These do not fit $ith the ideology of an enlightened society5 It $ill be fatal if $e accept setting up of so many senas by various religious fanatics simply as a

1bac,lash15 Such senas are al$ays anti*national the nation must come first5 +ecause our identify" $hatever it5may be" religious" political or social" directly depends upon our liberty" if $e do not have liberty $e do not have any identity but that of a slave5 Certainly no Indian $ants to be slave again5 At the same time $e must remove the fear that secularism means relegation of religion to the bac,yard" #et the people be religious first and then secular5 #et not secularism ta,e precedence over religion5 +ecause only religion teaches tolerance" It is simply a vote catching device5 +ut if this communalism gro$s into fascist populism or racist nationalism then $e have had it5 Therefore" let secularism be the individual choice" a choice by free $ill and not by imposition5 -nly then secularism $ill prevail5

"nternational Co8operation thro*1h Science an$ +echnolo1y In the history of human cooperation science and technology have played a crucial role" though its more sensational contributions have often been in the realm of conflict and $arfare5 (rom the invention of gun po$der to nuclear $eapons and the mind boggling program of Star ars" it $as in the military sphere that international impact of science and technology has been felt environment" o4one depletion and global $arming5 .ot$ithstanding such precedents of our officers dealing $ith almost any sub7ect under the sun" it is essential for the success of the economic*cum*technological diplomacy of the present*day $orld that there is direct association of scientists in bilateral and international negotiations and also regular and structure inter*action bet$een scientists and diplomats5 Some general training in some of the ma7or areas of science and technology should also be considered an indispensable Bualifications for modern diplomats5 It is only tension among nations" scramble for mar,ets" territorial disputes" pursuit of po$er" accumulation of nuclear $eapons and race for armaments" $hich today pose threats to peace and to the future of man,ind" but unrestrained gro$th of population" menace of drugs and AIDS" destruction of the environment" the greenhouse effect" o4one depletion and global $arming5 All these reBuire cooperative action at the international level Involving politics" economics" social engineering" and all the resources of science and technology5 It is believed that science and technology can play a crucial role in finding solutions to these global problems5 +ut it can provide only part of the ans$er" not the $hole ans$er5 Indeed one has to go a little beyond politics" economics and science to find ans$ers to the over$helming Buestions facing man,ind today5 hen $e tal, of science and technology for resolving problems and bettering the condition of man,ind" $e often mean mainly producing and providing more and more of the good glittering things of life5 e need more and more things" firstly" for satisfying the unfulfilled basic needs of millions of under* privileged and for meeting the needs of a rapidly gro$ing population" and secondly" for catering to the craves of the $ell*to*do for endlessly multiplying $ants and lu6uries5 (or these purposes" perhaps more for the latter then for the former" $e use technology for producing more and more" and *better and still better goods and gadgets5 e e6plore and discover ne$ resources" $e split the atom and the genes" $e score the depths of oceans and conBuer space believing that the hunger of man for lucre and po$er could be satisfied in this manner5 Into6icated by the material possibilities held out by science" $e do not as, $hether some limitation upon the $ants and cravings of man are not as much necessary" at least after a certain level of satisfaction" as producing an abundance of goods and services5 e do not as, if the advancement of science should not be accompanied by the improvement of man including a civili4ed sense of self*restraint5 It seems that even the fullest utili4ation of science and technology $ill not be able to satisfy the unlimited $ants and desires of man and his greed for po$er and the symbols of po$er5

To some of the social and environmental problems created by technologyL part of the ans$er is further development of technology itself li,e devices for controlling pollution including C(C emissions" developing alternatives to these so called :gases of prosperity: and technologies for conservation of energy" alternative sources of energy" etc5 In all this intensified international cooperation is essential" but on the basis of developmental eBuity for the countries of the South5 Thus" $ithout being altruistic and sacrificing their legitimate economic interests it should be possible for the developed countries of the $orld to be guided by this spirit of sharing in the sphere of international cooperation in science and technology5 That $ould" besides" be an indication that the development of the a$esome po$er of science and technology $ill be animated by the spirit of humanism for the good of man,ind and not for purposes of e6ploitation or destruction5

E$*cation for All the +hree5,o$y4 "ntellect an$ So*l Today" in the age $hen education has become synonymous $ith students carrying bags heavier than themselves" perpetually in fear of home $or, and e6aminations and constantly being prodded by parents and teachers to get good mar,s" our outloo, on education needs revision5 Do $e $ant our educational system to produce good and able citi4en or do $e $ant to produce an army of boo,$orms $ho may have ,no$ledge but not education5 !ere comes the Buestion $hat good education means and $hat should it achieve9 /andhi7i saidM:I do not value literary education" if it is not able to build sound character1 Tagore considered freedom and 7oy to be the basic tenets of an education system5 !e therefore removed e6aminations" abolished punishment and all humiliating restrictions in Shanti .i,etan5 e can consider building up of human personality as the primary purpose of educationM:to build better human beings:5 'an is not in this $orld to add to numbers but each individual has a spiritMan individual personality that is strictly his o$n and distinct from that of others5 A good education system tries to retain his individuality" in fact to further it and tries to bring the best out of him5 +ut man1s individuality should not be considered as being egoistic or selfishL instead his individuality should develop in the social milieu he lives in5 !is individuality should add to the variety in the society li,e flo$ers in a garden5 !o$ever" this individuality should not develop into individualism5 So" a good education system should be able not only to retain individuality of a man but also to ma,e him ad7ust according tD the codes of human ethics and morality5 hat constitutes personality9 Certainly not 7ust ,no$ledge5 Personality should include physical" intellectual and aesthetic elements5 'ore than ,no$ledge" it is the $isdom of man that is more important5 .o doubt" ,no$ledge is important but simply mugging boo,s can1t ma,e a man $ise5 Also" as age old saying :!ealthy body leads to ealthy mind: tells us that $ithout good health" proper ,no$ledge can1t be attained5 So education should also ma,e man physically strong5 It should include 0oga" PT" aerobics" games and sports5 The usual refrain that these are $asteful pastimes is to be opposed man should be able to labor hard and use body as efficiently as his mind5 .o civili4ation can progress $ithout man1s physical labor5 It lies at the root of all so called higher labors of mind5 After all it is agriculture that lie at the root of economics not computers5 Another important element of personality is aesthetics5 Education should be able to develop taste of man in fine arts5 :'an1s feelings and emotions can effect social and political changes:" said /andhi7i" So good education should be after man1s soul and should be able to appeal to his heart" Painting" music" dance" drama etc" are only a fe$ avenues open to man to e6press his feelings" Painting helps him bringP forth the emotions deep $ithin his heart5 About music" Tagore said" :$hile spea,ing creates bond

bet$een men and men" music creates bond bet$een man and nature:5 In a good educational system" fine arts should form an important part5 This means that a good education system should be after man1s soul5 It should be able to satisfy man1s emotional needs5 This is possible only $hen element of fear is removed and substituted by freedom and 7oy5 (or this" $e must change our material standards of success in life5 A good musician or a good painter should be accorded same status and given same respect as a good doctor or a good engineer5 !o$ever" one should not be tempted to teach art" instead Yt should be cultivated in student1s mind5 1#et thousand flo$ers bloom15 #et each man be able to give e6pression to his feelings" his ideas in his o$n $ay5 In ancient India" education $as imparted in /uru,uls5 The responsibility of the /uru $as to create a :man out of the boy $ho $as ra$" untrained and ine6perienced5 A person did not get any degree to prove his educational achievementsL his personality and intellect $as the sufficient proof5 In the /uru,ul he $as taught everything from arms training and physical e6ercises to political science and religion to etiBuette and mannerism and of course" fine arts and moral values5 A $hole man $as molded5 As $e are passing to more advanced life" $e are tending to forget basic human values and so our education system has been converted )o a machine that produces technically superior but physically and emotionally inferior individuals5 In today1s educational system the te6t boo, has become the source of all ,no$ledge even though it fails to cater to enlarging mind and gro$ing sense of enBuiry of a child5 E6aminations ma,e education a dry and fearful proposition5 Sports and fine arts are fro$ned at5 The result is that human personality is getting distorted5 Student unrest and violence" frustration leading to increasing crime rate by young people" brea,ing of family bond" loss of respect for teachers and" in general" the loss of morality in society and crisis of character all o$e their origin to our bad education" If $e $ant human civili4ation to have all round" $ell balanced gro$th" $e must have education system catering to all threeMbody" intellect and soul5

2*man ,ein1s Share a Common /estiny -ne of the modern $orld1s greatest educational revolutionaries" /urudev Rabindranath Tagore saidM:I never accept that the ob7ect of education is simply accumulation of ,no$ledge5 Education should give all round personality in $hich the physical" intellectual" aesthetic and spiritual gro$th $ould be harmoni4ed into one 'an began his life as a homeless $andererG5 +ut his physical and emotional needs made him loo, for family and group ties5 The ,no$ledge of gro$ing crops helped him settle at one place5 As developed further" d$ellings enlarged from small villages to large to$ns and cities5 &ery soon" men had divided themselves into different nations5 #oyalty to the nation and obedience to its authority became a prereBuisite for living in it5 And today the situation is such that loyalty to nation has made man forget about the basic human values5 It has transgressed the limits of love and borders on selfishness and e6clusiveness5 So much so that man $ill not thin, t$ice before causing harm to another nation or its citi4ens5 The concept of his fello$ nationals being the chosen fe$ and the rest outside the pale is blindly accepted5 #ittle does he reali4e that his e6istence as a man" as a part of human civili4ation is more valuable" more cherished a goal than being an American or (rench5 In fact" not only" is it in conformity $ith basic ethics and human values but is also the need of the hour5 The reason is that human beings share a common destinyM: e are one $orld:5 So many $ars $ere 2and are being3 fought" so much blood $as shed and so many lives $ere lost to prove one nation1s superiority over the other" to gain $ealth by looting others and to become more po$erful5 +ut $ho has gained from these gory $ars9 ho came out victorious and $ho $as vanBuished9 .o one $as a victor and they $ere the human beings $ho $ere the vanBuished5 ars have never brought peace5 They only brought hatred and fear5 Those $ho re7oiced at other1s defeat and danced

on other1s graves ,ne$ little that they $ere digging their o$n grave5 Each $ar has pushed human civili4ation bac, by years5 Peace $as destroyed" economy $as ruined and rich culture $as lost5 Even 1those $ho $on 5faced shortage of food and labor5 ars did not bring them prosperity5 !o$ could it be9 .ations are artificial banners created by man5 hat is natural is that $e all are human beings united by belonging to same species and by being endo$ed $ith similar capabilities5 If this $ere the case" ho$ could victory of one group of human beings over the other be of any good5 -ur relations as human beings ma,e us eBual shares of everything good and bad5 e cannot thin, of gaining at other1s e6pense or trying to rise at other1s ruins5 It $as this reali4ation that made leaders of the $orld create United .ations -rgani4ation5 It is the embodiment of the moral principle of eBuality and ,inship and of the fact that $e all share the same destiny5 .ations have created huge arsenals of deadly $eapons5 -f $hat use are they9 Do they reali4e that use of those deadly $eapons against another country is not going to leave them unscathed9 In fact" even they may not survive and even if they do" the $orld $ill not remain a place fit to live in5 hat they $ill do to protect or further their identity as a nation $ill destroy the identity of the human beings5 U.is based upon this premise only5 It is impossible for any one nation to come out victorious in the nuclear $ar" so $hy not thin, of peaceful $ays to solve disputes5 After all" the same energy can be used to improve human beings life5 e have to come together and thin, together because $e cannot but live together5 Environmental degradation is another problem facing the $orld today5 Rich nations thin, that it is the poor nations causing pollution and poor nations blame the rich ones for destroying environment5 +ut is this not the problem that $e should face as human beings9 After all" our survival depends upon it5 Rich nations thin, that by e6ploiting the environment of the poor nations" they can fill their coffers5 +ut do they reali4e that degradation of environment any$here in the $orld $ill affect human beings as a $hole9 It is not that Americans $ill be less affected by it than the Indians5 Degradation of rain forests in S5 America is affecting o6ygen availability in not only S5 America but in .5 America and Europe too5 Providing good and clean environment to our descendents" be they Africans" Asians or Europeans" is the responsibility of us ail as human beings5 If earth becomes a place unfit to live in" then human beings $ill become e6tinct 2of course" $ithout distinction of nationalities35 e all have to s$im or sin, together5 Earth Summit $as one good step to$ards a unified human effort to save the planet earth5 +ut the bic,ering there mean that $e still have a long $ay to go5 The same is the case $ith poverty and hunger5 hat is it it not our innermost feelings for our fello$ beings that tears come to our eyes seeing s,eleton*li,e bodies in Somalia and Ethiopia5 These emotions are to be converted to concrete action5 -ur political leaders $ho" more out of their o$n selfish motive than anything else" $ant to ,een artificial barriers in relations should be made to reali4e that not only our duty to help our brethren as $e e all humans but it is important for our development too5 ho is going to buy goods made in the rich countries if poor countries remain deprived9 Also" hunger breeds frustration and violence5 And violence ,no$s no boundaries5 Unrest in one country $ill create problems of refugees" terrorism" drugs and crime even in other countries5 So" it becomes our responsibility to $or, to$ards the goal of prosperity and $elfare of all instead of $ealth for a fe$ at the cost of others5 +ecause if tears remain in a fe$ eyes they $ill dro$n other1s 7oys too5 -ur fates are ine6orably lin,ed5 e are in the age of computers and satellites5 The $orld is shrin,ing5 .o group can afford to remain aloof and independent of others5 In a fe$ decades $e may even be communicating $ith living beings from other planets5 If they are friendly $e $ill present our hands of friendship as inhabitants of earth and not as a +ritish or an Australian5 If they are hostile" $e $ill have to $or, as one for our protection5 e o$e our identity to being humans and despite artificial barriers" $e $ill have to $or, together to protect it5 As /urudev said" :(rom no$ on" any nation that ta,es an isolated vie$ of state" shall ,no$ no peace" it shall run counter to the spirit of the ne$ age5 (rom no$ on$ard" the an6iety that each country has for its o$n safety must embrace the $elfare of the $orld" of human race5:

2*man (eso*rce /e%elopment In the age of fast gro$ing population and over mechani4ation" $e find that more and more people are getting converted to a liability than a resource5 'achines are rendering people unemployed" traditional craftsmen and artisans are being obliterated" and in this fast pace of life" $e are losing taste for simple pleasure and 7oys5 Creative talents are getting scant attention causing them to remain stagnant5 In this age of machines" are $e becoming too uniform" too similar lac,ing variety and vitality9 :'an is ,no$n by the company he ,eeps and a country is ,no$n by the people it has:5 -ne can accept this fact $ithout iota of doubt that people are any nation1s greatest resource5 It is the resourcefulness" creativity" courage and1 initiative by $hich man is characteri4ed5 Is our development indeed helping us encourage these traits in man or are $e all becoming a part of a big machine $ithout individuality5 In pursuit for money and po$er" are $e becoming blind to our creative self our spirit5 There can be no doubt that development of technology and industriali4ation has $idened hori4ons of man1s ,no$ledge5 They have helped him become more s,illed and in a $ay even more creative5 They have helped to generate $ealth" $ith more employment5 +ut the benefits haven1t reached all5 So $e find that $hile traditional s,ills are being $iped out" no ne$ avenues are being opened5 The result is that man is becoming unproductive" a burden or a liability5 It is not our development that is ma,ing all of us follo$ same $orn path $ith little scope of becoming different" but it is the $ay $e are carrying it5 Development and mechani4ation may have eaten up 7obs but at the same time has created multitude of opportunities that only need to be seen to be e6ploited5 .umerous avenues are being opened $here man can use his creativity" he only needs to be trained and guided5 +ut $hen everybody $ants to follo$ same old path of becoming another doctor or an engineer" $hen no one $ants to be different" That heaven $ould descend on earth if youth ,ne$" if age could5 In the age of rapid development" urbani4ation and industriali4ation" $hen tension is increasing in the society and relations are getting fractured" need both the revolutionary 4eal of the youth and the moderating influence of the aged5 And $hy only today" all through the ages human society has been harmed by lac, of e6perience of youth and lac, of energy in the old5 So $e have numerous e6amples of great acts bringing disasters because they $ere not bac,ed by ,no$ledge and e6perience" and of great ideas that remained on paper as the thin,ers lac,ed the 4eal and enthusiasm to carry it to a practical end5 A young man has energy and is spar,ed by idealism5 +ut e6cess energy of his has to be channeled properly5 -nly if a sobering second thought is given to his actions" he can do $onders5 To cite an e6ample" the young men are made to use their energy to brea, $indo$ panes" to burn buses" to loot shops and to cause death and destruction by some unscrupulous persons $ho use them as a tool to achieve their o$n selfish ends5 They are too innocent and totally ignorant about $hat they do and ho$ much harm it causes to the society5 They lac, understanding and e6perience5 -nly if they ,ne$ ho$ to use their energy for constructing the society" for eliminating evil" for spreading light of education and for the defense of the country" the society $ould be transformed in no time5 -nly age can give them e6perience5 +ut by the time they age" all their energy is drained and they are too $ea, on body to transform the great ideas they have in their mind into reality5 e need bothMthe young man1s energy and the old man1s ,no$ledge5 hat becomes important is that the young man is guided by the old to help him channel his energy into right direction5 Could Ale6anders energy and 4eal alone have helped him to $in the $orld $ithout proper guidance and training of his great master" Aristotle9 There are t$o $ays of getting the best out of both5 -ne is that old people should remain healthy and strong physically and alert mentally5 +ut it is very difficult and much beyond man1s control5 !o$soever fit an old man may be" he can1t match the energy and strength of a young man5 !e has to ripen $ith age5 And the other more practical solution could be that the young men get the ,no$ledge" understanding and e6perience5 0es" e6perience can be taught5 It is not only by

graying of hairs that man Seams5 (or e6ample" management is an art" $e have old time managers $ho started do$n In the hierarchy of the company and over the years learns the s,ill of managing5 +ut today" management schools churn out young managers $ho prove much more efficient than their older counterparts5 The reason is that they learn from the diverse e6periences of a number of old managers and $hat they imbibe is the best of all5 So" $e have young" smart" all ,no$ing managers $ho rise fast and may reach the top at the age of R<*R8 years5 They have the best of both $orldsMenergy of youth and e6perience of age5 If $e ta,e e6ample from our freedom struggle" $e have a classic case of .ehru7i and /andhi7i5 .ehru7i symboli4ed Indian youthMenergetic" impatient and enthusiastic5 /andhi7i $as symbolic of Indian sage Mold" thoughtful" moderate and patient5 -ne doubts $hether .ehru7i" a fine man that he $as" could have transformed into a great leader and statesmen if /andhi7i1s guidance $ere not available to him5 !e himself ac,no$ledged the influence of /andhi7i on him5 In his youth" he $as more attracted to$ards revolutionaries but it $as /andhi7i $ho sho$ed him the path of evolution and helped him understand the righteousness and value of Satyagraha5 These t$o great men together guided our country to the light of freedom5 So $hat becomes a practical solution is that the young and the old $or, together5 Today $hen $e tal, about the generation gap and related problems" $e must reali4e that old people $ere young once and the young people of today $ill become old tomorro$5 So both should try to understand each other and give due respect to each other1s strengthsMold man1s e6perience and the young man1s enthusiasm5 It is only $hen both $or, together that $e $ill have youth ho$ can $e e6pect anything better than $hat $e have5 So $e have reached a situation $hen even doctors and engineers are remaining unemployed5 !uman beings are a resource but it needs to be developed and harnessed else it is li,e an unpolished diamond $hich is 7ust a piece of coal5 Development of human resource implies physical" mental" spiritual and aesthetic development together5 !e has to be trained to become useful for the society5 The usefulness need not al$ays imply economic productivity though it Is Important but It may even Imply artistic creativity that serves the spiritual and aesthetic needs of man5 Even a musician or a painter is useful for the society5 +ut the first and foremost reBuirement is economic productivity to ma,e man economically productive" it become important that he is trained5 Today" in the age of speciali4ation" the need is of $ell trained s,illed $or,ers5 It is Buite true that machines displace man from his 7ob but at the same time mechani4ation also causes a number of ancillary and support units to come up5 it thro$s open ne$ and more challenging 7obs $hich ho$ever reBuire proper s,ill5 The important thing is not to oppose mechani4ation but to identify ne$ avenues and develop suitable s,ills for them5 Today in the age of computers" so many soft$are and hard$are related 7obs are coming up that suitable people are difficult to find and on the other hand numerous people $ith +5A5 and *+5Sc5 are sitting idle5 This mismatch of demand and supply in 7ob mar,et is to be corrected5 Even in traditional fields li,e agriculture and animal husbandry" ne$ techniBues are getting developed" ne$ fields of pisciculture" sericulture" aBua culture" mushroom cultivation etc5 are coming up5 Pra$n cultivation is a highly lucrative business5 Along $ith economic productivity" even creative talents need to be encouraged5 It becomes important that $e change our outloo, on standards of success in life and give adeBuate respect to artists and craftsmen5 The richness of human culture must not be buried under machines5 Physical $ellbeing of our children demands that they are given suitable facilities to play5 A lot of things can be learnt on the play fieldMteam spirit and leadership Bualities that are important in life5 To achieve true development of human resources" all types of ineBualities and distinctions based on birth should be removed5 e should forget our social pre7udices and all forms of economic and social e6ploitation should be stopped5 Everyone should get an opportunity to develop hisUher personality and get $hat heUshe deserves5 !uman beings $ho are in chains" $ho are e6ploited and abused" $ho do not have basic necessities of life cannot ma,e Into a resource" And $hen a large section of population is li,e

this" ho$ can a country be prosperous9 So" the prior reBuirement for $ealth and progress of any nation is that its biggest resource" its population" is turned into an asset5

"f )o*th ;new4 "f A1e Co*l$ If old and e6perienced people are eyes and ears of a nation" the youth is their limbs5 A young man1s energy" enthusiasm" vigor and vitality ma,e1 him one of the most important cogs in the $heel of development5 India is a large nationMits population 2by ?JJ? census3 is @OO million5 -f this" 88K is the population of people bet$een ?@ years and O8 years $ho can be technically called the youth5 The young men of India come from various strata and are engaged in a variety of occupations but all of them have one thing in commonMtheir energy and their idealism5 It is their uncorrupted mind and unspent strength $hich can be of immense use in the nation building activities5 .ation building is a vast tas, consisting of varied 7obs5 All these 7obs lead to one goalMa more prosperous" clean and safe nation5 -ne of the prereBuisites for using youth in the nation building activities is that they are gainfully employed5 (or this" it becomes important not only to have sufficient and varied employment opportunities but also proper training for them5 Another necessary pre*reBuisite is that the youth is $ell educated" $ell fed and healthy and has a personality and individuality of his o$n5 A young man $ith healthy mind and healthy body is virtually indispensable for the nation5 !o$ever" all his energyL his idealism is of no use if it is not directed properly5 Therefore" it is also important to have enlightened and honest leaders $ho can channel the energy of the youth in the nation building activities5 -ne of the biggest problems facing India today is illiteracy5 Uneducated man is a liability and education is an asset to the nation5 So it becomes important to spread the light of learning every$here5 And $ho is more suitable for this stupendous tas, than the youth9 0oung men and $omen can not only spend their time and energy in teaching others but can act as a catalyst to start literacy mission as a mass movement5 The e6periences of Cerala" +urd$an and Colhapur have sho$n that the school going teenagers and the college going young men and $omen could do in one year $hat all the government1s machinery1 could not do in R< years5 Another great tas, that can be done by the youth is rural development5 The spreading of the message of cleanliness" child care and healthy living can be done very $ell by the youth5 Also" they can be used to spread the information about better agricultural techniBues" better animal husbandry techniBues etc5 They can also be used to educate villagers about ne$ avenues of employment open to themM li,e agro* based and forest*based Industries5 A young man has the ,no$ledge and technical s,ills to understand intricacies of ne$ developments and also has the enthusiasm to transmit his ,no$ledge in simple $ords to the villagers5 0outh can also be used in providing safe and clean drin,ing $ater" better d$ellings and in other $or,s of rural construction5 A young man has the energy" it only needs to be tapped5 This can be done by having special :Shram*Daan: classes in schools and colleges and using their vacation time fruitfully5 The youth can be very effective in chec,ing crimes5 Their idealism coupled $ith their courage can be used by the police to chec, petty crimes" eve*teasing and also drug*traffic,ing etc5 0outh vigilance committees can ,eep a chec, on the doubtful characters of the locality" they can also be used to prevent a misguided youth from ta,ing to crimes and drugs5 At the time of disturbances and riots" these committees" can be very helpful5 In fact" they can act as a very good source of information to the police in ,eeping rioters in chec,5 The youth can also be helpful to prevent hoarding and blac,*mar,eting by the merchants5 A number of irrational and obscurantist social customs and taboos can be bro,en by the youth po$erL Do$ry" a big menace that it is" can be prevented only by the young men and $omen" if they refuse to

give or ta,e do$ry themselves and form associations $hich help in bringing to boo, do$ry see,ers" the demise of this brutal custom cannot be far5 (emale infanticide" $omen1s educational deprivation and $ido$ remarriage restrictions are other social evils" that can be prevented by youth5 A young man1s mind al$ays $ants good reasons and rationale to accept any theory5 Therefore" youth is most effective in fighting the evil of Casteism and communalism5 They can even be used to prevent electoral malpractices5 !o$ever" for all this $or," it is a healthy and happy young man is $hat is reBuired5 So" his childhood should not be deprived of healthy upbringing and good education5 Also" frustrated and unemployed youth are most easily e6ploited by selfish elements and they are most prone to incitement to violence and destruction5 So" it is important that he is so trained that he is gainfully employed5 The e6ample of /ermany is very clear5 The same young men $ho fought against communism and $on their freedom are becoming 6enophobic and racist5 The reason is their frustration $ith the system5 #et us prevent our young men from going the same $ay5 (or this" our parents" teachers and leaders have a great responsibility5 As e6amples of IndonesiaM$here students overthre$ Su,arno" PhilippinesM$here they helped overthre$" 'arcos and usher in democracy" or E5 EuropeM$here they $ere in forefront of movement for democracy" or +urma*$here they are relentlessly fighting for democracy and freedom sho$ that youth po$er is great5 Even in our o$n struggle for freedom" students and young la$yers played an important role5 ho can forget the selfless sacrifices of +hagat Singh"" Chandra She,har" Ra7guru and many others5 .ehru and +ose $ere the representatives of the Indian youth in freedom struggle5 Today the nation $hich goes independent by youth1s efforts needs them to become great once again5 0outh should ta,e up the challenge5

A .ewspaper "s Always A

eapon "n Someone<s 2an$s

+y a definition given in The Spectator" a +ritish ne$spaper" the chief role of a ne$spaper is to spread intelligence5 Intelligence may be defined as information" ne$s" especially that related to important events5 The importance of ne$spapers cannot be underestimated in a democracy5 They act as $atch for the people5 They are responsible for enlightening the people about various events and their importance5 The role that a ne$spaper plays as an educator for the people ma,es it one of the important pillars supporting the super*structure of democracy5 That is $hy press is called the fourth estate along $ith legislature" the e6ecutive and the 7udiciary5 .e$spaper not only informs people about events by reporting them as ne$s but also analyses ne$s and presents it as editorials" comments and lead articles5 These analyses are carried by editors and columnists5 hat they present is their o$n vie$ point and the $ay they 7udge an event" a happening etc5 In fact" a ne$spaper1s articles thin,ing are nothing but the editor1s line of thin,ing5 !o$ever" this bias is not harmful as long as the ob7ective of the editor or the columnist remains unmotivated by e6traneous considerations5 (or interpreting a fact that is ne$s" a number of vie$points can be given and there is nothing $rong in a healthy discussion5 !o$ever" the interpretation and analysis should be done ob7ectively and rationally5 The aims should be disseminating ,no$ledge and not propaganda5 !o$ever" due to various types of pressures and pulls" $e find that ob7ectivity and rationality is being compromised by the ne$spapers and instead they are appearing to become pa$ns in big games of money and po$er5 The biggest pressure that ne$spapers face today is the pressure from the administration5 In India the administration holds the life to press by supplying them $ith concessional ne$sprint5 Also" government notices" circulars and advertisements are important sources of revenue for a ne$spaper5 The administration uses this relation to pressuri4e ne$spapers not to print the misdeeds" abuse of po$er and

authority by it5 Use of various rules and regulations is made both in peace time and troubled times to harass the ne$spapers5 Another source of pulls and pressures is the big advertisers and businessmen5 They are 5 the biggest source of revenue to the ne$spapers $ithout $hich they cannot even run5 So" in this $ay" they are the most important guarantors of ne$spaper1s independence5 !o$ever" $here they try to misuse their clout by pressuri4ing ne$spapers into publishing favorable reports and hiding their mis* endeavors and misdeeds" they become a challenge to the integrity of the ne$spapers5 Especially $hen potential investors read no$*a*days" annual reports and financial estimates and ta,e their decisions on that basis" a report in the ne$spaper may ma,e or mar a company1s fortune5 So" ne$spapers may be forced by big businessmen in distorting the facts by their interpretation and e6planation5 Today $hen he has become old" he $ants the youngsters to follo$ the same life" the same values that he did $hen he $as young5 #ittle does he reali4e that by trying to do so he is trying to fit a man into 5a coat and not coat onto a man5 So many changes have ta,en place so fast that the generation of today follo$s entirely different set of rules from those follo$ed by the generation of yesterday5 Today" young men have no time to sit to share small 7oys and sorro$s $ith others5 They are to go to one or may be t$o 7obs in the day5 In the evening" they are to go to health club5 The night time is party time5 In the 7et age of today" a man may be ta,ing his brea,fast in Delhi and lunch in Cairo and Dinner in .e$ 0or,5 hen he sits do$n to rest" he is too tired to ,no$ $hat others are up to5 The result is that he is unable to cultivate relationships5 !e becomes lonely in the vast concrete 7ungles of the cities5 #oneliness and lac, of love may drive a man to$ards drug and alcohol" in fact" in alcoholism has ta,en alarming proportions5 The result of such a rapid pace of moderni4ation is that $hile old people are finding it difficult to ad7ust to the changed life style" the young people are unable to accede to the old people1s demand5 Today" a young man doesn1t go to the old for solving some problem" he has no value for their advice and $isdom5 !e thin,s that money can solve everything5 'oney has become a deciding factor in his relationships5 !e thin,s that if he has money" he $ill have all the pleasures5 Sadly" he is not al$ays true and $hen he reali4es his mista,e" it is usually too late5 The children are the $orst sufferers of the ills of moderni4ation5 The childhood may be spent in material fulfillment but emotional 5deprivation5 I hey thus develop a distorted personal they gro$ in an emotional vacuum5 They learn about the hard facts of life outside $orld and do not even reali4e that there is much beyond the mad race1 in the modern $orld5 It is not that moderni4ation has no positive aspects5 In fact" the forces of change has bro,en the fetters of decay and chain of irrational" cruel and obscurantist customs5 Today": a modern young man believes in reason" rationality" 7ustice" fair play and eBuality5 (or him" religious fundamentalism" casteism have no value5 Talent and merit are the only deciding factor for finding a man1s $orth5 !e refuses to accept anything out of blind faith5 In fact" democracy and secularism is being sustained by the forces of moderni4ation only5 The process of moderni4ation cannot be stopped or reversed5 In fact" any attempt to do so $ould be suicidal for the human civili4ation5 hat is important is that $e learn to reduce the negative impacts of moderni4ation and instead try to reap ma6imum benefit out of it5 Also" it is important that $e learn to ad7ust to the changing realities5 It becomes the duty of the young people to try to balance the needs of the time and the demands of the old5 Also" it is for the old persons to see that they do not impose their o$n value system upon the young5 Above all our faith in the higher human values and ethics must not $ea,en5

La*1h an$ +he

orl$ La*1h with )o*= Cry an$ )o* Cry Alone

That man is a social animal is an oft*repeated phrase5 e all ,no$ that man lives in groups" he can1t live alone5 Despite being physically $ea,er than many animals" he could survive and today rules the $orld 7ust because of his superior brain po$er and because he lived not alone but a community5 The basis of a community $as sharingMeverything belonged to everyone and he used it according to his needs5 !o$ever" as needs increased man became more concerned about himself5 And today such is the irony that man" social animal that he has become thoroughly selfish5 !e ,no$s ho$ to ta,e but has forgotten the art of giving5 'an lives to en7oy life5 The first and fore* most necessity of his life is happiness5 !e $ants to indulge in pleasure and 7oys5 !e tries to have it in his o$n $aysMeven by sharing 7oys of others5 It is very easy to share a smile5 After all" he gains something by laughing $ith others5 !e may forget his pains for the moment" his mood is freshened and his heart lightened5 And $hy $ould man not ta,e something that is being offered to him9 In fact" it is desirable too that $e ma,e others part of our celebrations5 hat is a party $ithout friends9 !o$ever" the deplorable part is that $hile man loves to borro$ a smile" he is most hesitant to borro$ someone1s pains and $orries5 .o one li,es to become a share of other1s miseries5 It is said that sharing lightens troubles5 +ut fe$ $ould li,e to help others out5 People have no time and little sympathy tor others as long as they have nothing to gain from them5 So much so that people even try to ta,e pleasure out of other1s problems5 !ave $e not seen people laughing at a blind man $ho has slipped on a banana peel or ma,ing fun of man $ith physical deformities9 hat does this all indicate*laugh and the $orld laughs $ith you" cry and you cry alone5 .o doubt the real test of friendship and relationship is in adversity5 ise men have rightly remar,ed" :A friend in need is a friend indeed:5 Can $e forget the story of #ord Crishna > Sudama9 Indeed" sharing pains is a /odly act5 All religions are based upon the ideas of compassion" charity and love5 -ur epics tell us the tales of great men and $omen $ho gave their everything to help someone in need5 Scriptures tell us to be ,ind to the $ea,5 /andhi7i shared the burdens and deprivations of the oppressed and e6ploited classes5 And he shines li,e a bright star in the gala6y of leaders5 In the olden days" the community feeling $as stronger than it is today5 People lived for a community" a village etc5 In the times of troubles" the $hole village used to sit together and decide5 'arriage of a girl" $hich because of terrible social customs $as considered a burden" used to be a community affair5 +ut even then the people $ho tried to further their selfish ends at other1s e6pense $ere not less5 Today" such people appear to be in ma7ority5 In fact" as life has gro$n materialistic" man has become more money minded5 Relationships have ta,en a bac, seat5 Today" one can even trust one1s relatives that they $ould help in adversity5 :If: they come to mourn a crash the real purpose remains sharing deceased1s property and $ealth5 !o$ever" if he has none" they $ould thin, t$ice before going5 !o$ever" if there is a celebration" a marriage or a party" they $ill drop in even uninvited5 In fact" today bridegroomAs party1s si4e has become so large and un$ieldy that it becomes a headache for the bride1s family5 If there is anyone one can safely rely on at the time of adversity" it C+ the /od one1s o$n parents5 Come $hat may" parents are al$ays on the side of their children5 They may not share their children 7oys if not called upon to do so but $ill be the first ones on their sides in trouble5 /od is of course the last resort5 'an might not be trusted but faith in Almighty does give strength to one to face sorro$s and smile even in the face of disappointments5 It is a $ell tested diction that everything bends before success but an unsuccessful man is blamed for everything5 !e can do no right5 .o one $ill sympathi4e $ith him5 !o$ever" if $e $ant $orld to change for better" $e should learn to give our 7oys to others and share sorro$s of others5 e should remember that 7oys multiply and sorro$s divide if shared5 Even a $ord or t$o of comfort can enlighten somebody1s life5

Sports 2a%e /eeper Si1nificance +han #ere Entertainment Right from the time man evolved his civili4ation" he has used a variety of means for entertainment5 Sports $ere evolved for the same purpose5 In fact" it $ill not be an overstatement if $e assert that sports today are most popular and viable means of entertainment5 .o other form of entertainment is more $holesome and has a $ider mass appeal than sports5 hile the primary purpose of sports remains entertainment" today they have come to have much deeper significance5 They have developed a great educative value and can be used to bring a number of improvements in the society5 (irst and foremost" sports can be used to 2produce healthier and happier citi4ens5 :!ealthy mind resides in a healthy body5: Sports can be used to produce such men $ho $ould be physically fit and therefore" mentally more efficient than $or,5 At this same time" sports use the bubbling energy of the youth5 The basic reBuirement to be a sportsman is to have sportsmanship5 A number of Bualities can be included in sportsmanship5 'ost of these Bualities are also essential to be a good human being5 So" sports $hich inculcate sportsmanship can also produce better members of the society5 e can include team $or," discipline" leadership Bualities" positive attitude in sportsmanship5 e shall survey these Bualities briefly and discuss their role in the society5 -urs is a society $ith diversities and in fact there is hardly any society that is homogeneous5 (or smooth functioning" it is important that each part of the society plays harmoniously $ith others5 Thus" in essence" is the Team$or,5 Every person in a team is assigned a certain role5 !e has to play that role in con7unction $ith others roles5 -nly $hen everyone plays together li,e a $ell oiled machine" can the team play $ell5 Similarly" only $hen everyone in society $or,s not for his selfish ends but for the society" the society can progress5 Discipline is another hallmar, of a sportsman5 Similarly" discipline is an utmost necessity for orderliness and peace in the society5 In the field" everyone plays his role according to a set of rules5 In the society" such people $ho respect rules are reBuired and sportsmen fit the bill5 In fact" any person playing sports can develop this Buality5 #eadership is another reBuirement for a sportsman5 Such Bualities develop in him automatically as he plays by applying his mind5 Such people $ho can thin, are the flag bearers of democracy5 Democracy cannot flourish in the society $here people are led but $here they lead Such leadership Bualities as sho$ing $ay" leading by e6ample" concern for fello$men are $ell cultivated in the sports field5 A good sportsman is characteri4ed by his courage" positive attitude and indomitable spirit5 !e doesn1t lose heart $hen he is losing a game but tries his best to $in till the very end5 Adverse circumstances do not rattle him5 Such people are invaluable to the society especially at the time of crisis5 Pessimists do not bring revolution" they cannot even sustain evolution5 Sportsmen can never be a pessimist5 So they can be e6pected to ,eep spirits high even in the face of adversity5 Respect for the opposition is profound in the heart of the sportsman5 !e doesn1t go into the field to fight but to play $ell" play to $in5 +ut he has due respect for other person1s strengths and good Bualities5 !e remains honest till the very end $hether he loses or $ins5 A lot can be learnt from such sportsmen5 In today1s society relations are marred by cheating" bro$ beating and one up manship5 Everyone tries to dominate others5 People sho$ scant regard to other person1s needs" his feelings5 Intolerance and hatred rule the most5 Under such conditions" do $e not reBuire men $ho still have the heart to give others their due share5 To conclude" $e can say that sports field is 7ust an e6tension of our society5 The same code of morals and ethics that govern our society" govern the sports arena too5 To be a good sportsman" it reBuires to be a good human being first5 In fact" sports field can be developed into a training ground to produce better

citi4ens of the society5 !o$ $elcome $ould be the day $hen the rivalry bet$een t$o nations $ouldn1t drag them to $ar but they $ould match their minds in the sports arena5 The Buality of the sportsmen gives the real idea about the strength of a nation and its inhabitants" not the Buality of its $eaponry5 Can $e miss the one to one correspondence bet$een the stage of development of a nation and the Buality of its sportsmen as e6emplified by USA" /ermany and former USSR5 So sports are not 7ust another means of entertainment but much more than that5

Forests5.ee$ For Conser%ation Trees are man,ind1s lifeline5 If they are destroyed" there is no $ay that human beings can survive5 (rom the o6ygen that $e breathe in" the food that $e eat" to the clothes $e $ear" $e o$e it all to the trees5 .ot only this" trees act as purifiers of air and receptacles of our $aste products5 Trees have great economic value too5 e get fuel" fodder" timber" medicines and numerous other valuable products from the trees5 It is" therefore" not surprising that trees $ere given great importance in our culture" our tradition" our mythology and legends5 The entire Panchatantra revolves around forests and its inhabitants5 Tulsi plant is al$ays found and $orshipped in a traditional home5 Pipal tree is revered by all5 .eem is valuable as an insecticide" germicide and medicine" in the times $hen there $ere no coolers or air conditioners people comforted themselves in the cool shades of mango" neem and other trees during summer heat5 The survival of entire $ild life depends upon the health and $ell being of our trees and specially our forests5 Today" ho$ever" the forests are in danger5 Their survival is at sta,e as man" in his blind pursuit of $ealth and po$er" is bent upon destroying them5 The urgent need today is to save our forests from e6tinction5 (or sustaining ecological balance" for environmental and other reasons" it is important that at least one third of our land is covered $ith forests5 !o$ever" today $e have less than ;<K area under forests and much of it is degraded forest5 -ver felling of trees" hindering natural process of pollination and germination and diverting land for other purposes have all ta,en their toll on forests5 So" the need of the hour is to $or, to save e6isting forests and help in bringing larger area under forests5 The need to conserve forests and upgrade them $as recogni4ed decades bac, by the Indian /overnment5 SubseBuently" to promote research in forestry and allied sciences" a (orest Research Institute" and for forest management" an Indian Institute of (orest 'anagement $ere opened5 hile Indian (orest Service $as organi4ed on an efficient basis by Sir )ohn Strachedy" a ne$ orientation $as given to it after independence5 The need to involve public $as felt and so social forestry scheme $as launched5 The purpose $as to ma,e forestry a mass movement5 1-ne tree for every child1" Trees for Eco*development1 and numerous other schemes $ere launched5 To provide financial support" (orest Development +oards $ere set up5 An innovative scheme to involve industries and private parties in afforestation drive $as launched under Industrial Plantation5 To ma,e use of the $aste lands" marginal lands and desert lands" 1energy plantations1" fodder plantations1 etc5 $ere attempted5 Under DDP" forests $ere sought to be promoted not only to restore fragile ecological balance but also to provide people $ith the means of livelihood5 Similarly" DPAP $as launched $ith afforestation as its cornerstone5 Despite all such efforts" $e find very little tangible result5 (orests are still getting cut and degraded and $ildlife still being destroyed5 Someho$" the a$areness that forests are in danger and that $e should do something about it has still not reached many of us5 And many of us" $ho ,no$ the fact" do not ,no$ $hat to be done about it5 (orestry is highly labor intensive primary activity5 Unless" people are involved nec, deep in the afforestation drive" little progress can be made5 Spread of information by mass media" through social $or,ers" in schools and colleges" at $or, places" all these are reBuired for the drive to become a movement5 hile most of us ,no$ the importance of forests" $e ta,e them for granted5

Conservation of forests does not mean that they should not be used for economic purposes but should be used efficiently and in a $ay that does not endanger the ecological balance and does not destroy the home of $ild animals5 Presently" forests are being used for mainly t$o purposeM fuel$ood and timber Mboth involve felling trees5 This can be avoided by either developing alternative sources of energy 2there are many*solar" biogas etc53" alternative means for construction 2CP D has banned the use of $ood in houses3 or by gro$ing at least one 2if not t$o3 tree for each tree cut5 Secondly" ne$" better means of using forests should be evolved5 Sericulture" mushroom cultivation" bee ,eeping" horticulture" etc5 are not only viable but also very profitable alternatives5 At the same time" forests should be protected as a system5 This means that monocultures are avoided and variety of trees suitable to the local environs be gro$n5 The Buestion today is not $hether or not afforestation but ho$5 -ur very survival depends upon ho$ successful $e are in our mission5 #et m thin, about future5 In the greed for short term gains" Ret us not put our very survival at sta,e5 e all have role to play in this movement5 If each one of us gro$s 7ust one healthy and suitable tree in his life time" the problem $ill be solved5 To misBuote ArmstrongMIt is a small 1as, for each one of us but a giant tas, for the man,ind5

Sho*l$ Strikes !e ,anne$ Stri,e is the refusal by $or,ers to $or," in order to pressuri4e the management to accept their demands5 Stri,e can also be 1sympathy1 stri,e to e6press solidarity $ith their brethren else$here5 -ther forms that stri,e can ta,e are $or, to rule" go slo$" lightening stri,e" to,en stri,e etc5 In another innovative form in )apan" $or,ers may $or, more in order to e6press their resentment5 In $hatever form it is" stri,e is a $eapon to be used only in the e6treme circumstances $hen all other democratic means to negotiate have come to a end5 Today" industrial relations in our country are very bad5 There is very little understanding" leave alone solidarity bet$een the management and the $or,ers5 #ac, of effective communication bet$een the t$o creates a lot of misunderstanding and heat5 So" stri,e today has become almost the sole means for the $or,ers to force the management accede to their legitimate demands5 ho gains by stri,e9 hatever may be the end result" it is al$ays found that stri,e harms the nation" the community" the $or,ers as $ell as the management5 During the period of stri,e" production comes to a standstill Inventories pile up5 Stores are clogged5 Transport sector slumps5 The $or,ers remain idle during the period5 They face monetary and psychological problems5 Their 7ob is threatened5 'illions of man*hours go $aste5 'an *po$er" money" material resources" machines everything remain idle and this constitutes a loss5 Production level falls do$n" inventory losses mount" transportation industry suffers" shortages are created" prices of commodities s,y*roc,et5 The entire planning and social $elfare schemes go hay$ire5 And can one forget the miseries of common man $ho suffers silently because he neither has money po$er of the industrialists" nor the muscle po$er of the $or,ers5 And if the employees of essential services go on stri,e the problems are compounded5 Aren1t the reasons cited above sufficient to convince one that stri,es should be banned9 +efore 7umping to any conclusion" ho$ever" $e should reali4e that ours is a democratic country5 If this right to stri,e is ta,en a$ay from the $or,ers" they $ill be left at the mercy of the management $ith no recourse to 7ustice5 And in our country" $ith a feudal tradition" it $ill not be a very happy situation5 +ut stri,es endanger the very functioning of our democracy5 So $hat is the remedy9

Perhaps the most important remedy is one based upon the ma6imMPrevention is better than cure5 It is important that the industrial relations are improved5 e need profit ma,ing units but they should be o$ned and managed not by money minded people out by professionals5 'anagement ought to loo, after the $elfare: of the $or,ers5 It reBuires change in the attitude of both the management and the $or,ers5 'anagement should understand that happy $or,ers are more efficient and $or, harder5 Also" $or,ers should cultivate a sense of belonging for the Company5 Above all" it is our $or, culture" our attitude to$ards $or, that should change5 All this $ill go a long $ay in reducing the need and freBuency of stri,es5 1Stri,e is a form of Satyagraha1" claimed /andhi7i5 If today it has acBuired a bad name" it is because politicians and unscrupulous leaders have virtually hi7ac,ed trade union and they use $or,er1s grievances to further their o$n career and sometimes" even to blac,mail industrialists5 It is not stri,e that should be banned but the misuse of this right for unrelated issues as $ell as for any petty grievance5 It should be resorted to $hen negotiations yield nothing but not to ,eep the $hole country at ransom5

+each a #an an$ )o* +each An in$i%i$*al4 +each a women an$ yo* teach a 1eneration omen can never see her children go uneducated5 She $ill be most insistent upon sending her children to school be it even at the cost of her hobbies" interests or even stomach5 This is because she appreciates the importance of education5 So $ith an educated mother" $e 1can safely assume that $e have most effective motivator for the spread of education5 The so*called 1(iltration theory1 fits very $ell into it5 If $e teach a $oman" she acts as a filter to spread education among many others5 oman belongs to a $ea,er section of the society because she suffers from many handicaps due to rigid" outdated social customs and religious practices5 +ut an educated $oman cannot be e6ploited easily5 She is a$are of her rights and $ill go any length to defend them5

!aving e6perienced problems herself" she understands the difficulties faced by other $omen5 She is therefore more sympathetic to their cause5 Also" $ith the armor of education around her" she acts as a $ay a 1:motivator and a leader of the movements to remove social malaise from the society5 She can share very intimate relationship $ith other $omen and therefore" promote them to voice their grievances5 She then acts as a carrier of their aspirations and lets the people in po$er ,no$ it5 !aving studied history and politics herself" she understands the po$er of unity5 So she can act as the force to unify the unprivileged section of the society and1 then force leaders to accede to its demands5 -f course" she acts as a grand role model for other $omen to follo$5 .ot only in India" but1 even in the developed countries li,e US and UC" the right of vote $as obtained by the $omen only $hen they themselves $aged a struggle1 under the leadership of those $ho $ere fortunate enough to get educated5 /oing bac, again to her role as a mother" she is solely responsible for the health and $ell being of the family5 She ,no$s the importance of cleanliness and $ell balanced nutritious diet5 So she produces children $ho are healthy and also conscious of their civic duties5 She acts as a very good civic teacher5 All the campaigns for follo$ing traffic rules" fighting diseases" hygiene etc5 $ill be a $aste if the $oman of the family is uneducated and they $ill be not only very effective but sometimes even unnecessary if

the $oman of the family is educated5 All the discussion above goes on to prove that female education is very important5 In fact" it should be the thrust area for our literacy drive5 'an may get himself educated for purely economic reasons and being the sole bread earner in most of the cases" he doesn1t pay so much attention or is inspired as much for his children1s education as his educated $ife $ould be5 So by teaching $omen" $e are in fact creating a torch bearer of change" a harbinger of literacy5

(epression ,rin1s (e%ol*tion :Po$er has to be made secure not only against po$er but also against $ea,ness5 And herein lie the greatest danger of losing balance5 The $ea, are as dangerous to the strong as Buic,sand to an elephant5 The people $ho gro$ accustomed to $ild po$er forget that by doing so they give rise to unseen force that rends the po$er to pieces one day5 The air that is so thin and unsubstantial can give rise to storm that no one can resist5 The $ea, find a$ful support in the la$ of moral balance:5 These $ords $ere spo,en by a great humanist democrat and a spiritual leader5 The above lines $ere a $arning to the +ritish rulers $ho $ere blinded by absolute po$er that they en7oyed5

They forgot that repression breeds revolution5 And one day Tagore1s prophecy that :$heels of fortune $ill turn one day and the +ritish $ill have to leave came true5 And it $as mass upsurge of people" subdued and crushed under their e6ploitative rule that made it possible5 If $e loo, into history" $ho $ill find numerous e6amples $hich prove that e6ploitation and repression have al$ays resulted in defiance and revolution5 /overnment becomes dictatorial and instead of serving people" tries to suppress the then people lose faith in it5 They ma,e it their goal to over*thro$ such a government5

They do not believe in its promises and defy its authority5 They revolt5 Such a revolution may be either violent or bloodless but the motive and the goal remains the sameMsudden and immediate overthro$ of authority5 The people of (rance in the eighteenth century $ere being ruled by the Cing and Nueen $ho as,ed them to eat ca,e if they had no bread5 Such rulers $ho $ere so aloof" so much a$ay from their people commanded no confidence" leave alone any respect5 People had no hope for any improvement under them5 So they had no option but to overthro$ them5 They $ere repressed and they revolted5 People may have appearance of $ea,ness under normal circumstances5 +ut $hen situation $arrants they acBuire a$esome strength5 They are not deterred by the lac, of eBuipment or training because they have the strength of their convictions and the faith in their cause5 They ,no$ that they are fighting for a noble cause and their firm belief in nature1s la$ of morality carries them through5 The Americans $ho defeated the po$erful +ritish Army had no training" no proper eBuipment and $ere lesser in number5 0et" they $on because they $ere spar,ed by the slogan of eBuality" liberty and fraternity5 They believed in their cause $hich $as to end tyranny5

e find history being repeated today5 +e it in Philippines or in .igeria or in E5 Europe" every$here it $ere once timid people $ho fought for their freedom and liberty and $on it too5 hen the tide came" it felled once impregnable +erlin $all too5 Today" more and more countries are moving to$ards democracy" eBuality" liberty and freedom5 Rulers are gradually reali4ing that durable peace and economic progress cannot be assured if people are repressed5 The $ea, do not assist progress because they do not Buestion" they only drag the society do$n5 To conclude" $e can say that $hile people do not mind obeying la$s" being disciplined and being loyal to their country" they do resent snatching of their rights and freedom on these grounds5 They have a limit of tolerance5 If this limit is crossed" then doom a$aits the rulers5 As Al$in saidM:The voice of the people is the voice of /od5 So heed it5: history has proved it over and over ages that :Repression brings revolution5:

En%ironmental Poll*tion -ne of the biggest problems the plaguing mother nature is the problem of pollution5 'an is 7ust one of millions of life forms e6isting on the earth" albeit a very intelligent one5 +ut this does not entitle him to interfere in nature1s la$ of ecological balance5 !e is as much dependent upon other living forms as they are on hire5 hen man 2or anyone else3 introduces something e6traneous in the natural cycle $hich positively harms life and creates imbalance" it is ,no$n as pollution5 Since man is the only life form $ho has been able to understand nature to some e6tent" he is the only one in position to cause pollution and unfortunately" he has been doing it at his o$n free $ill5 Pollution can be of many types5 -ne of them is the Air Pollution5 The very air $e breathe in and $hich sustains life is being poisoned by e6hausts from automobiles" smo,e from chimneys" dust flam mining and construction activities and numerous other sources of dangerous gases and vapors5 Air should have a certain composition $hich is mostly .itrogen" -6ygen and very little of other gases but these sources emit carbon dio6ide" carbon mono6ide" nitrogen o6ides" sulphur o6ides" hydro carbons and radioactive vapors5 This disturbs the composition of air and harms all the biological processes dependent upon it5 Another type of pollution is $ater pollution5 J<K of our body is $ater5 e need $ater for coo,ing" drin,ing" bathing" cleaning" industrial processes and cooling etc5 'any types of life forms lie in it5 All animals and plants need $ater for survival5 In fact" presence of $ater is one main reason $hy life e6ists on earth5 +ut man has not spared even this life giver5 Se$age effluents" chemical discharges" dyes" agricultural $astes 2fertili4ers etc53" fuels of ships etc5 have converted clean" spar,ling $ater of rivers" la,es and seas into dull" rotting mass of sludge5 The aBuatic life is being destroyedL dirty $ater has become the sources of epidemics" diseases and foul smell5 (resh $ater bodies are being converted into chemical ponds5 0et another type of pollution is the land pollution5 Agricultural chemicals" se$age effluents" chemical discharges from industry" mining and construction activities have denuded the surface of earth5 -nce

lush green land has been converted into a desert5 #and subsidence" floods" ground $ater pollution" dust and fumes are all the results of land pollution5 ild life is being deprived of its habitat and the very trees man used to $orship once" are today becoming victims of his greed and carelessness5 hile on one hand" atomic po$er is being used in innumerable $ays for man,ind1s benefit" on the other hand" the same is becoming a ma7or and highly ha4ardous source of pollution called Radiation Pollution5 In this case it is not the atomic po$er plants but atomic e6plosions that are the real culprits5 !armful rays and particles" emitted can create abnormalities in body" deformities" mutations" s,in cancer" blood cancer and a number of other diseases5 A brief survey of pollution done above sho$s very clearly that it is man himself $ho is responsible for his doom5 !is insatiable greed and use of a poor model of development are responsible for bringing things to such a pass today5 It is not that this is the only $ay that development can be pursued5 There are better and more sustainable $ays e6isting5 Such a development $hich bases itself on man1s harmony $ith nature is aptly called 1sustainable development15 It defines development as betterment of human life $ithout 7eopardi4ing the ability of the future generations to live a healthy life5 It has many aspects and if implemented can help us live a better life" materially" aesthetically and spiritually5 Implementation of such a model calls for mass participation5 This in turns means that a$areness and understanding needs to be generated among common people regarding environment and its protection5 (or e6ample" the scheme of 1Paryavaran &ahini1" $hich includes establishing a committed cadre of environmentally conscious and citi4en $ho $ill help in protecting environment and bringing pollutants to boo," is one step in this direction5 &oluntary agencies" citi4ens" government and industry should 7oin hands in such an endeavor5 (or e6ample" use of organic fertili4ers" environment friendly chemicals" bio* fertili4ers" bio* pesticides" optimum use of $ater etc5 by agriculturists can be done if they are informed" trained and helped by government" voluntary agencies etc5 Use of ESPs in chimneys" treatment plants" use of eco*friendly products etc5 can be done by the industry5 Time is running out fast5 e have only one earth to live in and if $e do not do something to save it" $e can only start the reverse count5 #et it be a duty of each one of us to do our best to save and improve environment5 e can plant trees" use eco*friendly products" bio*degradable pac,ings" ecomar,ed goods" spread the a$areness and prevent others from polluting earth5 Else the day is not far $hen clean $ater" safe air" undisturbed land may become a rarer commodity* than gold5 'ay be then" even man $ill be found only in museums5

9...All +he

orl$<s A Sta1e An$ All +he #en An$

omen #erely Players.9

These lines $ere spo,en by a character in the Sha,espeare1s play 1As you li,e it15 hat do these lines suggest9 Are they symbolic of the author1s 2or the character1s3 ab7ect surrender to fate and nature1s la$s or they represent his renunciation of the $orldly pleasures and material gains as being momentary and unreal5 hatever it may be" it $ill be really interesting to try to understand it further5

1All the $orld1s a stageA symboli4es the $orld being li,e a stage on $hich plays are performed5 )ust as different scenes are enacted on the stage" different events and incidents happen in the $orld5 As scenes change on the stage during a play" in a similar $ay" times change in the $orld5 Plays are performed by players on the stage" events and incidents occur $ith men and $omen in the $orld5 'en and omen are as much a part of an event or an incident as actors are of a play5 They perform their role in their respective" domainsMthe $orld and the stage respectively5 As role ends" the actor leaves the stage" similarly as man1s $or, in the $orld ends" he leaves it5 So the correlation that Sha,espeare has tried to highlight appears Buite reasonable5 !o$ever" the important part of the statement is the $ord 1merely15 Actors at that time $ere not li,e stars of today5 They obeyed their director and performed as he directed5 They could not change their roles" modify it or perform it differently from $hat the director 2or the $riter3 desired5 !ence" the $ord 1merely1 !ere" Sha,espeare by calling 1men and $omen merely actors1 has tried to emphasi4e their state of helplessness and submission5 !ere the authority is the /od5 !e has complete control over the human beings and ma,es them do things as he $ishes5 'an is bound by his fate5 !is role is pre*assigned and he cannot change it5 This to some" may sound li,e defeatism5 +ut to some e6tent" $e are indeed bound5 To elaborate it further" let us ta,e the e6ample of birth and death5 +irth is the biggest accident that happens in one1s life5 Accident may sound harsh but birth 7ust happens5 Else ho$ can $e e6plain t$o infants born at the same time" one of $ho has silver soon in mouth and other may have 7ust rags to cover his body9 hat ma,es them different9 Then ho$ can t$o ne$ born have such a different life $hen neither of them has performed any action5 Some e6plain it in terms of our previous birth and some call it pure fate5 hatever it may be" certainly it is beyond our control5 Similar is the case of death5 hy so many very talented people li,e Ramanu7am" &ive,ananda etc5 died so early $hen they had so much to do and $hy !itler and Stalin lived so long9 e cannot deny that for most of us" the course of our life is determined by the family $e are born in" the place $e are born in" the upbringing and many other beyond our control5 Though" one1s upbringing plays a ma7or role in determining one1s future" the situation is not so helpless5 If a man is determined enough" has the guts and courage to face adversities" he can do $onders by his hard $or,5 Even in a play" there are different actors5 .ot all of them perform eBually5 Even" the same role can be :done by t$o different actors very differently5 Some actors stand out because of their performance and become famous all over5 Same is the case in this $orld that a fe$ people ma,e their mar, in different fields of activity5 They become great leaders" academicians" doctors" artists etc5 There are people $ho have sho$n in adversities and rises from the bottom because they faced circumstances head on5 !o$ever" this is only one aspect of the statement5 It also hides another very deep and very relevant thought5 It is that $orld is too big a place for anybody to consider himself its master5 All the great ,ings" generals" leaders had to leave one day5 The $orld did not stop them5 They played their role and moved a$ay to let others play theirs5 e are not immortal" the $orld is5 Different actors play different roles in a play5 Some are important ones and some are not*so*important ones" but no one can say that play is because of him5 Everyone has to bo$ to the Almighty" a great and un,no$n po$er $hich is all encompassing and all ,no$ing5 e should ,eep a$ay from attachment" lust" greed etc5 because $e are in this $orld only till our role demands it5 This $as the philosophy that ancient Indians propounded and that all religions have commanded5 All this does not mean that one should leave everything to him5 An actor has to give his best to the role he performs5 Similarly all of us must do our duty $ith devotion and honesty5 A play is successful only $hen each one of the actors performs $ell5 orld $ill progress $hen each one of us contributes his best

to it5 A director can promote an actorL /od can change man1s life5 1 orld being as stage1 doesn1t mean that $e are puppets but that $e are actors5 e have to shun not hard $or, but our negative traits li,e attachment" greed and lust5 A $ell performed role ho$soever small is $ell appreciated by the audience5 Similarly" a $ell lived life becomes a lesson for others to follo$5 -ne gets praise" love" respect and fame if he does $hat is assigned to him $ith devotion and honesty ho$soever small or as it may appear5