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Carry on blaming Modi

Rudra
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Carry on blaming Modi

This started as a conversation on a whatsapp group with someone starting the usual tirade against the Central government (Read Modi) saying this is the right thing to do (shout on whatsapp groups). The tirade started with Covid and then went to Rafale and institutions. It became more and more divergent as proofs were offered on various issues. Sharing my points here.

First up, did the government bungle in its handling of the second wave? Yes to a great extent. We all thought that the worst was behind us. So, yes, the second wave definitely took us by surprise. We could have been better prepared across levels – be it state, central government or local authorities. No state – BJP or others had anticipated this. At this point it is expedient to blame Modi – but if you are going to say BMC commissioner is doing a good thing, Kerala is doing a good thing or Nandurbar is doing well or Assam is doing well – decide for yourself who you want to blame or give credit to.

Why is PMCares not in action and not setting up hospitals? And PM cares is not transparent. PMCares is very much in action. There is enough information in public domain – for instance – ventilators are funded by PMCares. Oygen plants have been funded.

On the other hand there is a Rajeev Gandhi foundation which is a private foundation which allocated prime land for itself in Delhi and to which corporates donate rather generously. I told him, I never heard you crib about that – isnt that also the right thing to do?

And by the way, read up on new AIIMs commissioned and in the pipeline.

Why is a stadium named after Modi – as you can see the argument went in all directions. About 500 schemes are named after one family. Jawarhalal Nehru stadium, airport, award. Indira canteen. Rajeev Gandhi Khel Ratna. They are everywhere, like a plague. Never heard you crib about that -isnt that also the right thing to do? Most urban area buses had JNNURM written on them for year. What is JNNURM – Just New Name Under Raja Modi? So its one stadium – deal with it. Another 100 things can be named – it is a non sequitur.

Why isnt the Rajeev Gandhi foundation building hospitals? Atleast in Amethi? Or Rae Bareilly? Never heard you crib about that – isnt that also the right thing to do? Oh wait, RGF is also donating crores for covid relief – if you can find that news, share.

Why is vaccine not free and universal and provided by centre? Rahul Gandhi wanted states to procure vaccine – SoGa writes centre should procure vaccine. Nice hedging of bets no?

Want to hold Modi responsible? Sure. Hold him responsible for allowing the farmers protest to continue – and recent data has shown that the farmers protest is the primary fount of the second wave in north India.

Want to hold Modi responsible? Sure. Hold him responsible for judicial overreach and letting the court take decisions instead of the government.

So, net net, yes…central government did fail in anticipatedness of the covid second wave, but that is a shared responsibility with various state governments. So, while is politically convenient to go Modi, Modi on everything, also remember that in the middle of the pandemic, people are hoarding medicines, cylinders, black marketing, bed scams, fake test reports – where is our basic humanity?

Journalists are building their careers on the backdrop of funeral pyres. People are scamming others by asking for funds and taking this into their personal accounts. Are we so pathetic? Really? And this is also a Modi issue?

So, while you can carry on blaming Modi the reality is much more than that…

The economic impact of India’s new Farm Laws

Shishir Deshpande, ACA
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The economic impact of India’s new Farm Laws

Introduction

As part of the big-bang Aatmanirbhar package, several welcome structural reforms were introduced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, which included mainly the labor reforms and the new farm laws. The new farm laws bring in new regulations as to how farmers can sell their produce, how farmers can transact & protect themselves and how the food produced by our ‘annadaatas’ can be regulated.

The Economic Survey of India 2020–21 underscored the importance of these laws, stating that the existing system “kept the Indian farmer enslaved to the local Mandi and their rent-seeking intermediaries”.

Reactions

It would be an understatement to say that the introduction of these reforms was most challenging for the Centre. They attracted bouquets and brickbats from expected and unexpected corners and protests erupted across the highly agrarian states of Punjab and Haryana, with farmers’ union leaders exhorting millions of people to hit the streets against the legislations. All this in the middle of a pandemic (which, expectedly, are becoming super spreader events).

While IMF Chief Economist Dr. Gita Gopinath lauded the reforms saying, “Being able to sell to multiple outlets besides the Mandis without having to pay a tax. And this had the potential to raise, in our view, farmers’ incomes”, other agricultural “experts” such as adult actress, Mia Khalifa, waded into the controversial space in support of the protestors.

The protests ended up fanning secessionist flames so badly that the Ministry of External Affairs had to pitch in and say, “The temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted to by celebrities and others, is neither accurate nor responsible.”

The Annadaata Impact

For a comprehensive understanding, we will be analyzing the laws across three parts based on the three new laws i.e. (i) Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 (ii) Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 & (iii) Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Where can the farmer sell

The first of the new laws (and the most contentious of these) empowers farmers and producer organizations to trade their produce across zonal, district and state lines, beyond the physical premises of the APMC yards or the “Mandi”, including via electronic means.

Local intermediaries and monopolists have been successful in using the previous laws’ legal infrastructure to create an intermediary system which enables them to prosper at the cost of the farmer. Cartelization by intermediaries, informal lending practices and lack of formal documentation at the Mandis has only worsened the issue.

It is saddening to note that a legislation was required to give farmers the freedom to sell and trade their produce as THEY deem fit while every other category of producer in India took that for granted, prospering beyond the farmers’ wildest dreams.

An RBI bulletin from 2019, cited studies using primary survey data, which showed farmers receiving only a minimal share of the price paid by the consumers, while the intermediaries got a large proportion of the consumers’ rupee. Farmers were taking home less than 30% of the final price in multiple cases; more than 6 in 10 of the farmers surveyed revealed that their selling costs were higher than their production costs, which is alarming to say the least.

The same RBI bulletin also mentions an interesting study, where direct selling of fruits and vegetables to consumers found that farmers received 15–40% more than wholesale prices and consumers paid 15–30% less than retail prices. In Karnataka, a Niti Aayog report stated that farmers have realized a whopping 38% more income in 2015–16 from direct-to-consumer sale of agri-commodities through the Unified Market Platform.

Clearly, the direct-to-consumer selling method warrants merit and it also makes us wonder why certain “Andolanjeevis” are opposing them.

To whom can the farmer sell

The second law empowers farmers to enter into farming contracts with buyers, corporate and otherwise. The legislation mandates that contracts cover at least one season or production cycle and guarantee a price to all parties involved. This legislation unshackles farmers from the quasi-license raj of APMCs, registrations & deposits.

The Niti Aayog observed that more than 100,000 dairy farmers in Moga, Punjab, have enjoyed a successful partnership with global food giant, Nestle, since 1961, benefiting in more ways than one, as Nestle provides technical guidance to producers and even supplies feed, medicines, vaccines, and veterinary services.

A study by Braja Bandhu Swain, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, made similar observations. Contract farmers in Andhra Pradesh earned more than double the non-contract farmers, with per-acre gross income of contract farmers exceeding that of the non-contract farmers by more than 60–90%.

Opposition “leader”, Rahul Gandhi may keep parroting his favorite phrase, “Adani-Ambani ka Sarkar”, however, the legislation strictly specifies that the buyers’ role is restricted to simply buying the produce and not leasing out the land or acquiring any other rights over farmers’ assets.

The government has also enabled a dispute resolution mechanism that aids the farmer. No action for recovery of dues can be initiated against the farmers’ land and if the buyer fails to pay the farmer, they may be penalized up to 1.5 times the amount owed. However, if a farmer reneges, the recovery shall not exceed the actual cost incurred by the buyer.

Regulation on produce

The third legislation empowers the Centre to regulate certain essential commodities such as food grains, petroleum etc. in case of famine, war, natural calamities, or other extraordinary circumstances, through price triggers rather than a whim of the governments or even an overly powerful constituency.

Agri-businesses across the country are familiar with the dangers posed by arbitrary stocking limits imposed by governments, which interfere with market forces and disincentivize investments in warehousing and storage facilities. Even those who can afford to purchase large stocks tend to buy far less than capacity due to this unpredictability, with farmers bearing the brunt during surplus harvests.

This reform in no way undermines the government’s right to intervene through the minimum support price guarantee. The PM, in the Rajya Sabha, categorically stated that, “MSP was there. MSP is there. MSP will remain in the future. Affordable ration for the poor will continue. Mandis will be modernized.”

Conclusion

If one simply goes by political aims and manifestos, these farm laws were required 15 years ago and imperative 10 years ago. UPA 1.0 and 2.0 simply put these reforms into their manifestos and dithered on them, either due to political convenience, lack of political willpower or both.

The new laws give farmers choice to sell their produce within the APMC markets or outside it and does not tamper with the MSP nor do they pose any threat to the existing Mandi system. In fact, by removing the training wheels, these laws will coax the Mandis to be more competitive and enter the 21st century.

The PM put it best when he said that those taking a U-Turn on the farm laws would perhaps agree with former PM Manmohan Singh, who had written that, “There are other rigidities because of marketing regime set up in 1930s which prevent our farmers from selling their produce where they get highest rate of return. It is our intention to remove all those handicaps which come in the way of India realizing its vast potential at one large common market”.

The lack of political willpower to execute these reforms, even when agricultural experts (including the key protestor, Bhartiya Kisan Union) pleaded for them, is a great disservice done by previous governments to the farmers. NDA 2.0 declared an ambitious target of doubling farmers’ income by 2022 and has taken the first step towards that by implementing these laws.

Projecting mistakes as crimes : The latest toolkit of the pandemic

vivekkaul
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Projecting mistakes as crimes : The latest toolkit of the pandemic

At the beginning of the year, the anti-government voices were totally frustrated and exasperated. Most of the weapons in their armory were proving to be ineffective. Anti-CAA protest had died its natural death. Anti-Farm bill agitation at Delhi’s borders was fizzling out, even while the protesters tried to put a brave front. More and more people were getting convinced about the importance of the Farm Bills introduced by the government. India was winning the war against Covid on nearly all the fronts including diplomatic front. Modi juggernaut  was seen to be unstoppable.

All of a sudden the second wave of Covid pandemic hit India. This wave devastated the nation as it spread much faster than the existing health infrastructure of the country could cope up with. The result was deaths, acute dearth of critical resources like medical oxygen, medicines, hospital beds etc. There was mayhem all around. Quite naturally this resulted in anger and frustration. 

Anti Modi forces seized upon this opportunity and intensified their effort to direct this frustration and anger against Modi and his team.

A synthetic narrative was created in order to pin the government down. Deaths and mayhem caused by the pandemic were put squarely on the shoulders of Modi. Strange logic was introduced by saying this wave was due to apathy of Modi and his team and wrong policies pursued by them without caring to explain this rhetoric with statistics or facts. International press, as usual, fished in the troubled waters by writing scathing articles against Modi. The judiciary made curious comments from time to time which did absolutely nothing other than creating confusion

No one seemed to be bothered about nuances and details. The fact that India, a massive country housing nearly as much population as EU & US put together was totally over looked. the fact that India had very poor facilities and extremely low hygiene levels was also ignored in these synthetic rants. No one focused on the fact that both the quality as well as the quantity of medical infrastructure in India was pathetic with the ratio of hospitals/doctors among the lowest in the world.

No one talked about the massive fiscal deficit of the nation that had been pursing ‘low-revenue-high-welfare’ economic model since the last seven decades. No one talked about the fact that while the virus can be transmitted even via air, the remedies have to travel through the complex network of roads, railways and airlines at a much much slower pace.

Expecting Modi to solve all the issues related to the pandemic (which is still being understood by the medical fraternity and for which vaccination has been developed less than 6 months ago) is an inappropriate and grossly unrealistic expectation. 

Expecting Modi to build all the tens of thousands of missing hospitals that were NEVER built in the last so many decades overnight is farcical to say the least. 

With images of people struggling for oxygen , medicines and vaccination beaming all over the airwaves, the emotions are frayed. And in an atmosphere where emotions are frayed, objectivity and logic, howsoever sound, becomes the first casualty. 

Let’s not get swayed by a narrative where mistakes and simple administrative lapses are presented as willful crimes by a motley group of people hell-bent on giving the government a bad name. Let’s strengthen the hands and resolve of our head of the state who is working tirelessly to tide over the crisis. Let’s give a helping hand to tens of thousands of healthcare workers, medical equipment manufacturers, workers in pharma companies, police personnel, army & para military personnel, NGOs, self help groups, and many more people actively & bravely fighting this global pandemic

May sanity prevail! 

इसराइल और फ़लस्तीन संघर्ष का इतिहास

Sudhanshu Sharma
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दशको के बाद इसराइल और फ़लस्तीन के मध्य संघर्ष  अपने चरम पर पहुंचता दिख रहा है। इस बार इस संघर्ष में हमास, गाजा से इसराइल के तरफ लंबी दूरी की मिसाइलें बहुसंख्या में दाग रहा है। हमास की इस बड़ी कार्यवाही को पूर्व नियोजित बताया जा रहा है। यह संघर्ष ऐसे समय हो रहा है जब रमजान का अंतिम सप्ताह और जेरूसलम दिवस का अंतिम दिन बाकी था। तत्कालीन  विवाद का मुख्य कारण पूर्वी जेरूसलम में स्थित शेख जर्राह नाम का स्थान है। यहूदियों का दावा है की शेख जर्राफ़ में स्थित बहुत सारी जमीनें औटोमॅन समराज्य के अंतिम समय में फ़लस्तीन के लोगों से उनके पूर्वजों ने खरीद ली थी और वे उस भूमि पर अपना मालिकाना हक वापस पाना चाहते हैं।

यह विवाद नवीन नहीं है 2014 से ही शेख जर्राफ़ को लेकर दोनों पक्षों में तनाव की स्तिथि बरकरार है। हाँलकी की कोर्ट का फैसला यहूदियों  के पक्ष में है परंतु इस फैसले से बाकी फ़लस्तीन जनता नाराज है। विवाद तब अधिक बढ़ गया जब इस्राइएली पुलिस ने अलेक्सा मस्जिद के परिसर में प्रवेश किया और मस्जिद को सील कर दिया। यहूदी अलेक्सा मस्जिद के परिसर को (जिसे वे हर-हावाईयत नाम से पुकारते हैं) अत्यधिक पवित्र मानते हैं और  ऐतिहासिक रूप से उसमे दाखिल नहीं होते। यहूदी लोगों का विश्वास है कि ईश्वर ने यहीं की मिट्टी से पहले मनुष्य एडम की रचना की थी। यहूदी का ये भी मानना है की अब्राहम के पुत्र इसाक की बली भी ईश्वर ने मांगी थी तब अब्राहम ने इसी स्थान पर इसाक को बली देने के लिए बुलाया था इस घटना से ईश्वर खुश हुए थे।

हिब्रू बाइबल में यह स्थान ईश्वर द्वारा अब्राहम को देने का वादा किया गया था जिसके कारण यहूदी इस स्थान को promise land मानते हैं। अब्राहम के बेटे इसाक और इसाक के बेटे जैकॉब का नाम इसरेल पड़ा जिसके नाम पर यह स्थान आज है। ओल्ड टेस्टामेंट में फ़लस्तीन लोगों और इसरैलियों के मध्य एक युद्ध का वर्णन है। जिसमे इस्राइएल का नेत्रत्व करने वाले डेविड ने फिलिस्टीनी लड़के गोलायत को हराया था। बाद के काल में राजा  सोलोमन ने इस स्थान पर प्रथम मंदिर का निर्माण कराया था। बेबीलोन के शासक ने प्रथम मंदिर को तोड़  कर दिया था। 512 बीसी में दूसरे मंदिर के स्थापना हुई जिसे बाद में रोमन ने तोड़ दिया। दूसरे मंदिर की एक दीवार आज भी मौजूद है। कुछ यहूदी समूह दूसरे मंदिर की फिरसे स्थापना चाहते हैं। इस कार्य को करने के लिए वे अलेक्सा मस्जिद और डोम ऑफ रॉक को गिराने के लिए संघर्षरत हैं।

इस्लामिक मान्यता के अनुसार 621CE में पैगंबर मोहम्मद साहब अपने उड़ने वाले घोड़े से इस स्थान पर उतरे थे और जन्नत की सीढ़ियों से जन्नत गए थे। जिस स्थान पर मोहम्मद साहब का घोड़ा उतरा था उस स्थान पर उमईयत खलिफाओं ने अलेक्सा मस्जिद का निर्माण कराया था। अरबी में अलेक्सा का अर्थ होता है सबसे दूर। मक्का और मदीना के बाद यह स्थान इस्लाम के लिए तीसरा सबसे महत्तवपूर्ण स्थान है।

ऐतिहासिक रूप से जेरूसलम को लेकर विवाद तीनों अब्राहमीक धर्म को मानने वाले लोगों के मध्य रहा है। पहला धार्मिक युद्ध ही जेरूसलम को लेकर लड़ा गया जिसमे ईसाइयों ने मुस्लिमों को परास्त किया लेकिन यह सफलता स्थायी नहीं रही। 1187 CE में मुस्लिमों ने जेरूसलम को वापस जीत लिया और हरम-अल-शरीफ (अलेक्सा) के प्रबंध के लिए वक्फ बोर्ड की स्थापना की और गैर मुस्लिम का इस परिसर में प्रवेश निषेध कर दिया।  तब से यहूदी वेस्टर्नवाल की ही पूजा करते हैं।

प्रथम विश्व युद्ध की समाप्ति  के बाद फीलिस्टीन इंग्लैंड के अधिकार क्षेत्र  में आ गया। वर्तमान इस्राइएल के निर्माण का मसौदा 1917 के बेलफोर्ड घोंषणा पत्र से शुरू हुआ जिसे इंग्लैंड ने तैयार किया था। धीरे-धीरे हिटलर के आतंकों से पीड़ित होकर यहूदी भारी मात्र में दुनिया भर से इस स्थान पर पहुँचने लगे। 1935  में पील कमीसन ने फीलिस्टीन के बटवारे का एक मसौदा तैयार किया। 1947 में यूएन ने रेसोल्यूशन 181 पास किया जिसके अनुसार फिलिस्टीनियों को 45 प्रतिसत भू भाग दिया गया और जेरूसलम को अंतर्राष्ट्रीय शहर घोषित  करने का प्रस्ताव दिया गया। इस प्रस्ताव को यहूदी ने स्वीकार तथा फिलिस्टीनियों ने अस्वीकार कर दिया। 1948 में इस्राइएल की स्थापना हुई और इसी के साथ में युद्धक संघर्ष भी शुरू हुए। 1967 में अलेक्सा मस्जिद के प्रबंध का अधिकार जोर्डन को दे दिया गया जो अभी तक मौजूद है।

दिसम्बर 1987 में इस्राइएल के खिलाफ पहला इंतिफादा शुरू किया गया इसी के साथ शेख अहमद यासीन ने हमास की स्थापना की। हमास के दो लक्ष्य महत्तपूर्ण थे पहला इस्राइएल का विनाश, दूसरा फीलिस्टीन में इस्लामिक राज्य की स्थापना। 1993 में इस्राइएल और फीलिस्टीन के मध्य संबंधों  का नया दौर शुरू हुआ जब फिलिस्टीनी लिब्रेसन ऑर्गनाईसेसन के मुखिया यासिर अराफ़ात ने इस्राइल के प्रधानमंत्री राबबिन के साथ ओस्लो समझौता को मान लिया यह समझौता कैम्प डेविड समझौते के बड़ी सफलता था। PLO का मकसद हमास के बढ़ते कद को रोकना था जिसके तहत उसने इस्राइएल को मान्यता प्रदान की और गाजा  और पश्चिमी बैंक में स्वायत सरकार की स्थापना की। हमास इन सभी शांति वार्ताओं का विरोधी  बना रहा जुलाई 2000 में वाशिंगटन में कैम्प डेविड समझौता विफल हो गया जिसके बाद सितंबर 2000 में इस्राइयली प्रधानमंत्री ऐरिएल शेरोन ने टेम्पल माउंट की यात्रा की जिसके विरूद्ध स्वरूप द्वितीय इंतिफादा शुरू हुआ। 2004 में यासिर अराफ़ात की मृत्यु के बाद महमूद अब्बास PLO के नए मुखिया के रूप में कुछ नया करने में विफल रहे। हमास का कद बढ़ने लगा फलस्वरूप हमास को PLO के मुकाबले ज्यादा सीटे चुनाव में प्राप्त होने लगी और गाजा में उसका प्रभाव स्थापित हो गया जबकि वेस्ट बैंक में PLO की सरकार कायम रही। 2006 के बाद अभी तक कोई नया चुनाव नहीं हुआ जिसका कारण हमास की बढ़ी हुई लोकप्रियता है।

बीते पाँच सालों में इस्राइल ने अपने विरोधियों से भी बड़े राजनयिक संबंध स्थापित किए जिसमे UAE, बहरीन, मोरक्को और सूडान प्रमुख हैं। सऊदी अरब भी अब फीलिस्टीन के मामले में तटस्थ दिखाई पड़ता है। जबकि फीलिस्टीन का साथ देने वाले देशों में सीरिया, जॉर्डन मिश्र अब उसके साथ पहले जैसे नहीं हैं ये देश स्वयं के समस्या से ही जूझ रहे हैं। सिर्फ ईरान ही फीलिस्टीन का एक मात्र सहायक बचा है परंतु बीते सालों में वहाँ की भी आर्थिक स्थिती खराब रही है जिसके कारण ईरान फीलिस्टीन को बड़ी सहायता देने में असक्षम है।

वर्तमान विश्व व्यवस्था आर्थिक हितों पर आधारित है ऐसे में कोई देश अपने राष्ट्रीये हित को खतरे में डालकर किसी देश की सहायता नहीं कर सकते। इस्राइल के पास अन्य देशों को देने के लिए कई लुभावने आफ़र हैं जिसमे इस्राइल युद्ध तकनीकी, कृषि तकनीकी सबसे महत्तवपूर्ण है। इस्राइएल का हमास को शांति वार्ता में साथ न लाना भी इस क्षेत्र में अस्थिरता का बाद कारण है। हमास का मानवबम,राकेटों तथा मिसाइलों से इस्राइएल पर हमला शांति वार्ता की उम्मीदों को खत्म करता है। जबकि दूसरी तरफ फीलिस्टीन के पास किसी भी मित्र देश को आफ़र करने के लिए कुछ भी नहीं है जिसकी वजह से कोई देश फलिस्टीन के साथ खड़े हो।

बीते 50 वर्षों में इसरेल ने स्वयं को हर प्रकार से सफल साबित किया है चाहे वो विज्ञान का क्षेत्र हो या आर्थिक प्रगति का क्षेत्र या शिक्षा का क्षेत्र। भले ही इन सभी कार्यों के लिए उसको USA का पूरा सहयोग रहा हो। जबकि दूसरी तरफ फलिस्टीनी पक्षकारों ने फ़लस्तीन केवल युद्ध क्षेत्र में ही तब्दील किया है और वहाँ की बेरोजगारी और गरीबी  को एक मौके की तरह प्रयोग किया है, जिसका नतीजा लाखों बेगुनाह यहूदी और अरब फ़लस्तीनो की मौत के रूप में सामने है। ऐसे में जो युद्धक संघर्ष अभी चक रहे हैं उन्मे सबसे ज्यादा नुकसान हमेसा की तरह फ़लस्तीन का ही होगा। सैकड़ों बेगुनाहों का खून अब्राहम की पावन भूमि पर फिर बहेगा, फिर संघर्ष विराम होगा फिर कुछ समय बाद दोनो पक्षों के कट्टरपंथी आपस में नए विवाद का आरंभ करेंगे और फिर से यही घटना क्रम दोबारा दिखाई देगा। इस हिंसा में धार्मिक उन्माद सबसे चरम पर है और मानवता की कड़ी सबसे कमजोर। लेकिन इतिहास पैगंबरों की इस भूमि को कब शांति और लोगों को सद्बुद्धि प्रदान करेगा यह कहना अभी बहुत कठिन जान पड़ता है। लेकिन इतिहास सदैव किसी उम्मीद के इंतिजार में अपनी कहानी कहता है।

Could CDC have been a better torchbearer to fight the “variant of concern” in India?

Dr Soumik Chatterjee, Physician & Social Litterateur
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Could CDC have been a better torchbearer to fight the “variant of concern” in India?

An insubstantial and enfeebled healthcare system of India has perhaps eventually collapsed when the hospitals have already been saturated and had to turn away boundless number of patients. There aren’t enough beds, there is an acute need for all kinds of medicines, medical supplies and equipments. The middle-tier and apex hospitals in the Mumbai, Bengal and Delhi regions are running short on oxygen. Paradoxically, earlier this year, authorities stamped out most of the lockdown restrictions which were meticulously crafted to limit the spread of the deadly virus. The common mass unhanded their personal protective equipments with many becoming absolute non-compliant with the social distancing protocols. Large mass gatherings
took place, including election rallies and religious festivals which eventually led to a lanceolated spike in newly diagnosed positive cases and has gradually prompted lockdown-like restrictions across various states of the country since early April of this year.

The B. 1. 617 variant of coronavirus which was first detected in India in October 2020, has been classified as a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The B.1.617 variant carries two mutations, E484Q and L452R, both of which are considered to help the virus evade antibodies in the immune system. As a result, the “varient of concern” become partially resistant to one or more vaccines and turns out to be national apprehension.

Vaccinating even 70% of the nation’s 1.4 billion people was always going to be herculean, back-breaking and challenging. However, till end of April 2021, India bought roughly 350 million doses of the two approved vaccines – the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, manufactured as COVISHEILD by the Serum Institute of India, and COVAXIN b th Bharat Biotech International Limited, which proved insufficient to inoculate even 20% of the country’s population.

On the contrary, countries backed and upheld by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) like the USA, who pre-ordered more doses than they required nearly a year before the vaccines became available for immunisation, are now slowly yet steadily heading toward the pre-pandemic time with huge relaxations in mask guidelines. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky declared anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing. A cocktail of blunders has engufled the world’s largest vaccine manufacturing country, thus, turning the vaccination drive fragile and eventually making the situation less favourable.

For the past 20 years, CDC has successfully established technical collaboration with the Government of India (GoI), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to address India’s public health priorities. CDC support to the National Public Health Surveillance Project strengthened implementation of polio and measles vaccination campaigns, outbreak response activities, and surveillance. CDC supports the world’s largest nationwide behavioral sentinel surveillance, and integrated biological and behavioral surveillance among key populations. CDC’s advanced molecular diagnostic trainings helped the National Institute of Virology led influenza laboratory network scale up PCR based SARS-Cov2 testing in India.

CDC has been helping India prepare for pandemics in alignment with India’s Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response Plan, through laboratory strengthening, clinicians’ training on appropriate case management and infection control. CDC India continues to support advanced, intermediate and frontline Field Epidemiology Training Programs, provide mentorship for outbreak investigations, surveillance evaluations, COVID-19 activities, and regular remote training. CDC collaborated with MoHFW and WHO to train a total of 1200 Point of Entry (POE) officials (including airport handlers, immigration, and law-enforcement staff) on managing public health emergencies. (Facts claimed as in CDC website)

The nation, silently, is in urgent requisite of trained epidemiologists-led epidemiologic studies and evidence-based-research to target the efficacy and effectiveness of various strategies to prevent virus transmission. There is a dire need of health evaluation studies to assess public health and political responses to the pandemic and to formulate evidence-based alternatives to population-wide lockdowns. A collaborative consortium based approach with CDC as the touchbearer, can possibly reproduce better results in effective decision making to hault the diabolical virus.

2021 के अंत तक सबको लग जायेगी वैक्सीन, सरकार ने रोडमेप किया पेश

manumaharaj01
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2021 के अंत तक सबको लग जायेगी वैक्सीन, सरकार ने रोडमेप किया पेश

भारत में तबाही मचा रही कोरोना की दूसरी लहर से लड़ने के लिए केन्द्र सरकार युद्धस्तर पर कार्य कर रही है। इसी के साथ केंद्र सरकार ने 18 वर्ष से ऊपर के सभी लोगो को 2021 के अंत तक कोरोना टीकाकरण के अभियान को पूरा करने का रोडमैप प्रस्तुत कर दिया है।

इस साल के अंत तक 18 वर्ष की आयु से अधिक के सभी लोगो को कोरोना वैक्सीन के दोनों डोज़ लग जाएंगे। जुलाई तक 51.6 करोड़ वैक्सीन के डोज़ की उपलब्धता होगी।

जिस प्रकार से काँग्रेस और अन्य विपक्षी पार्टियां वैक्सीन की कमी पर लगातार केन्द्र सरकार पर तंज कस रहे थे उसे देखते हुए केन्द्र सरकार ने देश के लोगो के प्रति अपनी निष्ठा और जिम्मेदारी को सबके सामने दर्शाया है ताकि सभी विपक्षियों को ये साफ समझ आये की केन्द्र सरकार देश की आम जनता की जान और माल को लेकर बहुत गंभीर है। 

• वैक्सीन टास्क फ़ोर्स प्रमुख डॉ. पाल ने लगाया चीन के आकड़ो पर प्रश्नचिन्ह

चीन ने जिस प्रकार से अपने देश मे कोरोना वैक्सीनेसन का आंकड़ा जाहिर किया है उसपर सवालिया निशान उठाते हुए वैक्सीन टास्क फ़ोर्स के प्रमुख डॉ. वी.के. पाल ने कहा कि अमेरिका ही पूरे विश्व मे एक अकेला ऐसा देश है जिसने कोरोना वैक्सीन की अब तक 25 करोड़ डोज़ लगा दी है और इसका कारण ये भी है कि अमेरिका में टीकाकरण भारत से एक महीने पहले ही शुरू हो गया था।

उन्होंने कहा कि अमेरिका जैसे सम्पन्न देश को 17 करोड़ कोरोना का टीका लगाने में 115 दिन लग गए थे। वही भारत जिसके पास सीमित संसाधन है बावजूद इसके भारत ने 114 दिनों में कोरोना वैक्सीन के 17 करोड़ डोज़ लगा दिए।

कोरोना वैक्सीन की मौजूदा उपलब्धता और भविष्य के रोडमैप पर बात करते हुए डॉ पाल ने कहा कि केंद्र सरकार ने अब तक कुल 35.6 करोड़ कोरोना वैक्सीन के डोज़ का आर्डर दे दिया है।

इनमें कोवैक्सीन और कोविशील्ड  की 27.6 करोड़ डोज़ है। जुलाई तक इन सभी वैक्सीन की आपुर्ति निश्चित है और इसके प्रति केन्द्र सरकार गंभीर भी है।

• वैक्सीन का पूरा उत्पादन भारत मे ही होगा

 केंद्र सरकार द्वारा तैयार की गई इस खास प्रकार के टीकाकरण का उत्पादन भारत मे ही होगा। सारे कोरोना वैक्सीन के डोज़ भारत मे ही बनेंगे। नीति आयोग की सदस्यता और वैक्सीन के लिए बनाई गयी खास प्रकार की टास्क फोर्स के प्रमुख डॉ. वी. के. पाल कहते है कि वैक्सीन की उपलब्धता बढ़ाने के लगातार प्रयास किए जा रहे है।

इन प्रयासों के परिणाम आप सभी के सामने आगामी महीनों से दिखने भी लगेंगे। वैक्सीन पर हो रही बेवजह की आलोचनाओ को सीधे तौर पर जवाब देते हुए डॉ पाल ने कहा कि किसी को भी वैक्सीन की आपूर्ति पर सवाल उठाने से पहले ये ध्यान रखना चाहिए कि भारत 17.5 करोड़ से अधिक कोरोना वैक्सीन की डोज़ बनाकर पूरे विश्व मे तीसरे सबसे बड़े कोरोना वैक्सीन उत्पादक के रूप में उभरा है।

Oppression or universal deception?- The Palestinian truth

Manash Pratim Dutta
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Oppression or universal deception?- The Palestinian truth

Oftentimes, we tend to buy into an idea which is marketed singularly in the form of distorted actualities aimed at induced estrangement of our own communities. We, as animate beings stuck somewhere between the humdrum and hectic pace of routine life rarely want to delve into depths of the issue and get carried away by what is being presented to us as authentic.

That’s the typical Palestinian victim card version of the entire plot dating back to the Arab-Israeli War of 1948.

In the most disastrous turnout of events following the recent Al-Aqsa mosque episode, Israel launched retaliatory counterstrikes against Hamsa & its terror affiliations towards The Gaza Strip— a military self defence move which Netanyahu claims as fundamental to ensure homeland safety and is backed by The US President, Joe Biden while adding that he hopes the conflict is sorted out at the earliest.

While it shouldn’t be astounding to realize that most of The Labour MPs of The UK are stern believers of appeasement politics, the trend’s been increasingly admired and emulated by global pop-icons and celebrities of non-majoritarian communities hailing from the country.

Here’s the most recent Instagram post of the once avowed atheist, mostly apolitical, Zayn Malik (an internationally renowned English singer-songwriter and an ex-member of the prominent boyband, “One Direction” and the only son of Yaser Malik — a first generation British-Pakistani musician/songwriter) which fails to portray the other side of the story :

It’s indubitably true that civilians at both the Israeli and Palestinian ends suffered casualties .However, the damage done to the Palestinian side was significantly more owing to their lack of an active anti missile defence system unlike Israel which intercepted more than 90% of rockets fired by Hamas with its state of the art Iron Dome anti missile defence technology.The blame game simply doesn’t fit if one opponent dares to possess an equally active role in a warlike situation yet ends up being a crybaby after being unable to shield its civilians, devoid of sophisticated tools of conventional warfare since the Government military funds are ultimately shifted to fundamentalist militant groups like The Hamas.

With the violence escalating and death toll in Gaza reaching 85 and numerous ground situation reports covered by the western media, here are the unseen reports & reality check of the equally tragic scenario in much of Israel.

This 6 yo Israeli boy, Ido, was killed by one of the 1000+ rockets fired by Hamas militants while at his family’s home in Sderot,Israel. (Source: IDF)
32 yo Soumya Santhosh from Idukki, Kerala was killed by Hamas rocket attacks leaving behind her husband and 9 yo son. The Israeli Ambassador to India, Ron Malka offered his condolences while condemning the act. (Source : Israel in India/Twitter)

Do you still think extremist outfits like The Hamas cares a tad bit about the civilian security of their own country? Well, you might reconsider your thoughts.

Source : IDF/Instagram

A 7 month old Israeli baby almost died because a group of Arabs, supposedly on a stone pelting spree started hurling stones and rocks on her family’s car and it hurt her head.

They were just a few instances of underreported ferity subjected on the Israeli side.

Despite the conflicts, Israel still has a sizeable Palestinian-Arab population who relish the same rights like every other individual and lead their lives with dignity.In fact, there are Arab members and a Palestinian party in The Knesset—The Parliament of The State of Israel.

Thus, there needs to be a balanced approach in maintaining international diplomacy by India, keeping view of the former’s ties with Israel while confirming to guidelines issued by The UN.

Doomscrolling, languishing and survivor’s guilt: The three sabers of doom of a nation’s mental well-being

Mannat Arora
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Doomscrolling, languishing and survivor’s guilt: The three sabers of doom of a nation’s mental well-being

As countless news outlets and social media pages have relayed to you, today, India’s healthcare system lies at the brink of collapse, and no one but our government is to blame. Fear engulfs me as I flip through the newspaper or scroll down on Twitter, the fear of what tomorrow may look like, if there is one. In the seventeen years that I have lived on this planet, and in this country, I have witnessed attacks of terrorism, riots over religion, towns ablaze over politics, and endless sorrow over our broken democratic system, and yet I couldn’t have even vaguely imagined the helplessness I feel now. And it only seems to get worse. 

Doomscrolling, a frequent practice amidst the pandemic, is the act of mindlessly and impulsively consuming bad news through social media or news sites. On multiple occasions I have caught myself spending hours, eyes glued to the screen, breathing in the country’s plight. I understand the temptation of picking up your phone and going straight to Twitter, be it just to catch up on the news. And then, before you know it, you’ve lost four hours and you still can’t stop. Even though it’s hard to resist the urge of not knowing what’s happening at all times, we must limit our screen time. The internet is flooded with traumatic images and videos that can only cause distress. As important as it is to be sympathetic towards the suffering of our fellow citizens, we must also pay heed to our own mental health. On the surface, it may sound selfish or irresponsible, but consider what good doomscrolling could possibly bring. We can only be of help to others if we have our minds about us. 

Another dominant emotion in 2021 is “languishing.” You may have encountered it when you saw your assignments piling up but felt as if there was nothing you could do about it, or when a simple task like showering or making your bed was “a lot.” As described by Adam Grant, “it’s a sense of stagnation and emptiness.” It may not be apparent, but it feels like a loss of purpose. Symptoms include lack of motivation, burnout, or numbness. It is very real and adversely affects our ability to be active or productive, and contrary to what many school teachers and college professors believe, it’s not synonymous with laziness. It feels confusing, as if you’re viewing your life in the third person, unsure when you’ll feel like yourself again. However, you must know that you are not alone in this and that there is an army of people out there who can relate to your sentiments and like you, might be waiting for someone to start the conversation. Unfortunately, there is no conclusive cure to languishing, but the first step towards improvement can be recognizing and naming your problem.

Another mental health condition that has exacerbated during the second wave of covid-19 is “survivor’s guilt” or “survivor’s syndrome.” It is most common amongst recovered covid-19 patients. Multiple recovered patients have stated that they feel guilty about “hoarding” beds or medicines that they may not have needed as much as the next person. This guilt increases with age, as one begins to feel as though they have lived long enough and someone youthful better deserves the treatment they’re receiving. The number of deaths we hear about on a daily basis is heartbreaking and as we look at these staggering figures or the photographs of overcrowded crematoriums, it is likely we experience a sense of shame. While the country gasps for air and loses its dignity over basic amenities, it feels wrong to be doing just okay. This guilt can also stem from privilege- of having a steady job or being able to afford and access healthcare resources in this era of financial ruin. Although one must realize that it’s not an individual’s fault for feeling this way, even if they come from a place of privilege. We are currently undergoing immense and unprecedented trauma to which nobody is immune.

India has always had a bone to pick with mental health, but in such times when we reek of grief and anxiety, it has become critical to speak up. Who would have thought that in our teenage years, instead of worrying about examinations and gossiping with friends, we’d be worried about arranging oxygen cylinders and plasma, and calling up absolute strangers for the same? I certainly didn’t. Although not widely discussed, Doomscrolling, Languishing and Survivor’s Guilt are real issues which, if left unaddressed, can transform into full-blown mental health disorders. Most of us, whether we realize it or not, have feeble mental health at the moment and the only way to get better is to engage in self-care practices and therapy. And as clichéd as it may sound, I’d like to remind you that “This too shall pass.” But until it does, know that it’s okay to want to lay in your bed and wallow, it’s okay if you skip a shower, it’s okay to take a break from work, it’s okay; because none of what’s happening around is. 

Immunized and the Unimmunized

UmaRajHashviSailu
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Immunized and the Unimmunized

Being immunised is a safety measure that every one must be blessed irrespective of age criteria but being unimmunised pose a threat who are not immunised with vaccines, a thin line of separation between the immunised and the unimmunised and must be filled in to bridge the gap between the two. Being vaccinated is the only one source that can break the chain of the virus and come clean by following safety norms for ourselves as well as for others.

Imposing lockdown will not slow down the process but will create haywire and confusion among ourselves landing ourselves in a place of nowhere as we all know we are running short of vaccines at present. The reason behind this is that we have imported more vaccines more than speculated leaving ourselves with no vaccine and finally endangering ourselves which is not healthy on the part of the Government. The more we import simultaneously we got to export. Vaccines are the need of the hour before we endanger ourselves. Play safe and stay safe is the need of the hour. In abroad, people are almost vaccinated whereas in India we are vaccinated with single doses where we are endangering not only our society but also we are running under lockdown landing ourselves in dismay. Our future is uncertain as long as we don’t arm ourselves with vaccines.

Almost all the age groups must be vaccinated in order to avoid the spread of the virus and follow safety precautions that is our social responsibility to keep ourselves safe. Don’t jeopardize our society and we must strictly follow the safety precautions to the end. It seem we have developed fear among ourselves that resulted in the number of deaths which are not supposed to happen. We must conquer our fears if we want to drive away the virus. Start loving our neighbours, near and dear ones, relatives and our society and Corona will be gone away forever. Love and unite and not separation.

Indian journalism in 21st century: Old wine in new bottle

Bimal Prasad Mohapatra
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Indian journalism in 21st century: Old wine in new bottle

Starting with, I refer a personal anecdote happened in my professional life as the same has a direct connect with the issue I have to deal with in this piece.

Late 1990s, I was in-charge (virtual head) of a university affiliated private technical college in Western Odisha. One fine morning, on my arrival at my office, I was told by one of my subordinate staff, “A Senior Journalist of Rourkela Times (name changed) wants to meet me. He is waiting in the reception.” As I was surprised, I responded him, “Only one young man in his early 20s is sitting in reception. And you are saying Sr. Journalist? Anyway, request him to wait for a few minutes. I have an urgent tele-talk with university regarding conduct of examination. After that, I shall talk to him.”

And I picked up the phone.

I had just started speaking to Controller of Examination, the so-called Sr. Journalist forced into my chamber literally refusing to listen to my subordinate. My appeal to him to allow me to finish the talk went in vain. Finally, I told CoE, “Somebody has intruded into my chamber. Please allow me to throw this man out of the room for a peaceful talk.”

“What?? You will throw me out of this room”, barked the intruder and continued throwing a visiting card on my table, “I am a Sr. Correspondence. Don’t you know the power of press and journalist? Do you think what you people are doing is not known to us?”

Literally, he was in a venture of threatening and blackmailing me; of course, nothing new for an executive.

In reply, I told him, “I know the power of journalist and press, and also the power of an intruder. And, also I’m well aware of, how to deal with an intruder.”

After a short angry exchange of words in front of already gathered staff and students, he threw on my table a letter from his editor asking for advertisement, and factually ordered me to speak to his editor as he was leaving. After three days, I got a call from Editor-cum-President of District Journalist Association. He started with, “You didn’t call me? Don’t you know how to behave with Sr. Journalist? Etc. etc.” I attended the call with due patience. It was a different matter that the same Editor-cum-President of DJA was arrested as ordered by then District Magistrate-cum-Collector in a few days.

Means, I wish to highlight that the basic state of affairs of Indian journalism in so far as professional ethics and credibility of profession are concerned haven’t changed much when we compare the same to its early days when controversial Irish man James Augustus Hicky started publishing Hicky’s Bengal Gazette in 1780. After two years of action-packed run, the first newspaper of India was forced to close publishing and the editor was imprisoned as he was found guilty of making ‘false accusation of corruption’ against East India Company senior officials including wife of Governor of Bengal by company’s judiciary. There is no sufficient information about authenticity of Hicky charge or Hicky was just making allegation for his vested interest. But, it is a fact that starting a newspaper or news channel or write something in social media for whatever reason is as simple as entering a blue colour sector or politics in democracy though the stature of press or news and views collection and dissemination have increased many fold and got the nomenclature of Fourth Estate in democracy where First Estate is Executive, Second Estate is Parliament and Third Estate is Judiciary which are directly involved in state governance.

In the meanwhile, in over near about two centuries and four decades of its (Indian Media) existence, the media/journalism has expanded both vertically and horizontally with lateral introduction of electronic media (Radio and Television) in 20th Century and latest being Social and Digital medias in early 21st Century more or less matching with media/journalism development in Western developed democracies, and India has moved from colonial rule to self-rule. Apart from the above, during the period, Media reach has experienced may fold increase. Major development post-independence is non-Indian ownership of media houses have been abolished, and lately though Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been allowed into media industry, they have not been allowed controlling stakes by elected government despite huge demand for the same. In nutshell, one can confidentially says that Indian media’s all the governance machineries are in Indians’ hands for good or bad.

And most importantly, Indian Media since independence has been enjoying democratic institution status as Fourth Estate or Fourth Power as coined by Irish statesman, economist and philosopher Edmund Burke in British Parliamentary debate in 1787 in nation’s governance and policy matters -though indirectly- by way of providing valuable platforms for debates and discussions on governance and policy matters, collection and dissemination of news and views apart from playing the role of common people’s ears, eyes and mouths to a great extent.

Notwithstanding above positives, Indian Media has been accused of bias in news and views collection and dissemination, fake news circulation and unethical propaganda in all media platforms (print, electronics, digital and social) with involvement of senior journalists having privilege to get publish their scripts in leading newspaper columns, prime time anchoring in leading TV news channels, and millions of followings in Social Media. Since Social Media is the fastest and has wide reach in this age of internet connected smart-phone-in-every-hands up to lower middle-class, any fake news sensitive to religion, ethnic, sect, caste, language, profession, etc. circulation can destroyed social harmony before the law and order machineries of government swing into action to control the situation and arrest the damage in many cases.

Here, I bring to this discussion an example that recently taken place and is in knowledge of not only law and order authority and government but also the large public and civil society members. The example is the tweets of some senior journalists, anchors, civil society members, and politicians on death of a farmer while violent farmers’ agitation, which in the meanwhile was given communal colour by some unscrupulous vested interests assumed to be affected by the Government of India’s new Farm Laws intended to benefit farmers, had taken over the vital road network in national capital on Republic Day 2021. Despite violation of pre-accepted agreement regarding manner and path of agitation between Delhi Police and agitators by latter, the former had exhibited unprecedented restraint on the face of violent provocation.

One farmer was killed when his driven tractor hard hit a road barricade resulting overturn of farm equipment -used as terror weapon on the occasion- on the farmer himself and killed him on the spot on the face of large number of TV News Channels and nearby CCTVs. But, the above listed professionals tweeted that ‘a farmer was allegedly killed in police firing.’ In a sore-charged situation, a sane mind can imagine the negative impact of this tweet on the agitators. Fortunately, the law and order authority equipped with latest communication technology and having genuine desire to minimize the human causality on the both sides (police and agitators), swung into action collecting visual of the accident and communicated the agitators and public that the farmer died in an accident, not in police firing as tweeted by some dubious vested interest.

And police filed criminal cases against all alleged fake news peddlers over social media alleging, “These people purposely spread this unfortunate and misleading news through their Twitter handles and said that a protestor driving tractor was killed by the police. It is known that despite anti-social elements’ instigation and injuries inflicted upon the police personnel, officials showed restraint from using force and attempted to control the situation. Despite this, as per the pre-planned controversy this news was spread to cause riots and incite tensions between factions. Such riots on communal lines would’ve affected neighbouring countries as well.” Only one senior TV news anchor and Consulting Editor was taken off the air for two weeks and docked one month salary by his employer as punishment for fake news circulation.

Among the accused are a Congress MP, who is a former Minister of State for External Affairs and former Under Secretary General at UNO, Mr. Shashi Tharoor, and six journalists: Rajdeep Sardesai – Consulting Editor of India Today, Mrinal Pandey – former Editor of Hindustan and former Chairman of Prasar Bharati,  Zafar Agha, Group Editor of National Herald and Chief Editor of Quami Awaz, and Editors of The Caravan magazine Paresh Nath, Anant Nath and Vinod K Jose. Except Sardesai, none of the above personality has been punished by their employers.

On 13 April 2021, Shashi Tharoor writes in a column under title “Modi’s War on the press” for Prague based Project Syndicate -among other objectionable facts- that ‘In late January, police filed criminal charges – including sedition, which carries a life sentence – against eight journalists who covered a protest in Delhi that turned violent. Their crimes: reporting the claims of a dead protester’s family that he had been shot and killed by the police. I face the same charges for having tweeted their claim when it was reported.’ Here questionable points is the timing of tweets made by politician and journalist on the one side and dead farmer family’s claim based on which Shashi Tharoor claims in the article that he and journalists tweeted. Were the family members of dead farmer accompanied him in the spot of accident and so they ‘claimed’, and based on their claim Congress/opposition leader and journalists tweeted instantly that ‘farmer is killed in police firing’?

On 13 October 2020, there was a column called Traditional Media should not ape digital media by Harish Bijoor in The New Indian Express; the paper in its original avatar was called The Indian Express started by late media baron Ram Nath Goenka, nicknamed ‘Warrior Journalist’, in 1932. The piece has mostly discussed about advertising revenue and its impact on media contents, and among others, the struggle between physical/traditional media (print, TV and Radio) and digital media (social media, blog, etc.) for attention, and in the process, the loss of ‘professional credibility’ of physical media. Going further, he writes, “While digital media is a bit of an anarchy, where every Tom, Dick and Harish is a content creator and publisher, the physical medium is a carefully curated one with a responsible Editor at the top of the food chain of news and content. There is a certain degree of responsibility, ethos and care that physical media such as print, television and radio offer.” And Harish Bijoor advised, “Newspapers, television and radio still enjoy that one thing that digital media does not in India: credibility. Why forsake that?”

In the Fourth Estate, Editor holds the pivotal position. Despite this, it is not that he could scrutinize all the news coming from hundreds of field reporters, agencies, etc. and select what to go for print and telecast. Therefore, he is supposed to issue a guideline to his subordinates on selection of news. This is there in every media house. But, in case of critical news and views having direct and instant negative impact on society and national politics, economy, culture, international relation, etc., the editor cannot divest of this selection responsibility. And, in case of his own pieces either in physical or social media, excuse of ‘farmer’s family claimed, so I write’ cannot be acceptable. The tweet in above case is certainly done with vested interest. And if this is accepted without any whip; in no time, it will be a trend. Net result is known.

Governance will end up firefighting social conflicts successfully or unsuccessfully. If unsuccessfully, then the situation may lead to anarchy. Can any responsible elected government worth its salt afford a nation under its governance push to anarchy? When the responsible elected government acts, certainly the affected vested interest will write column in envious developed Western media and social media (later is freely accessible) -many of them run by anti-Indian forces and evangelists- for whom India’s harmonious socio-economic-political progress under indigenous regime is an eye-sore.

What I mean to conclude here is Harish Bijoor might designate digital media/social media content writers –they are in billions spread every nook and corner of the world wherever there is social media connectivity- Tom-Dick-Harish (Harish is coincidentally present in the name of Harish Bijoor and his name used terms Tom-Dick-Harish), but is there any difference between social media’s Tom-Dick-Harish and physical/traditional media’s editors, who are who’s who in the state/society, and people in democracy look at them for guidance during national crisis as they are believed intellectual icons and holding positions that deserve salutation above any other professions, but acted irresponsibly?

Here, I would like to take my readers to my school and college days. There were the time when editors were invited to school and college functions. Now, pop-stars have replaced them. Post-Republic Day national capital riot, I read in one social media site one senior Indian journalist and in a Europe based online portal a senior professor (Indian Origin) in Western university praised pop-star Rihanna’s tweet supporting farmers’ agitation. Here, therefore, question arises why not appoint pop-star as editor or to write column on economic policies. Since they have huge popularity, paper sale and TV viewership could increase many fold benefiting Fourth Estate industry. Sometimes, it comes to my mind that this possibility cannot be ruled out if we go by what is happening in college function these days?

Means: what kind of intellectual degradation has taken place in India? And the Fourth Estate has not left behind.

In late 18th Century, there were Tom-Dick-Harish in Hicky’s Bengal Gazette, The India Gazette, etc. and now in early 21st Century, there are Tom-Dick-Harish in Social Media as well as in little known Rourkela Times and in very popular India Today, National Herald, The Caravan, etc. though the journey of Indian media has seen many distinguished journalists and press barons and baron-cum-editors like Sisir Ghosh (His zeal for free press forced British Government to enact the Vernacular Press Act – 1878, and he, instead of succumbing to British government highhandedness, started overnight publishing English newspaper in place of Bengali), Ram Nath Goenka (For whom ‘The Indian Express is not an industry. It is mission’. This slogan has been carried on the banner of The New Indian Express editorial page even now after three decades of his death), Mahatma Gandhi (He did not allowed advertisement in his edited papers fearing the same would indirectly sponsor materialism which he felt not good for Indians), Gopabandhu Das (He on occasion wrote the paper in his own hands), G. Kasturi (He did not allow any content’s publication without repeated verifications which on occasion stalled the news), S. Sadanand (An able editor, an innovator, a fearless patriot; but poor manager of his newspaper, had a sad failure), etc.

In view of this, this author strongly feels the 21st Century Indian journalism is nothing less than ‘Old wine in new bottle’.

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