INTERNAL ASSESSMENT BAP LTL

PRIYANSHI GUPTA
BA PROG (ECONOMICS+POLITICAL SCIENCE)
Q1. OPEN LETTER
To
The Honorable Prime Minister
Subject : vision of an ideal society and eradication of problems
Respected Sir
Today as a citizen of our country I want to express my deep concern
about the disgruntled situation of our country. Our India is one big
family, and it is now facing a problem of the direst order . What do we
want? What are our aspirations? We want a safe country, with
immense opportunities for all, irrespective of our caste, creed and
religion. There are immense problems being faced everyday by our
citizens including all age groups which may be teenagers, adults or old
aged.
Foremost important group of individuals is the youth who are the face
of our country. Rarely have I read a discussion on what the young
teenagers (young boys and girls who are between 10 and 17) want.
Maybe because they are not the voters. It is a sad fact that a
disgruntled youth is created when he is a teenager. The minds of most
young people are molded when they are teenagers.
More than 95% of the teenagers want a future which is better than
their current status. They have innocuous ambitions. Their primary
need is to get good education or skills to get a decent job or to earn a
decent livelihood. Their inability to get the skills and education when
they are teenagers, kills their dreams. This frustration is manifested in
many negative ways, which is not good for the country.
It is easy to talk about problems and the desirable state. I understand
you need solutions, which are feasible, effective and permanent. I take
the liberty to put forth my views and solutions to address these
problems and possibly strengthen our society.
India has a always lived like a family. The problems which are everyday
faced are poverty, corruption, education, health, women safety,
environment and employment.
We have seen the privilege given to some individuals to manage the
affairs of this country being misused, abused and dynasties created,
some have enriched themselves and their cronies and in turn the very
people who have elected them to serve have been neglected and the
country is saddled with enormous debts which our children and
grandchildren will have to repay. So we must stop government officials
in their destiny to becoming rich through government. We need to
carefully seek to place right individuals with the right mind set and
qualifications to run this country in the direction that is beneficial to the
greater population rather than focusing on personal gains. We need to
focus on true development of our country and not be fooled by the
lackadaisical work being done by the individuals we ourselves put in
power. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely and if
we fail to plan then consequently we plan to fail.
With massive industrial growth and other factors are increasing
pollution levels day by day. Most of the pollution is recorded at the
time of festivities, it may be water, air or noise. This problem of air
pollution affects every single Indian, rich or poor, of all castes, religions,
creed and across all state boundaries. No one apart from the Prime
Minister of our country can take the lead to fix this issue. An individual
should also be concerned about this concern, also it is necessary to
implement certain strict rules such as Odd Even rule, treating the waste
before dumping in the water, car pooling, increase in public transports,
strict ban on single use plastics etc. Irregular cutting of trees and mining
activities it is hampering our vegetation at great extent. Our vegetation
has been exploited greatly by the uneven manmade activities. There is
a serious need to introduce effective resource planning in our country
to combat this serious issue.an on single use plastics etc.

Not only this but crime in our country is spreading like fire especially
crime and against women. We everyday read news about a women or a
girl being raped but no justice is done to them. Kindly get our
government and the lawmakers to reassess our legal justice system and
see where we are going wrong in controlling crimes of sexual violence.
The Ministry of women and child development and the Ministry of
human resource development and the Ministry of human resource
development will have to play a crucial role in eradicating this social
evil. Appoint a national committee to study the pattern, statistics and
the cases registered of sexual violence and look at the root cause of
why these crimes are occurring in the first place. In my opinion the rrot
cause is absence of sex education among people. Some people who
commit such a serious crime rape thinks that this is some kind of fun
and satisfaction.
Unemployment and Poverty goes hand in hand. No society can surely
be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members
are poor miserable. Poverty is not only a challenge for India, as more
than one fifth of the world’s poor live in India alone; but also for the
world, where about 300 million people are not able to meet their basic
needs. There are many opportunities of employment in the
government departments of India. Though they are qualified, many
poor people who actually need them find it difficult to get them, due to
the malpractices in selection and appointments. A central database and
allocation of jobs by a central server will help the poor aspirants.
Also I would like to appreciate the efforts done by the government
during lockdown to ensure proper nutrition facilities and health
facilities to public.
In my view every problem is caused by lack of awareness and
ineffective education system. As in this era technology is the power of
the youth. With education our country can overcome these problems.
Foremost creating our country safest is our responsibility. Our country,
India, one among the most ancient civilization and culture with most
tested and proven traditions and values, should be taken leadership in
preventing this kind of exploitation. Modi Sir, I urge you to act now. I
request you to take this issue with the utmost seriousness and set the
ball rolling on creating a safer and better tomorrow for all the citizens
and especially the women in India.
Sincerely
Priyanshi Gupta
Q2. ‘Bosom Friend’ is one of Hira Bansode most famous poems. The
ironic title of the poem points to the hypocrisy of Indian society in its
treatment of issues of caste. The poem recalls the centuries of caste
oppression that forms the history of India. The caste system is
responsible for the subjugation, suppression and repression the society.
Four caste systems are prominent in India in which the Brahmins
occupy the prominent position in society. The equivalent position is
occupied by caste Kshatriya, the third position Vaishyas and the fourth
class is called as the Shudra class. These four castes in ancient time
were responsible for the various types of works. The Brahmins were
responsible for teaching priestly groups and they were responsible for
the suggestion of kings and religious ceremonies. Kshatriyas included
the kings who did all the ceremonies. Politically they formed the
dominant group. Vaisya class was the merchant class and they were
basically involved in the agriculture and manufacturing sector. The class
is basically known as the producer and artisan groups. The fourth class,
shudra class occupied subjugated classes of society. Shudra class was
basically responsible for the cleanliness in the colony and they were
basically occupied by the menial jobs. These menial jobs pertain to
various odd activities of being labourer of various types. They occupied
the class of boatmen, barber, water-carrier and other miscellaneous
groups, etc.
But later on, shudras were considered as untouchables. The
untouchables were kept completely aloof from the society and were
not allowed to mingle in the society. Unuttered laws were less stringent
in the beginning later become more harsh and uncompromising in the
later period. The caste system that earlier came into prominence due to
the division of labour, but later on the caste system became a social
curse as birth became more dominant factors in the due course of
action. Caste in the society then became the most acceptable feature
and it eventually grew in the regular habit. They were given separate
areas such as separate toilets, pubs, cinemas. Also they were not
allowed to enter public spaces such as temples. They were either
beaten or given strict punishments. It was somehow similar with
apartheid system in South Africa.
The title itself is ironical in nature as the “Bosom Friend” means a close
friend. This poem is the dramatic narration of two friends who belong
to two different sections or caste of society. Herein the speaker belongs
to the lower caste of society while the listener belongs to the upper
caste society. The pathetic state of the speaker is prominently shown in
the poem. Their state of poverty and feeling of inequality is depicted in
the poem.
The poem starts on a welcoming note and shows true affection towards
her that she broke all the prejudices and stereotypes and enters her
pocket size house and defines the mindset of the listener. Poet’s
dedication and affection is similar to shabari who tasted all the plums
so that lord rama won’t have to eat the sour ones. Though lord rama
was from Kshatriya background he still ate all those plums, similarly,
her friend entered her house. But gradually as she starts commenting
on the food she leaves no table unturned in underestimating her friend.
“Truly, you folk will never improve” is the instant malignity that is seen
in her statement. The speaker from the lower caste believed that her
bosom friend would forget her caste and would accept the kind gesture
of inviting her to dinner. In second stanza deep rooted social
stratification is depicted. Also the poor condition of lower caste.
This is revoking the individuality of lower caste that how they are
discriminated. Also due to these situations government has made
special reservation is education, health and employment sector for the
needy ones. But most of the times these are misused. It should actually
cater to needy ones. The food habits, customs, and costumes become
an integral part of life and they become a completely inseparable
entity. A slight change in the above tradition leads to the vexation of
the people and is often seen as a bone of contention. The caste system,
religious system and patriarchy leave women in the Indian society triply
marginalised. Hira Bansode gives us insight regarding the women in the
society from the lower caste who also suffer from various domestic
problems. The women from the lower caste are not only afflicted by
poverty, patriarchy but also by caste dominance. "Don't you serve
buttermilk or yoghurt with the last course of rice?" the woman from
the upper caste asks the lower caste friend. The question is not posed
to a friend but rather it is a burning question to the section of society to
which the lower caste women belong.
The happiness of the two bosom friends is marred by the social
stratification that is posed by the caste system in society. The poem
starts with the state of cheerfulness, merriment, and blitheness but
state of miserable feeling, downhearted, despairing and desolate
feeling is left.
In the present world food and eating habits and customary practices
are changing with time. Still we encounter negative discrimination in
our homes such as leftover food is given to the maids or they are made
to sit on the ground but mindset is changing as everyone are gaining
equal education and certain special rights are given to the lower caste.
However, yes there is a section of society whose rights are still
neglected but positive changes are seen towards the attitude as people
are getting broad minded. I have encountered some positive changes
that throws a light towards actual humanity that maid of my house
does not have to sit on the floor and asked for food in the beginning.
Yes this problem would definitely be addressed soon and this could
only done by changing people’s mindset.