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When they go low, we go high: Bullying in schools of those who may not behave as per ‘their’ set standards

bhavyagupta
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When they go low, we go high: Bullying in schools of those who may not behave as per ‘their’ set standards

“If one feels the need to hurt other people in order to feel powerful, then they are an extremely weak individual.”

It happens everywhere. We see it happen everywhere, but we decide to keep mum. It happens in schools, colleges, social or market places and so on. The impetus behind keeping shut is that a part of you is itself alarmed that you might be their next target if you try to intervene or you yourself cannot figure out if the person in front of you is being bullied or not.

Now, what is bullying? Is it shoving a nerd with oily hair into the wall of the corridor, or is it passing on colored remarks or innuendos on a girl passing by or is it to coerce someone to do something to just have fun at the expense of others, or to intimidate someone to feel powerful, or to play with the mental psyche of a person? Bullying encompasses all of this.

I say this as a teenager who has faced bullying, been traumatized by it and have overcome it. It took me some time to gather the courage to write about this topic which is deeply personal to me. Bullying is something that is faced by many of us but getting out of the trauma or the repercussions it has on our mental, emotional, physical being is few and far between. I always have been a versatile student, excelling at whatever I do. Be it dancing, arts, speaking, acting or my academics, I have excelled and as per my opinion that was something that irked many students. Just being me was my mistake!

It was a usual day when I walked out of my school, shortly after which I found a gang of students following me and calling names. It was the last day at school when we all were to give speeches and as I was giving my speech a condescending remark was passed for me in between in front of the whole class, I always tried to utilize my free time at school in studying, so I was called a geek who does not have common sense. I was in the sixth grade when I was doing my aerial dance on the stage and someone passed a remark in the crowd, “I hope she falls down.”

I felt that the problem was in me because maybe I am a socially inept person who can’t talk to people in class or social gatherings. I can still hear those whispers and giggles of groups of students talking about me. I had come to a stage that even if somebody was having a normal conversation with me, I felt that they were trying to tease me or if somebody was talking to another person, I felt as if they were talking about me. We all have been stereotyped at some point by others. They would want us to believe that we are too loud, too shy, too bossy, too fat, too thin, too skinny, she is too dark, he does not have a good jawline, she does not have good collar bones, you look what clothes he/she was wearing, nerd, geek, he/she does not even know how to speak English. Nothing is ever enough. To all those voices, I have learnt to smile and ignore and learnt to look at myself and give myself a sweet little compliment.

We cannot stop bullying, but what we can do is rediscover ourselves. We can ourselves find attributes that define us, positive, negative, good or bad, doesn’t matter. It took me time initially, but I was able to overcome everything and stand tall. I accepted and embraced the aspects that defined me and every time someone tries to tell me who I am I clung on to them. When I have discovered who I am then it does not matter what others think about me.

I may not be perfect but am pretty happy with who I am, and I believe so can you!

Bhavya Gupta

Author Saba Naqvi displays her sheer stupidity by comparing follower count of Rihanna and PM Modi on Twitter

invincible
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Author Saba Naqvi displays her sheer stupidity by comparing follower count of Rihanna and PM Modi on Twitter

On Feb 2, 2021, Saba Naqvi tweeted “#Rihanna has 100 Million followers on twitter while the PM of the world’s most populous democracy who also throws in many appearances, costume change et all has 63 million. just saying”

Saba Naqvi’s Tweet on which she got trolled!

Here are some of the brutal responses she received after that tweet:

And finally, Mr. Ram articulating the need for posts like this.

Budget 2021- A welcome shift in policy perspective

Ritu Bhandari
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Budget 2021- A welcome shift in policy perspective

Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, referred to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 as ‘sui generis’ (unique in itself), so is the budget she presented. Reading the budget for intent and not just for the measures that it talks about, this is a reformist budget, in context of the structural reforms already undertaken by the Government such as Labour code, Farm Laws and PLI schemes.

The Budget marks a key shift in Government policy perspective; by way of adopting a wider fiscal deficit to increase spending and fuelling economic growth. This reflects the intent to not be constrained by rating agencies or self-imposed inflation targets.

Government deserves credit for stepping away from constraints (fiscal deficit, inflation and rating agencies) and taking a more holistic view and putting in context of what the country needs. There is no better solution to India’s multiple problems from the common man’s poverty, to the young man’s lack of jobs to the lack of competitiveness for the entrepreneur than ‘growth’.

This would be achieved by a sizeable increase in Government Borrowings from the market and no additional Covid-19 taxation burden or Wealth tax on individuals or corporates (as was feared). The stock markets have welcomed the bold shift in policy stance along with a slew of other positive measures as the Sensex surged by 2,300 on Budget day.

Unlike past Budgetary exercise, the budget finances this time are grounded in ‘realism’. The fiscal deficit in FY21RE is pegged at 9.5 per cent of GDP, for which the Government will need to borrow another Rs 800 billion from the market in the next two months. The fiscal deficit in FY22BE is estimated to be 6.8 per cent of GDP (higher than expectation). The Government plans to continue on the path of fiscal consolidation and reach a fiscal deficit level of 4.5 per cent of GDP by FY26P with a fairly steady decline over the period. This is expected to be driven by divestment of Public Sector Enterprises, monetisation of land and increased tax revenues through improved compliance.

Notably, despite the high projected fiscal deficit, the bond yields have only increased by 10 bps as the market seems to have noted the ‘conservative’ approach of the Finance Minister. The fiscal deficit rate projected (FY22 BE) is perhaps higher than expected but market has drawn comfort from the fact that they have not assumed tax buoyancy and there remains a significant upside to nominal GDP growth estimates.

The Budget is high on transparency. The Budget has sought to neutralise one of the key concerns related to off-balance sheet deficit. It has sought to use the opportunity of Covid-19 pandemic year to come clean. But it is also a reflection of the intent that we are fine to live with higher fiscal deficit. The Government will discontinue NSSF loans to FCI for Food Subsidy, which has been a wide source of criticism for the Government as these are off-budget items. The Government has made provisions for these in FY21RE and FY22BE, which could be responsible for the higher fiscal deficit. NSSF loan amount outstanding with FCI as at end FY20 was Rs 2.5 trillion.

The Budget is highly growth-oriented and would boost employment generation with a keen focus on capex in Infrastructure and Health. While the Government has borne the responsibility of capex in the absence of private sector investment over the last 5 years, the Government has signalled its commitment and resolve to step up to kickstart the virtuous cycle.

Out of the total budgeted expenditure of almost Rs 35 trillion in FY22BE, capex accounts for Rs 5.54 trillion (16 per cent share), an increase of 34.5 per cent over FY21BE. As India continues its vaccination program, there is an allocation of Rs 35,000 crores for Covid-19 vaccines in FY22BE, with a promise to cover-up any shortfalls.

There is emphasis on roads and highways infrastructure (National Highway works of over 6,500 km) in the election bound states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Assam. Other infrastructure plans include investment in railway infrastructure, expansion of metro rail network, new technologies of ‘MetroLite’ and ‘MetroNeo’, augmentation of city bus service and 7 new Textile Parks.

Steps such as proposed privatisation of 2 Public Sector Banks (PSB) and one General Insurance company is significant. Significant not because these 2 PSB will lead to significant step up in credit growth, but significant that they are no holy cows. Government is in no business to be in business. PSUs are far less productive as compared to private sector across sectors – Banks, Telecom, Airline, Metals. Hence signalling the intent to monetise and deploy in areas that can help spur growth.

Receipts from disinvestment is estimated at Rs 1.75 trillion in FY22BE. While the Government also announced plans for IPO of LIC in FY22BE, it intends to complete all announced disinvestments of BPCL, Air India, Shipping Corporation of India, Container Corporation of India, IDBI Bank, BEML, Pawan Hans, Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd in the year.

We remain circumspect and sceptical as this may get mired in political opposition and resistance by union. But the message here is that despite the opposition on farm laws, the government is intent on pursuing what it is thinks is economically right even if it is politically inconvenient.

The Budget also outlines a roadmap for strategic Disinvestment over a period of time, with bare minimum Public Sector presence in four strategic sectors (Atomic energy, Space and Defence; Transport and Telecommunications; Power, Petroleum, Coal and other minerals; Banking, Insurance and financial services). Rest all will be privatized or closed down gradually.

The Government believes idle assets will not contribute to AtmaNirbhar Bharat. The Budget outlines a mechanism by way of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in the form of a company to monetize government and PSU held land.

The Budget proposes to launch a National portal for gig, platform, building and construction-workers among others. This will help formulate Health, Housing, Skill, Insurance, Credit, and food schemes for migrant workers. The Budget reiterated that social security benefits will be extended to gig and platform workers. Minimum wages will apply to all categories of workers, and they will all be covered by the Employees State Insurance Corporation. Women will be allowed to work in all categories and also in the night-shifts with adequate protection.

In order to boost domestic manufacturing, cut down on import bills, increase exports and create new jobs, the central government has reiterated the PLI schemes for 13 sectors amounting to Rs 1.97 trillion. The PLI scheme will make Indian manufacturers globally competitive, attract investment in the areas of core competency and cutting-edge technology, ensure efficiencies and create economies of scale. The idea of the PLI program is to get large manufacturers to India, whether integrating India as part of the supply chains or encouraging them to set up new base. By linking incentive to production rather than exports, the government has tried to keep it WTO compliant too.

This Budget continues with the theme of improving ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in India and simplification of compliance as seen in the Labour Laws. Attempts are being made to make all processes simple, transparent and online to the extent possible.

The Budget reiterated that compliance burden on employers will be reduced with single registration and licensing, and online returns. Other measures include benefit to more than 2 lakh companies in reducing compliance burden by changing paid up capital and turnover criteria; exemption from filing income tax returns for senior citizens who only have pension and interest income; reduction in time-limit for re-opening of income tax assessment; relief to small trusts having annual receipt of upto Rs 5 crore; removal of inverted duty structure in GST; setting up of Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) for small taxpayers; setting up of a National faceless Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Centre; audit exemption for persons undertaking 95 per cent of their transaction digitally upto Rs 10 crore etc.

In the backdrop of the ongoing Farmer Protests, the Budget assured continuation of MSP (a key point of dispute) at 1.5 times the cost of production across all commodities. The Budget showed a growth trajectory that will not be constrained by resources. What remains to be seen, is how well this Government can execute the budgetary measures, which marks the beginning of a growth cycle to achieve the promise of a $5 trillion economy.

मोदी विरोध का मानसिक पतन

bibhutisrivastava
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मोदी विरोध का मानसिक पतन

जिस तरह से बंजारों का दल रोजी रोटी के लिए स्थान परिवर्तन करता रहता है लगभग वही स्थिति अब मोदी विरोधियो की हो गयी है। 101 दिन के विफल शाहीन बाग प्रयोग के बाद यह वैचारिक बंजारे किसान आंदोलन में करतब दिखा रहे है।

यहाँ स्पष्ट कर देना चाहता हूँ कि मैँ किसानो का और उनके आंदोलन का पूरा सम्मान करता हूँ। मेरा ऐसा मानना है कि सरकार को जितना कानून बनाने का अधिकार है उतना ही जनता को अपनी असहमति या आपत्ति दर्ज कराने का है। परन्तु मैं किसानो के तौर तरीको से मैं सहमत नहीं हूँ। खास तौर पर हिंसा, धमकी और बात बात पर चुनौती देने वाली बातें गलत है। 26 जनवरी 2021 को दिल्ली की सड़को पर और लाल किले जो हुआ उसका कोई माफ़ी नहीं हो सकती।

खैर अब बंजारों की बात करते हैं। शाहीन बाग़ की विफल टोली का किसान आंदोलन को पूर्ण समर्थन है। ये वो लोग हैं जिन्हे न किसान से मतलब है ना ही मुसलमान से। इन्हे मतलब है हर उस इंसान से जो धारा प्रवाह में मोदी को या मोदी सरकार को कोस सकता है। जो भी मण्डली मोदी विरोध का भजन गाती है ये उसके पास चिपक कर बैठ जाती है। अपनी स्पष्ट प्रगतिशील विचारधारा ना होने के कारण अब यह मण्डली मानसिक पतन और अवसाद की तरफ बढ़ती जा रही है। वैचारिक गरीबी का हाल दिन प्रतिदिन बद से बदतर होता जा रहा है। बेचैनी का भाव हर उस व्यक्ति की तरफ दौड़ लगाने को मजबूर कर देता है जिसमे कोई समर्थन की उम्मीद दिखती है। जब निराशा हाँथ लगती है तब उनके विलाप देखने लायक होता है।

83 साल के अन्ना हज़ारे वो व्यक्ति है जिन्होने अकेले दम पर 2011 में भारत सरकार की जड़े हिला दी थी। अन्ना जी ने किसानो के समर्थन में भूख हड़ताल की घोषणा की थी। घोषणा होते ही मानो जैसे बंजारों को बिन मांगे भगवान मिल गया। उनके बीते दिनों के आंदोलनों की सूची निकाल कर अन्ना को अगला गाँधी तक बता दिया। इस बीच सरकार की तरफ से महाराष्ट्र के पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री अन्ना से मिले और उन्हें बिल के बारे में विस्तार से बताया। अन्ना ने बिल को समझा और इसे किसान हित का बताते हुए उपवास वापस लेने की घोषणा कर दी।

अब अन्ना बंजारों के निशाने पर हैं। बंजारों के लिए अब अन्ना की ईमानदारी, देशप्रेम, नियत सब कुछ सन्देहास्पद है।

रोबिन रिहाना फेंटी “रीरी” पूर्वी कैरेबियन द्वीप बारबडोस में जन्मी अमरीकी गायिका हैं। अपने क्षेत्र में अत्यंत सफल है। परन्तु अक्सर विवादस्पद भी रहती है। अभी हाल ही 2017 में अबू धाबी के शेख ज़ायेद ग्रैंड मस्जिद में उनके फोटो सेशन के बाद मस्जिद प्रबंधन को स्पष्टीकरण जारी करना पड़ा था। इस्लामिक आयतो का अपने गानो में गलत इस्तेमाल का आरोप भी उन पर लगता ही रहता है। उन्होंने ने अभी हाल ही में किसानो का समर्थन किया है।

ग्रेटा टिनटिन थनबर्ग एक 18 साल की बच्ची है जो स्वीडन की रहने वाली है। जलवायु प्रवर्तन को ले कर उनका कड़ा विरोध दुनिया ने देखा जब 2019 हुए UN जलवायु शिखर सम्मलेन में उन्होंने तत्कालीन अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति को अपना गुस्सा दिखाया। उसके बाद से ग्रेटा को प्रसिद्धि मिली। उसके बाद से वो जलवायु के ऊपर काम कर रही है। उन्होंने भी किसानो का समर्थन किया है। उन्होंने अपने समर्थन में अम्बानी, अडानी, भाजपा, आरएसएस आदि का नाम लिया है। यह संदेहास्पद है। इन नामो का उल्लेख भारत की विपक्षी पार्टिया करती है। किसी विदेशी मूल के व्यक्ति को इतनी स्पष्टता होगी यह यकीन करना मुश्किल है।

तीसरा नाम है मिया खलीफा। ये लेबनिज अमेरिकी पोर्न स्टार है। इनको खेती और किसानो की कितनी जानकारी होगी यह कहना मुश्किल है परन्तु इन्होने भी किसान आंदोलन का समर्थन किया है।

चौथा नाम है गीता गोपीनाथ। गीता केरला मूल की कोलकाता में जन्मी अमेरिकी भारतीय हैं। उनकी शिक्षा विख्यात शिक्षण संस्थानों दिल्ली विश्वविद्यलय, वाशिंगटन विश्वविद्यालय एवं प्रिंसटन विश्वविद्यालय में हुयी है। गीता गोपीनाथ प्रख्यात अर्थशाष्त्री होने के साथ साथ अंतर्राष्ट्रीय मुद्रा कोष (IMF) में उच्च पद पर आसीन हैं। पब्लिक लाइफ और अर्थशास्त्र उनकी विशेषता है। उन्होंने किसान बिल का समर्थन किया है। उनके अनुसार किसान बिल किसानो की आय बढ़ायेगा। उन्होंने बिल को किसान हित में बताया है।

किसान बिल या विरोध को समझने के लिए इन चार नामों में गीता कही बेहतर शिक्षित, तार्किक, व्यवस्थित और सक्षम है। परन्तु बंजारों की पसंद मिया खलीफा, रीरी और ग्रेटा है। कारण स्पष्ट है, पहले तीन नाम बंजारों को समर्थन देने वाले है। अराजकता में तर्क का स्थान नहीं होता। बल्कि तर्क को जान बुझ कर नज़रअंदाज़ किया जाता है। देश की अस्थिर करने के लिए अराजकता का बना रहना जरुरी है।

अब सवाल यह है की ये बंजारे किसके इशारे पर यह सब कर रहे है। मदारी वो लोग हैं जो सात दशकों तक इस देश पर राज करते रहे। जिन्होंने देश को निजी संपत्ति माना। जिन्हे सत्ता से दूर रहना बर्दास्त नहीं हो पा रहा। नरेंद्र दामोदरदास मोदी एक ऐसा नाम है जो न सिर्फ सत्ता पर काबिज है बल्कि मजबूती से प्रधानमंत्री के पद पर बैठा भी है। मोदी की भारतीयों के बीच लोकप्रियता मदारियों और बंजारों को बेचैन करती है। मोदी की तरफ से एकाधिकार को चुनौती ही नहीं मिली है बल्कि आने वाले कई सालो में सत्ता में वापसी के भी कोई आसार नज़र नहीं आ रहे।

सादगी के साथ सार्वजनिक जीवन जीना इन मदारियों की मज़बूरी है। इस लिए शोर मचाने के लिए मदारियों ने अपने जमूरों और बंजारे छोड़ रखे है। मदारी इशारा करता है और ये नाचने लगते है। कोई वैचारिक या तार्किक स्तर अब नहीं रह गया है। अब सिर्फ एक ही तर्क है मोदी विरोध। भले ही उसके लिए देश का ही विरोध क्यों न करना पड़े। यह वैचारिक पतन 26 जनवरी को दिखा। जब अराजक तत्वों ने लाल किले पर धार्मिक झंडा फेहरा दिया तब युवा कांग्रेस के एक अधिकृत ट्विटर हैंडल से ट्वीट किया गया की “किसानो ने लाल किला फ़तेह कर लिया”. यह अब और न गिरे बस प्रभु से यही प्रार्थना है।

दंगाईयों की सरकारी पैरवी असंवैधानिक

rakeshsain
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दंगाईयों की सरकारी पैरवी असंवैधानिक

पंजाब सरकार ने दिल्ली में गणतंत्र दिवस पर हुई ट्रैक्टर परेड के दौरान हुई हिंसा के आरोपियों को नि:शुल्क कानूनी सहायता उपलब्ध करवाने का फैसला लिया है। राज्य के मुख्यमंत्री कैप्टन अमरिंदर सिंह ने ट्वीट कर बताया कि सरकार ने 70 वकीलों का पैनल बनाया है जो जेल में बंद दंगा आरोपी किसानों को कानूनी सहायता उपलब्ध करवायेगा। राज्य के कैबिनेट मंत्री श्री सुखजिंदर सिंह रंधावा व श्री सुखबिंदर सिंह सरकारिया ने बताया कि दिल्ली पुलिस की तरफ से गिरफ्तार किसानों के केसलडऩे के लिए पंजाब सरकार की तरफ से वकीलों की टीम बनाई गई है। यह टीम इन किसानों के परिवार के साथ संपर्क करके वकालतनामों पर हस्ताक्षर करवाएगी और मामलों की बिना किसी फीस के कानूनी पैरवी करेगी। काबिलेजिक्र है कि गणतंत्रता दिवस को ट्रैक्टर मार्च के नाम पर कथित किसानों ने दिल्ली में न केवल उत्पात मचाया बल्कि लाल किले पर तिरंगे झंडे का अपमान किया और 394 पुलिस वालों को जख्मी कर दिया था। दिल्ली पुलिस ने विभिन्न धाराओं के तहत इनके खिलाफ मामले दर्ज किए हैं।

पंजाब में कांग्रेस सरकार द्वारा विशुद्ध रूप से राजनीतिक दृष्टि से लिए गए इस फैसले की वैधानिकता पर सवाल उठने शुरू हो चुके हैं। विधि विशेषज्ञों का मानना है कि संवैधानिक रूप से चुनी हुई सरकार अपने राजनीतिक लाभ के लिए इस तरह का कदम नहीं उठा सकती। मुख्यमंत्री निजी तौर पर या अपनी पार्टी के रूप में ही किसी अपराध के आरोपियों को मदद कर सकते हैं। लोगों ने सवाल किया है कि कानून अनुसार दर्ज हुए परचे पर कोई संवैधानिक रूप से चुनी गई सरकार किस तरह आरोपियों को मदद कर सकती है? जनता के गाढ़े खून पसीने की कमाई को किस आधार पर कोई दल अपनी राजनीतिक महत्त्वाकांक्षाओं और इन हुड़दंगियों के बचाव में पानी की तरह बहा सकता है? वैसे राजनीतिक विश्लेषक मानते हैं कि दंगे के आरोपी कथित किसानों के प्रति मुख्यमंत्री की यह दरियादिली साफ इशारा करती है कि वे मान रहे हैं कि आंदोलन के पीछे कांग्रेस पार्टी का ही हाथ है।

गणतंत्र दिवस को हुए दंगों के तत्काल बाद कांग्रेस पार्टी सहित समूचे विपक्षी दलों ने अपनी पुरानी आदत के अनुसार इनके पीछे भारतीय जनता पार्टी और राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ का हाथ बताया था परंतु अब सवाल उठने लगे हैं कि अगर हुड़दंगी भाजपा और संघ के कार्यकर्ता हैं तो कांग्रेस की सरकार इन पर इतनी मेहरबान क्यों हो रही है ? कांग्रेस सरकार का इनके बचाव में आना अपने आप में यह स्वीकारोक्ति है कि दंगाई कहीं न कहीं कांग्रेस के ही उकसाए हुए थे। नियम अनुसार तो किसी अपराधी या आरोपी को सरकारें वैधानिक सेवा प्राधिकरण के जरिए लोक अदालतें लगा कर नि:शुल्क कानूनी सहायता उपलब्ध करवाती हैं परंतु इसके लिए विशेष पात्रता निर्धारित की गई और उसकी अलग से वैधानिक प्रक्रिया अपनाई जाती है। दिल्ली के दंगों के आरोपी उक्त कोई पात्रता पूरी नहीं करते और न ही उन्होंने इसके लिए कोई आवेदन किया है तो क्यों पंजाब सरकार अपने राज्य की सीमा से बाहर जा कर असंवैधानिक कदम उठा रही है ? स्पष्ट है कि इसका उद्देश्य विशुद्ध रूप से राजनीतिक है न कि किसानों की मदद करना। कितने दुर्भाग्य की बात है कि एक तरफ जहां राज्य सरकार वित्तीय संकट का राग अलापती नहीं थकती और इसके लिए केंद्र सरकार को कोसती रही है वहीं अपने राजनीतिक लाभ के लिए जनता का पैसा दंगा आरोपियों की पैरवी पर खर्च करने जा रही है। राज्य में कांग्रेस सरकार के आने के बाद विकास ने तो मानो वनवास ही ले लिया परंतु राजनीतिक खेल के लिए सरकारी खजाने के मुंह खोलने की तैयारी चल रही लगती है।

दिल्ली में हुए दंगों के बाद पंजाब में उलटबांसियों को क्रम बढ़ता ही जा रहा है। यहां की पंचायतों ने लगता है कि ‘मेरा दंगाई-अच्छा दंगाई’ का सिद्धांत अपना लिया है। यही कारण है कि लाल किले के मुख्य दंगाकारी गायकार दीप सिद्धू व गैंगस्टर लक्खा सिधाना के गांवों की पंचायतों ने प्रस्ताव पारित कर इनके दुष्कर्मों का समर्थन किया है और कहा है कि अगर ये दंगाई हैं तो सारा गांव दंगाई है। दिल्ली के लाल किले में 26 जनवरी को हुई घटना के संबंध में दिल्ली पुलिस ने पंजाब के लक्खा सिधाना को नामजद किया है। गांव सिधाना की पंचायत और ग्रामीणों ने एक प्रस्ताव डाला। इस प्रस्ताव में पंचायत एवं ग्रामीणों ने एलान किया कि वह लक्खा के साथ हैं। लाल किले में किसानों के उपद्रव के बाद आंदोलन कमजोर होने लगा तो पंजाब में ग्राम पंचायतों ने मनमानी करते हुए अनोखा तरीका अपना लिया। पंजाब के पांच जिलों में 20 से अधिक पंचायतों ने प्रस्ताव पारित कर हर घर से एक व्यक्ति के दिल्ली आंदोलनों में जाने का आदेश दिया है। जिस घर से कोई व्यक्ति आंदोलन में नहीं जाएगा, उसे जुर्माना देना होगा। जुर्माना न देने की सूरत में उस परिवार का सामाजिक बहिष्कार किया जाएगा। पंचायतें भले ही ऐसे प्रस्ताव कर रहीं हों, लेकिन पंचायती राज अधिनियम में ऐसा कोई प्रावधान नहीं है।

वरिष्ठ अधिवक्ता एडवोकेट बलराज शर्मा कहते हैं कि अधिनियम के अनुसार पंचायतें सिर्फ समाज कल्याण के कार्यों को लेकर प्रस्ताव पारित कर उन्हें न मानने वालों पर जुर्माना लगा सकती हैं। यदि कोई पंचायत यह प्रस्ताव पारित करती है कि गांव में गंदगी फैलाने वालों पर, सार्वजनिक संपति नष्ट करने वाले या अन्य तरह के अपराध में कार्रवाई की जाएगी, तो वह जुर्माना लगा सकती है, लेकिन किसी को जबरन धरने में शामिल होने के आदेश देने का अधिकार पंचायत के पास नहीं है। पंचायत इस धरने में शामिल न होने पर जुर्माना नहीं लगा सकतीं। पंचायतों के पास ऐसा कोई अधिकार नहीं है कि वह लोगों को किसी धरने में शामिल होने के आदेश जारी करें। आदेश न मानने पर किसी प्रकार का जुर्माना लगाना पंचायती राज अधिनियम का उल्लंघन है। वहीं, पंचायती राज मंत्री तृप्त राजिंदर बाजवा इस बारे में कोई भी बात करने को राजी नहीं हैं। पंचायतों की इस हरकत को देख कर राज्य में आतंकवाद के दौर के समय गठित हुई खालसा पंचायतों की याद ताजा हो गई जो तालिबानी हुक्म सुनाती और जबरन जनता पर थोपती थीं।राज्य में चाहे अभी तक केवल दो दर्जन पंचयातों द्वारा इस तरह की नासमझी की कार्रवाईयां की गई हैं परंतु यह सिलसिला निरंतर बढ़ता ही जा रहा है।

यहां यह बताना भी जरूरी है कि चूंकि राज्य में चार साल से कांग्रेस सरकार सत्तारूढ़ है तो यहां हुए पंचायती चुनावों में कांग्रेस ने बहुसंख्या गांवों में जीत हासिल की थी और इस बात की भी पूरी आशंका है कि राज्य में सत्तारूढ़ दल के इशारों पर पंचायतें इस तरह की हरकतें कर रही हैं ताकि कथित किसान आंदोलन को खाद-पानी मिलता रहे। राज्य सरकार के साथ-साथ पंचायतों की यह कार्रवाईयां यह साबित करने को पर्याप्त हैं कि दिल्ली में चल रहा कथित किसान आंदोलन न केवल राजनीतिक पृष्ठभूमि लिए बल्कि राजनीति के ही खाद-पानी से सांस ले रहा है और राजनीतिक इशारों पर ही हुड़दंग मचाया जा रहा है।


– राकेश सैन

32, खण्डाला फार्मिंग कालोनी,

गांव एवं डाकखाना लिदड़ा,जालंधर।संपर्क – 77106-55605

Why discourage contrarian views, online?

subashdeb
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Why discourage contrarian views, online?

A social media savvy recounts his appalling experience with some news organisation’s wariness of the readers’ comments on stories shared on their Facebook page, ironically for the sake of the same readers. Mind if you agree to differ with the thoughts of those shared stories and comment on a section meant for it to express your views, you could lose your right to access those stories next time, nay access to the online page itself. Does comment moderation mean to take out contrary views and block out those who speak a different language?

As a regular reader of the esteemed media outlet’s news and stories, he feels miffed at the instance that his comments on a particular story/editorial shared by the organisation on their Facebook page have been taken down. The swat didn’t stop there. It was wielded to further block him out of the online page. Doesn’t it amount to the outrage of the reader’s constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right to freedom of expression and speech? On top of that the reader forfeits his right to access online content for holding a contrarian view that apparently doesn’t synch with the so-called political leaning of the content producer, should there be any. That’s as weird as it sounds. As a matter of fact, no media orgainsaiton should have a political axe to grind with their valuable readers.

The peeved reader asks, ‘If a distinguished media house is so intolerant with his counter-arguments, how can it ensure as the fourth pillar of democracy that the freedom of expression of the common men is never hijacked’? He feels perturbed at the irony of the fact that such instances of gagging the voice of the people are enacted by media crusaders who are up in arms against the curtailment of freedom of speech & expression under the current dispensation.

To my mind, it’s unbecoming of any news organisation or news portal to moderate comments with a certain degree of leanings unless they are offensive and abusive. Otherwise, it lays bare the furtive agenda of the organisation to crush differences of opinion. Lest we forget a counter-view shouldn’t be mistaken for offensive & outrageous ones. Rather it is a cornerstone of a vibrant democracy. As being one of the pillars of democracy, media ought not to crush dissent and continue to provide a platform for the voiceless with divergent views and opinions.

Subhash Deb- The author is a media professional.

3 reasons why government should retract MSP

vikrantsingh1857
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3 reasons why government should retract MSP

In the end and start of a year when New Delhi is facing bitter cold, but the raucous protests during the same period is raising up the mercury level of our leaders. Apparently the rise in temperature is a sign of comfort but the rabble is giving sleepless nights to them. On the contrary, it seems there is no sinister ploy behind the Citizenship Amendment Bill (2019) as well as in Farm Bills (2020) more or less they both are for common good.

In this article we will discuss one aspect of Farm’s Bill i.e. the Minimum Support Price famously known as MSP. MSP is now a bone of contention in the ongoing protracted protest and obvious reason behind farmers whinging. After scanning MSP system through the economics lens, it seems to be a bane to the farming sector and altogether to the whole economy. It’s promulgated on the basis of socialist ideas and we all know nothing good can happen to the economy by socialism.

As the name suggests, MSP is a minimum price fixed by the government to purchase agricultural products from the farmers. It act . Not every Agri- product comes under the umbrella of MSP but only enlisted ones nonetheless there are 23 crops.

There are three important points to ponder regarding the Minimum Support Price.

1– GOVERNMENT’S INTERVENTION IN PRICING

There should be no role of government in price fixation. India is a liberal democratic country which believes in the ethos of globalisation policy and a free market economy, where demand and supply should be the driving force behind the price of a product. But the notion of government interventation in pricing of a farm products is disgraceful in the open market structure.

When the government assures the minimum price of a crop without considering its market value it’s actually defying the economics logic. For instance the global average market price of 1 quintal wheat is Rs 1000 but the MSP set up by the government for 1 quintal wheat is 1200Rs. Without any second thought, farmers will sell their wheat to the government. So far it seems fair deal for farmers but that too at the cost of tax payers money i.e. Rs 200 per quintal. Incidentally ,our government pays more from the taxpayers money for the same crop than the global average price.

For once we as noble naive citizen can or made to bear extra cost but why on earth private and foreign investors will involve themselves in such an absurd market policy, they will simply walk- off and invest in a fair price market system. Ergo , this will hurt the export ecosystem as well as private investment in the domestic agriculture market.

Last year data revealed by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority ( APEDA) showed a sharp decline by over 37 percent in export of non- basmati rice. A Report published by The Print https://theprint.in/economy/cheaper-china-rice-high-msp-what-non-basmati-exporters-are-blaming-for-dip-in-trade/352510/ clarified that in the African markets, the price of quintal rice from China is Rs2,129 while the price of rice from India is Rs3,479 a quintal.

We can also say MSP is itself a massive roadblock  for two  out of three farm laws i.e.  Farmer’s Produce Trade And  Commerce ( Promotion and Facilitation Act)  and  Farmers ( Empowerment and Protection ) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act  that was passed by parliament aiming  to attract private players.


2- ABUNDANCE OF GOVERNMENT’S PROCUREMENT

Well , it’s quite evident that no private or foreign player will purchase at more than global average cost nor the farmers will sell at low price . So most of the produce is stuck with the government for procurement. But we already procure more than the anticipated consumption resulting in overflowing of agri- food in cold storages. During pandemic state governments distributed agricultural products with an open heart yet as a matter of fact over 1500Tonnes of Food grains wasted at FCI Godowns .


Our Public Distribution  System ( PDS) and deeply – rooted bureaucratic corruption  should be condemned for millions going to sleep empty stomach  while the government already procures more than the estimated consumption. The remaining of the food grain has been stored in cold storages and godowns  which precipitates the burden of storage cost and often when they get wasted ,the government has to endure the waste management cost.

Therefore now it’s crystal clear that public money suffers double whammy of storage and waste treatment costs and on top of that moral loss due food waste in hundreds of tons is to reflect upon .


3- MAL-NUTRITION OF BOTH SOIL AND CONSUMER


Once the government pledges  the Minimum Support Price it has also incentivized food grains over other crops, inducing imbalances of water and land resources and shifting land away from crops such as pulses and oilseeds, necessitating costly inputs .


But what happens next is worrying , government godowns get stockpiled with mostly wheat and rice  because it buys only these two commodities in a sufficiently large manner. Perhaps other crops will be obscure in the time being. A growing reliance on crops such as wheat , a staple crop, is raising concern about the resilience of the food system and food security.  Lack of diversity in food crops is the direct cause behind mal- nutrition in the country. 


Following this trend agriculturalists will rely on reiterating the same crops over and over again resulting in deficiency in nutritional value of land. Crop rotation should be a sacred practice for farmers , it helps in managing soil fertility , reduces erosion , improves soil health and also increases crop productivity.  In addition to these biological advantages of crop rotations, there are positive  economic and social  aspects that result from the diverse plant combination on the farm.


On the concluding note my advice to the government is there is no point in kneeling down due to the pressure of protestors and rolling back the law would seem feeble. Beside this, it’s also high time for our economy to free from the shackles of socialism.

Article Submission: She’s an object

bhavyagupta
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Article Submission: She’s an object

‘Instead of fighting for women’s bodies to be viewed as valuable, let’s fight for women to be valued for more than their mere bodies.’

Objectification in simple terms means to perceive and treat someone like an object. In the age of 24/7 media, we have become so accustomed to the portrayal of women as a sum total of their sexual body parts, that we do not even realize when in real life also we manifest that behavior and objectify women by singling out body parts of women without finding anything wrong in doing so. As a consequence, in our society, women are dehumanized and are considered to be mindless entities with no internal virtues or as mere accessories to the men in their lives or worse still as objects to be used for utilitarian purposes like sales, branding etc.

I am young girl in the capital city of India. As I am growing up, I see my friends and other young girls under extreme pressure to facsimile or copy women who are portrayed to be immaculate goddesses in movies, banners, advertisements, magazines etc. I do not intend to put forth that there is anything wrong in looking beautiful, and that girls in modern attires or in makeup are trying to objectify themselves. However, judging a person based only on their looks, accentuating merely their external features is erroneous. The girls are found to not only pressurizing themselves to look impeccably ‘beautiful’ but are also found to be making fun of those who really do not believe in matching the artificial beauty standards that have been set by the entertainment, media and the beauty products industry. In the process, they tend to develop a superiority complex and end up objectifying themselves. Those who are not able to attain the benchmark that have been set up in this society also have to undergo deep discrimination. They are made to feel small and in turn suffer from inferiority complexes, mental health issues etc.
While trying to achieve these artificial standards, girls engage in monitoring their physical appearance so frequently that it brings about developing a feeling of self-consciousness or become sheepish among people. This may even mean that they cease to do well or be efficient in their daily tasks. The energy they can direct towards self-improvement is centered towards their appearance. This means they are not able to attain their peak motivational state, when a person outstretches their capacities to achieve or accomplish the high targets, they have set up for themselves on a discretionary basis. They may even undergo emotions of anxiety, shame and diffidence. She might even start to lose a sense of her internal states. Heightened mental health risks like Depression; eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia; and sexual dysfunction are the names of some of the repercussions to objectification, which in turn can be of body, feelings or sexual.

The biggest contributor to this state of affairs is the entertainment industry. For instance -The concept of ‘anchored drift’, which is a recurrent theme in advertisements, where in a male is shown to be gazing or leering at a woman who is looking far-off or daydreaming. This means that the male class is shown to be looking at their female counterparts more often than the converse which usually goes hand in hand with condescending and colored remarks about her appearance in authentic life.

Now a very important aspect that needs to be brought into consideration is the way in which women respond to being objectified, which in turn depends on a number of factors like age, class, physical and individual characteristics, ethnicity and so on. The impact of objectification on a woman can be both positive and negative. However, in most instances it has been witnessed that the affect is usually has a negative connotation to it. Apart from the mental health risks that a woman might face due to objectification, one of the major reasons why women tend to make themselves look ‘attractive’ is that the benefits they might get along with it. For instance – Studies like that of Snow and Harris in 1985 show that the overweight or obese girls are likely to be not be accepted by students in colleges in contrast to thin girls. Furthermore, if a woman is adjudged to be unattractive, then she is delineated in a dismissive manner as compared to men who are deemed to be unattractive. Thus, we can infer that the more attractive a woman is, the more will be the chances for her political or economic sense. This even has been explained by Unger (1979) that attractiveness can be construed into power that a woman may hold. However, the degree of this power might differ with differing attitudes of people throughout various societies.

If we have to change this state of affairs then the changes have to start from our classrooms. Changes in the education system, should encompass gender neutral education and awareness programs. Several preschools in Sweden have adopted an approach which aims at instilling gender neutral education. I robustly believe schools in India and other countries can adapt this approach. Awareness is the key through which we can not only make students aware about what is objectification and they regularly face objectification in their daily life, but are not able to do anything, just because they do not know about. Since the impact of such objectification can adversely affect the person deeply, therefore compensation should be a provision of the objectification law.

Therefore, as a young student myself, my appeal to all young girls and women is to not let yourself to be turned into things to be scrutinized, judged and to be used like a commodity. Try to be cognizant of your bodily selves. You are a woman and that’s your superpower.

Author Bhavya Gupta is a student of Montfort Senior Secondary school. She is interested in writing on the subject pertaining to gender issues and women’s status in the society.

Do we want to do something about migration? A call to fellow youths

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Do we want to do something about migration? A call to fellow youths

We put all blame on the government and system. It changes nothing, other than our attempt to sheath our conscience, ourselves from the guilt. We want to hide our fragility, our inability to take risks. But we can not shrug off that responsibility, the onus of those tearful eyes is on us too.

From coercion to abduction or murder, they die a death every once in a while. Families would never see their daughter again as no one knows where they vanished.

Children, at the age when they should be playing in the dust of their village, getting familiar with their fields, open their eyes under a closed sky. In the age of receiving life values from elders, they hear abuses and cries. Their eyes are clouded by cement and sand. The dreams, the hopes, the childhood aspirations all lose their existence, never to sparkle again.

Not only the mind but also the body bears the burns of migration. The health of the community and village gradually deteriorates. Migrants bring with them diseases which the people have never heard before. Spending a substandard life on roadsides and drains, a whole generation grows up malnourished.

The combined effect is that migration, gradually, eats away the communities, and their traditions, festivals, virtues, life values and entire knowledge system. People lose their identity in every way. Like a root-cut-tree, their green, prosperous culture starts drying up. Villages lose their identity in every way. Then what remains is neither a village nor a town, just something which has no soul, no pride, no identity. Migration is creating a future-less world, where people have lost aspirations and hope of life.

The migration not only kills people but also kills the community and its culture. It kills villages.

The ground reality is far more frightening. We are witnessing the death of migrants walking on the streets; we count their bodies. But do we count the many deaths that rural India is dying?

Today our heart is suffering, but are we still able to understand their pain? Can we feel even today the pain that they feel while leaving their soil, their village, their people, their animals and birds?

It is time for us to rise above our pain and try to understand theirs.

Try to understand why millions of villagers are forced to migrate. Why are they forced to live in a shadow of tattered plastic on some corner of a road, when they have their own land, their home.

My heart aches when I feel what difference youth like us can create, but how otherwise we choose to soothe our pain. We put all blame on the government & system.

It changes nothing, other than our attempt to sheath our conscience, ourselves from the guilt. We want to hide our fragility, our inability to take risks. But we can not shrug off that responsibility, the onus of those tearful eyes is on us too. Even those who feel these emotions choose a supposedly comfortable & secure life.

Why don’t we want to do anything about it? What is stopping us? If rural India cannot expect from its youth, then who?

The question that persists like a deep burning scar on our face is whether we want to do something about it or not.

Modus operandi of bloodthirsty protesters

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Modus operandi of bloodthirsty protesters

Whenever the Union Government attempts to implement reformatory laws in the country, an anti-establishment lobby gets activated and create ruckus in the entire country. The only objective of the bloodthirsty protesters is to destabilise the Government of India. In this article, I have tried to explain their modus operandi.

Politicians

Initially, politicians stir up controversy in the Parliament when any reformatory bill is deliberated upon and subsequently, foment violence by making baseless allegations against the Central Government and how the newly made law will adversely affect them. They use terms like, “Sadak par utarna hoga”, “Apna haq lena hoga”, “Modi sarkar tanasahi kar rhi”, etc. Once the protesters resort to violence and the security forces take any action against them to prevent the mishap, they’ll push forward the narrative- The right to protest is guaranteed by our constitution, and we will not allow this fascist regime to take away our rights. If the security forces restrain from taking any action against the rampaging protesters, and any accident occurs, they’ll either blame the workers of the ruling party for creating a ruckus or ask the Home Minister to step down from his post.

Media Houses

Among bloodthirsty protesters, some of them are assigned the role of forming human chains, singing the national anthem, helping any injured civilian or police officer, or any action that reflects their kindness and loyalty towards the nation. Subsequently, the fake news peddlers of mainstream media will start disseminating that Godi media will not show you the real side of the story, and say, “Look, how these peaceful protesters are helping out the injured police personnel and civilians. They are trying to save public property by forming a human chain.  Do you think they are anti-nationals? Stop following Whatsapp University and watching television.”

Fact-checkers

Now, comes the role of fact-checkers. They are burdened with the responsibility of discrediting the reports of mainstream media. Even if the protesters are found creating mayhem, the role of fact-checkers is to give a clean chit to them. They have the supernatural ability to transform stones into wallets.

Syndicate of students, activists, youtubers, actors and singers

Students, activists, youtubers, actors, singers, and personalities from all walks of life who adhere to an anti-establishment ideology will start justifying every single misdeed of the protesters using the reports of those fact-checking websites. They also share the bytes of protesters doing any humanitarian work or singing the national anthem. Believe it or not, these personalities have a huge influence on “uber-cool” youngsters.

Lawyers

Once the FIR is filed against the rioters, high profile lawyers come to rescue those innocent and peaceful protesters without taking a penny. If the Honourable Court also finds them guilty, the whole syndicate starts blaming the Court and holds the Government responsible for taking away the independence of the institutions of our country

All of them are acting in tandem against the government. It’s high time when the Central Government needs to take stringent action against these unscrupulous elements of the country otherwise, it will be impossible for the government to bring in any reformatory laws.

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