BANK P.O.
SPECIAL
Descriptive Questions
Making rail journey safe and
satisfying
Q. Suggest three effective
measures to make rail journey in India
more safe and enjoyable. Elucidate
how the measures suggested by you
would be effective or result-oriented.
Ans. With every major rail accident,
the question that begins to haunt the
travelling public is how far is the rail-
travel in India trouble-free and safe?
Since most of the enquiry reports have
pointed the needle of responsibility
towards human failure or technical
snag, it is the crying need of the hour
that the Railway Ministry indulged in
some intense introspection and took
measures to set their own house in
order.
An analysis of measures/
suggestions made by the Railway Safety
Review Committee chaired by Justice
H.R. Khanna can help in improving the
rail safety. It is a matter of serious
concern, as the report noted with
disbelief, that there was nothing
resembling a railway safety policy
document. On the other hand, the
creation of Rs 17000 crore non-lapsable
Railway Security Fund for five years is
a step in the right direction. Old bridges
and worn out tracks should be replaced/
repaired without much fuss. Paucity of
funds should not be allowed to come in
the way of upgrading the vital aspects
of railway operational services.
Recommendations of various expert
committees should be implemented in
their letter and spirit.
Those railway employees who are
found wanting in their duty and
efficiency, should be shown the door.
Those indicted by a competent authority
of negligence or apathy, should be
retired without any unnecessary concern
or consideration. The signalling and
communications system should be
modernised and fully computerised. All
railway crossing across the country
should be properly secured. Unless the
powers-that-be adopt safety guidelines
already drawn up, accidents may well
become the rule rather than the
exception. What needs to be done is a
total overhaul of the railway system, if
we really mean to make rail travel both
safe and satisfying.
Female foeticide and
demographic map
Q. As a result of female foeticide
the demographic map of India has
been developing serious distortions
between male and female ratios. In
view of the inimical implications that
the trends hold for future, you are
being asked to express your
considered views on the subject that
concerns every Indian.
Ans. Insanity, said Lord
McNaghten, is the incapacity to
distinguish between right and wrong.
The wayward way with which some of
the Indian States have been showing
serious distortions between male and
female numbers per thousand, the day
is not far off when the generations to
come shall rue over our follies with no
immediate remedy in sight. The cruelty
and cussedness with which female
foeticide has been resorted to over the
years, is not only criminal in content
and context but also a writing on the
wall that we can afford to ignore only
at our own peril. No argument or
reason is strong enough to permit the
termination of life before it sees the
light of the day.
The hallmark of a civilised society
is adherence to law. But instead of
following the letter and spirit of law
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that exhorts to respect and rescue life,
some of us have become a law unto
ourselves. The determination of sex
before the actual birth of a child, though
an illegal practice in some States,
continues to be a flourishing business.
It is because of science that we are able
to know the sex of the still to be born
child and, as convenient to our
conscience, the preposterous practice of
female foeticide is carried out without
any regret or remorse. We seem to have
adopted the ostrich-like attitude and
opted for the suicidal course, for
reasons that are both unethical and
untenable.
Taking a cue from a recent directive
issued against female foeticide by the
Sikh religious leaders, a large number
of their counterparts from other faiths/
religions shared a common dais in New
Delhi to condemn the heinous practice.
Despite the presence of as many as 17
laws in the statute book, if we have failed
in preventing female foeticide, the fault
lies with our will and determination to
implement the laws. The inhuman and
indiscriminate use of a modern
invention against the unborn female
child most barbarous, to say the least.
The role of religious leaders is generally
confined to persuade the people to
accept the compulsions behind the legal
measures. But it is the dictates of the
law which have to prevail, especially
in a country like ours which has
accepted secularism as its creed. The
fight against the horrendous practice
of female foeticide must be fought
keeping in view the larger national
and human interests. If we, as Indians,
fail to read and comprehend the
import and meaning of the writing on
the wall, we should be mentally
prepared to face and experience the
sordid scenario of too many grooms

chasing too few brides, in the not very
distant future.
Tackling AIDS epidemic
worldwide
Q. The special session of UN
General Assembly held recently
underlines the urgent need for a show
of unity on the worldwide AIDS
epidemic. Express your views on the
growing menace of AIDS, which is
both deadly and demonic. Your views
should reflect your concern based on
reading, knowledge and ground
realities.
Ans. First of all appears the
cycle of causes and consequences,
then the expression of common
concern and finally some concrete
action to fight the enemy whose
tentacles seem to grow fast and
furious. The speed and spread of
HIV infection, assuming the
diabolic dimensions of an epidemic
and defying national borders and
r e m e d i a l m e a s u re s , w e re f u l l y
reflected in the deliberations and
some decisions taken at the special
session of UN General Assembly
held in New York. The Secretary
General stunned representatives
f ro m 189-member General
Assembly when he quoted statistics
and brought home cold but cruel
facts to all those present in the
hallowed hall of the Assembly.
T h e re i s n o d e n y i n g t h a t
prevention campaigns have been a
constant theme at meetings,
seminars and the like, but without
sophisticated drugs that prolong
life, AIDS threatens to wipe out a
generation of young, productive
workers, leaving millions of AIDS
orphans in their wake. The UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan has
r i g h t l y p ro p o s e d a g l o b a l w a r
chest, estimating that $ 7 billion to
$ 10 billion should be spent
annually to halt or even reverse the
pandemic.
Indeed, while the official debate
in the General Assembly had centred
BANK P.O. SPECIAL
largely around the cost of AIDS drugs
and their availability, most people
outside the official delegations were
more concerned with addressing the
basic problems that have contributed
to or resulted from AIDS: a lack of
even rudimentary health clinics in a
country like Nepal; grandmothers in
Uganda who have no income to look
after the orphans, many of whom are
infected with AIDS; widespread
starvation in various African villages
where everyone who used to farm the
crops is either dead or sick. These are
some of the ground realities that stare
in the face of those suffering from HIV
infection or AIDS.
Carrying an ambitious battle
plan, an army of activists, health
experts, politicians and scientists left
New York for an uphill struggle
against the AIDS pandemic that is
killing five million people a year.
After weeks of negotiations, the 189-
member Assembly approved a
detailed blueprint, called a
declaration, that sets timetables for
countries to devise and implement
strategies for education, prevention,
treatment and a network of care
programmes, especially for millions
of orphans.
Proverbs: Wisdom of many
Q. Proverbs, known as the
wisdom of many, transcend (go
beyond/surpass) language, cultural
and geographical barriers. In view of
the generally held belief that proverbs
state truth or give advice, you are
required to elucidate the statement/
description of proverbs in your own
words.
Ans. When we affirm or assert on
the basis of our knowledge or
experience that brief is beautiful, we
not only quote a proverb but also
reveal our faith in the wisdom and
worth of proverbs that convey so
much in so few words. Undoubtedly,
proverbs (short well known sayings
that state a general truth or give
advice) transcend language, cultural
242 OCTOBER 2001 THE COMPETITION MASTER
and geographical barriers to present a
universal truth. Though expressed
differently because of local conditions
and native/indigenous culture,
proverbs contain the essential truths/
lessons. In fact, proverbs are the
wealth of the people whose use
enriches them beyond measure and
prejudice. Since they concern human
beings engaged in different callings
and calculations, their relevance in life
is like a Light House that guides the
course of many a ship caught in the
stormy weather. If proverbs epitomise
the wisdom of ages, it is the wise and
the discreet who derive the optimum
advantage out of them by imbibing
their essence/spirit in their lives.
The proverb, though stated
differently in different languages: if
all get into the planquin, who will be
the bearers, carries a message of
deep significance into our mundane
and self-centred lives. Some examples
like I am rich and you are rich, who
should tie the horse (Turkish), and
I am a prince you are also a prince,
who should graze the donkey
(Egyptian), and I am a queen and
you are a queen, who shall perform
household chores? (Indian), can be
multiplied to any extent. A language
or dialect that is poor in proverbs
stands to suffer and feel inferior to
others that are rich and robust in
respect of sage sayings and popular
proverbs.
However, some proverbs on
weather and distinct ethnic
characteristics could be confined to
some exclusive geographical areas and
groups of people. Perhaps, sunlight
might not find mention in the proverbs
of eskimos and likewise snow may
have no place in Telegu proverbs.
Many proverbs could reveal local
experiences as well. With little
variations admitted in the contents
and contexts of proverbs, we can say
with confidence that the spectrum of
life and language would lose much of
its charm and fascination, if there were
no proverbs to enlighten and instruct
us.