Yesterday was the sixty first Republic Day of our motherland..A day, that is imbibed in history as the birthday of India, as a sovereign, socialist republic.. It is a day that is celebrated with fervor and enthusiasm... A merriment that projects little children and elders in colour coordinated Orange, White and Green outfits and rejoicing the moments of bliss by unfurling of Indian tri-color amidst the sounds of inspiring patriotic music... A scene of sheer pretentions... After the span of sixty years, does it proclaim any reminiscent stirring within you or is it just another day of merry-making? A question we all need to ask ourselves? If it has just remained a holiday, than definitely something is wrong with us as it will lead to a day, in not so long future, that one will have no pride in being known as an Indian.. In other words, the dedication towards motherland will begin to vanish...
I read an article recently in a Gujarati daily, by a veteran columnist and it gave me jolt within. It projects a scenario, in the Lahore High Court in the year 2007, where a case was being judged between the Renewable Energy Minister of 2009 UPA Govt. and the than Hon. C.M. of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr. Shri Faruouqh Abdullah and the Pakistan Govt. Dr. Abdullah stated with extreme vanity that he is not an Indian but a Kashmiri [as if Kahmiris are not Indians] and the land of Kashmir is a disputed land..! He signed an affidavit for the same... Imagine, a leader and that too, an ex. chief minister of a state as well as the father of current C.M. and the minister of cabinet ranking for Govt. of India, has the guts to publicly assert its defection to the nation and yet remain unperturbed on his position.. He was fighting a case of ownership over a Pak. hotel, since it was built by his maternal grandfather.
It is the height of brazenness for the Abdullahs to talk about nationalism to appease the Congress Govt. on one hand and to blatantly assert such a disgraceful statement, and that too, in the court of enemy neighbor. The shocking most issue is that the same person is given the charge of cabinet ranking in the central Govt... The question is, isn’t the highest authority aware of this unashamed behavior?
The reality is, the Abdullahs want to rule Kashmir, keep the property worth crores in the enemy nation and are prepared to go to any extent, if the need arises, for the same..When the chief of our army, Shri Deepak Kapoor, clearly refuses to remove the 30,000 jawan’s army from the valley, the army is still removed, overlooking his advice. The reason given by the Defence minister of India, Shri Antony, is that the terrorist attacks have decreased and there are only a few negligible incidences of terror is happening!!! Its utter nonsense..On the contrary, in the last 25 days, since the year 2010 began, there have been 14 insurgences that have been foiled.. God alone knows, how many have succeeded..and these are the news published by the PTI and the most reputed newspapers of the country. On the day of 26th Jan. two attempts were made of insurgences from the Akhnoor territory of Jammu and Kashmir and they were foiled by our jawans of BSF. And to even suggest the removal of the army could result into opening the gates of your mansion to the thief...with minimum security and lack of clarity of action in minds.
If Shri Omar Abdullah is incapable of stopping the terrorist entries and providing security to Kashmir, it is wiser to remove the Article 370 from Kashmir and let any Indian, who wishes to reside there, be given the opportunity. At the moment, one of the poor states, Bihar, receives Rs. 876, per person as aid and Kashmir receives Rs. 985!! And what do we get in return? Yesterday, on the Republic Day, not even the Indian flag could be hoisted in Lal Chowk in Shrinagar! and we talk about the removal of army...!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
National Sport..
Cricket world cup 2011, that is going to be hosted by India –Pak-Sri-lanka..is already in news..The preparation, to host an event as big as this, are in full force. The excitement and vehemence all around is infectious and weather one is an ardent Cricket fan or not, the fervor in the atmosphere captures him..
And,
Much before that, barely a month from now, another as big event is going to take place..India is the host for the Hockey World Cup Tournament starting from 28th February and we are hardly aware of it..!
Last week, the Hockey players went on strike, leaving the Conditioning Camp for the tournament..Their contempt was that they were not paid the amount promised to them by Hockey Federation in the year 2009.The Hockey Federation, extremely ruthlessly, announced their inability to fulfill those promises. [Later on, a corporate house contributed Rs. 1 Crore, which would be distributed among 30 players.]
The irony is, that such is the situation of our National Game..
It is not that we, Indians, are not Sports Lovers..The trouble lies in the Ministery of Sports’s efforts in offering positive support and promotions to Sports Culture.
We, the people play the blame game and hold other sport, extremely popular like Cricket, accountable for the crisis in sports other than Cricket, but in reality, is it the truth? What is the reason for huge Cricket culture in India?
Hockey, our national sport, is also not a sport that originated in India..It is as much an ”imported” sport as is Cricket..but Cricket is considered a religion in our country. Where as Hockey, though India has dominated in it in the past, has never found such mammoth following. I have no intention of demeaning any sport but what comes to my mind that what was the base on which our national sport is decided? or the national bird or national animal is decided? Any poll, or survey that has been authorized to proclaim the same? If the popularity is some deciding factor, than Cricket scores all the brownie points..
Than how come Cricket is not our National Sport?
And,
Much before that, barely a month from now, another as big event is going to take place..India is the host for the Hockey World Cup Tournament starting from 28th February and we are hardly aware of it..!
Last week, the Hockey players went on strike, leaving the Conditioning Camp for the tournament..Their contempt was that they were not paid the amount promised to them by Hockey Federation in the year 2009.The Hockey Federation, extremely ruthlessly, announced their inability to fulfill those promises. [Later on, a corporate house contributed Rs. 1 Crore, which would be distributed among 30 players.]
The irony is, that such is the situation of our National Game..
It is not that we, Indians, are not Sports Lovers..The trouble lies in the Ministery of Sports’s efforts in offering positive support and promotions to Sports Culture.
We, the people play the blame game and hold other sport, extremely popular like Cricket, accountable for the crisis in sports other than Cricket, but in reality, is it the truth? What is the reason for huge Cricket culture in India?
Hockey, our national sport, is also not a sport that originated in India..It is as much an ”imported” sport as is Cricket..but Cricket is considered a religion in our country. Where as Hockey, though India has dominated in it in the past, has never found such mammoth following. I have no intention of demeaning any sport but what comes to my mind that what was the base on which our national sport is decided? or the national bird or national animal is decided? Any poll, or survey that has been authorized to proclaim the same? If the popularity is some deciding factor, than Cricket scores all the brownie points..
Than how come Cricket is not our National Sport?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Aren’t they one of us?
They have been branded for life, as thieves and dacoits , inspite of their sterling contribution to our society, through out history, with their artisan and fighting skills..These are the most backward, of the backward people, living a life of penury and fear, that we, the member of free and civilized society can not even imagine..
They are nomadic tribe, known as Bhatke Vimukta.. mainly the Phanse Paradhi community..
During the British era, they opposed the Britain’s atrocities and fought bitterly..In return, the British declared them as criminals..and they were forced to remain within the demarked area, within their settlement..and lead the life worse than that of animals.. British left India in 1947 but the misery of these fellow countrymen continued. As they were termed as criminals and banned by law to be the part of civilized society, they continued with their miserable living.. totally cut off from the mainstream, even after India attained independence. In 1960, the then Hon. P.M. of India, Late Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, on his visit to Nasik in Maharashtra, learned about the anguish and was deeply touched. He immediately abolished the merciless commandment..but just by removing the bylaw was not sufficient to bring them into the intricate woven fabric of the society.. They had to be accepted as part and parcel of our society, after being treated as criminals for generations, it was no mean task..Due to non-acceptance into the mainstream, many of them turned back to criminal ways to fill their stomachs .. Many of them tried to earn a living, by earning from the forest produce and by displaying their skills in performing arts like singing, street plays, acrobats etc. But it was a difficult task..and as they wandered from one place to another..with no shelter over their head and no proper source of permanent livelihood, their lives were full of agony..To severe them from these mishaps and to treat them equally, the only option is to educate them..imbibe their children with good values or “samskaras” and train them for the new world with an ambition to come out of lives of depravity..
BHATKE VIMUKTA VIKAS PRATISHTHAN [BVVP] has plunged in this uphill task since last 14 years. It has been a very tough journey due to deeply ingrained prejudice in the society against them. [Some time back, a boy belonging to this community who had studied till std. 12, after lot of cajoling and counseling and whose mother had gone through innumerable hardships to make her son educate and lead a decent life, was murdered without any investigation by the fellow village men in the case of roadside robbery..and the police force was the mere spectator.] With system out to haunt them rather than help them, they are perpetually forced to lead a life of begging and crime. It is rather difficult for the children to educate themselves, as they no home or land to call their own and their parents or family may be in a lock up..
In spite of these problems, the BVVP has been able to make a positive mark in their lives. Today nearly 600 students are studying in their schools and staying in hostels at four centers in Maharashtra..Two years back the first ever batch of successful SSC students came out..
Yamgarwadi is a small village located in post Nanduri, Tahsil Tuljapur, district Osmanabad in Maharashtra state..This project was stated in 1993 on an 18 acre land donated by an ex-serviceman, Shri Ramesh Chatufale. Initially there were 25 boys but now it has grown into multifaceted project with following activities..
1. Eklavya Primary Residential School. This school was granted State recognition in 1996 for classes up to 7th, with nearly 300 students, but the sad truth is that this number keeps fluctuating as sometimes the parents pull their wards out to move away to another area or engage them in raising family income. Now, focus is on nurturing their inherent skills like knowledge about nature, sports and arts.
2. Secondary School. This school goes up to state level board examination. The first batch of 7 nomadic students passed out securing 63 to 83% marks in 2005-06. In 2007-08, 12 students passed out with 100% result. This is a landmark for the community.
3. Shabarimata Girls Hostel. Educating girls in the nomad tribes is considered taboo. The arrival of a 7 year old girl at the doorstep of the institution, abandon at the bus-stop, marked the beginning of this project a few years back.. This little girl was witness to her mother’s murder, at the hands of her father. The girl was given the much needed parental care and education. Today, the center has more than 100 girls. It is a matter of pride that one of this girls has become a school teacher and another one has joined police force.
4. Health Centers. Nomadic gypsy communities are always on the move. As a rule, their kids are not inoculated, resulting in higher incidents of minor or even crippling diseases. Some socially commited pediatricians, gynaecologists and pathologists visit Yamgarwadi project regularly to do health check-ups of the students. They also provide medicines and related services.
5. Anasarwada Project. This project was initiated in 1995 in Anasarwada village by GOPAL SAMAJ VIKAS PARISHAD for a community known for its skills in cattle rearing [hence the name Gopal] , gymnestics, games and wrestling. Due to lack of social support, they ended begging for survival. GSVP started with an objective to rehabilitate this tribe.
6. Nerale Project. Bhatu Kolhati community is another large group within gypsy communities known for its skills in circus, acrobats on the roadside and women playing a major part in these games. The condition of women in this community has deteriorated due to lack of state support and the hapless women being trapped in degrading circumstances and exploited physically and mentally and ending up with dreaded diseases like Aids. etc..BHATU KOLHATI VIKAS PARISHAD was formed in Nerale, near Tahsil Karmala, district Solapur in Maharashtra.
7. Palavarchi Anubhav Shala. BVVP understands that no. in school drop out ratio of such students is high as the children of these family keep roaming. “If they can not go to the school, lets take the school to them”, is their motto and with this thought, a highly flexible schooling has been devised by BVVP. There are seven such schools under the scheme.
Bhatke Vimukta Vikas Prathishthan is indeed doing a great job, of these deserted and uncared for brothers and sisters. But, it is not yet sufficient..and miles to go on the path of their uplift ... We all have to contribute, in anyways we choose, in the mission to bring our fellow brothers and sisters from the feeling of, being abandoned, and show them the light at the end of the tunnel.
They are nomadic tribe, known as Bhatke Vimukta.. mainly the Phanse Paradhi community..
During the British era, they opposed the Britain’s atrocities and fought bitterly..In return, the British declared them as criminals..and they were forced to remain within the demarked area, within their settlement..and lead the life worse than that of animals.. British left India in 1947 but the misery of these fellow countrymen continued. As they were termed as criminals and banned by law to be the part of civilized society, they continued with their miserable living.. totally cut off from the mainstream, even after India attained independence. In 1960, the then Hon. P.M. of India, Late Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, on his visit to Nasik in Maharashtra, learned about the anguish and was deeply touched. He immediately abolished the merciless commandment..but just by removing the bylaw was not sufficient to bring them into the intricate woven fabric of the society.. They had to be accepted as part and parcel of our society, after being treated as criminals for generations, it was no mean task..Due to non-acceptance into the mainstream, many of them turned back to criminal ways to fill their stomachs .. Many of them tried to earn a living, by earning from the forest produce and by displaying their skills in performing arts like singing, street plays, acrobats etc. But it was a difficult task..and as they wandered from one place to another..with no shelter over their head and no proper source of permanent livelihood, their lives were full of agony..To severe them from these mishaps and to treat them equally, the only option is to educate them..imbibe their children with good values or “samskaras” and train them for the new world with an ambition to come out of lives of depravity..
BHATKE VIMUKTA VIKAS PRATISHTHAN [BVVP] has plunged in this uphill task since last 14 years. It has been a very tough journey due to deeply ingrained prejudice in the society against them. [Some time back, a boy belonging to this community who had studied till std. 12, after lot of cajoling and counseling and whose mother had gone through innumerable hardships to make her son educate and lead a decent life, was murdered without any investigation by the fellow village men in the case of roadside robbery..and the police force was the mere spectator.] With system out to haunt them rather than help them, they are perpetually forced to lead a life of begging and crime. It is rather difficult for the children to educate themselves, as they no home or land to call their own and their parents or family may be in a lock up..
In spite of these problems, the BVVP has been able to make a positive mark in their lives. Today nearly 600 students are studying in their schools and staying in hostels at four centers in Maharashtra..Two years back the first ever batch of successful SSC students came out..
Yamgarwadi is a small village located in post Nanduri, Tahsil Tuljapur, district Osmanabad in Maharashtra state..This project was stated in 1993 on an 18 acre land donated by an ex-serviceman, Shri Ramesh Chatufale. Initially there were 25 boys but now it has grown into multifaceted project with following activities..
1. Eklavya Primary Residential School. This school was granted State recognition in 1996 for classes up to 7th, with nearly 300 students, but the sad truth is that this number keeps fluctuating as sometimes the parents pull their wards out to move away to another area or engage them in raising family income. Now, focus is on nurturing their inherent skills like knowledge about nature, sports and arts.
2. Secondary School. This school goes up to state level board examination. The first batch of 7 nomadic students passed out securing 63 to 83% marks in 2005-06. In 2007-08, 12 students passed out with 100% result. This is a landmark for the community.
3. Shabarimata Girls Hostel. Educating girls in the nomad tribes is considered taboo. The arrival of a 7 year old girl at the doorstep of the institution, abandon at the bus-stop, marked the beginning of this project a few years back.. This little girl was witness to her mother’s murder, at the hands of her father. The girl was given the much needed parental care and education. Today, the center has more than 100 girls. It is a matter of pride that one of this girls has become a school teacher and another one has joined police force.
4. Health Centers. Nomadic gypsy communities are always on the move. As a rule, their kids are not inoculated, resulting in higher incidents of minor or even crippling diseases. Some socially commited pediatricians, gynaecologists and pathologists visit Yamgarwadi project regularly to do health check-ups of the students. They also provide medicines and related services.
5. Anasarwada Project. This project was initiated in 1995 in Anasarwada village by GOPAL SAMAJ VIKAS PARISHAD for a community known for its skills in cattle rearing [hence the name Gopal] , gymnestics, games and wrestling. Due to lack of social support, they ended begging for survival. GSVP started with an objective to rehabilitate this tribe.
6. Nerale Project. Bhatu Kolhati community is another large group within gypsy communities known for its skills in circus, acrobats on the roadside and women playing a major part in these games. The condition of women in this community has deteriorated due to lack of state support and the hapless women being trapped in degrading circumstances and exploited physically and mentally and ending up with dreaded diseases like Aids. etc..BHATU KOLHATI VIKAS PARISHAD was formed in Nerale, near Tahsil Karmala, district Solapur in Maharashtra.
7. Palavarchi Anubhav Shala. BVVP understands that no. in school drop out ratio of such students is high as the children of these family keep roaming. “If they can not go to the school, lets take the school to them”, is their motto and with this thought, a highly flexible schooling has been devised by BVVP. There are seven such schools under the scheme.
Bhatke Vimukta Vikas Prathishthan is indeed doing a great job, of these deserted and uncared for brothers and sisters. But, it is not yet sufficient..and miles to go on the path of their uplift ... We all have to contribute, in anyways we choose, in the mission to bring our fellow brothers and sisters from the feeling of, being abandoned, and show them the light at the end of the tunnel.
Monday, January 18, 2010
I love english as a language, but...
Hi friends...
It’s a new beginning, for you and me... Just like first day at school... This is my first day at blogging... Please welcome me and share your thoughts with me. I am here to discuss the various happenings around us and its impact..All of us are tied down with our own schedules, duties, happiness and stresses... But as we are a part and parcel of the society, we are more or less affected by the ups and downs taking place here... As a dutiful citizen, it’s a pious duty of all of us to act and react, at any turmoil or progress is initiated... So, even if I can awaken a part of your soul and you initiating the same around you, it will be a vibration worth spreading..
Namaste...
A few days back, our Hon. Supreme Court displayed fear that the China would surpass India in English Proficiency... The statement of Hon. Supreme Court was based on the survey done by a NGO called Pratham, which states that the learning ability of English words of a child in standard 1st in India is 43.5%. Gujarat, which has recorded a milestone growth rate of 11.5% shows that not more than 25% of children can read and comprehend English at the standard 1 level (!!)
Bihar, with growth rate of 11.2% shows that only (!!) 33% children of age of 6 and 7 years [this would be the age where they are in std 1] have the ability to read English... The same data shows that Karnataka with the glitter of high high-tech education, has barely 37% of kids of standard 1, having basic knowledge of English! Orissa shows 34.5% and Jharkhand shows 41.8% are other states with low intellect of kids as per the survey (!!)
The entire survey is absolutely baseless and whole heartedly humiliating..
Firstly, the states which are shown as examples are the states that have achieved exemplary growth rate in the last 5 years... According to an eminent economist, Swaminarayan Anklesaria Aiyyar, in an article in his column Swaminomics, commented that in the 5 years, till the mid 2009, the growth rate achieved by Gujarat was 11.5% , and was highest in India.
Bihar at 2nd best registered 11.2% growth rate and that too, from the negative growth rate of -5.5%. [Magnificiant progress]. Jharkhand at 9.71% and Karnataka above 7% (which is calculated as the base percentage for desirable growth rate) have illustrious progress to show... Now, the next generation of these states, being judged as having low intellect and that too, for a frivolous reason of insufficient knowledge of a foreign language at the tender age of 6 or 7, is totally absurd..
This is the age the child learns the basic values of being a good human, responsible citizen and devoted patriot... The knowledge of a foreign language is not at all a must...
My question...
Are we preparing a society of tomorrow, without any concern for or integrity with the fellow countrymen? I have seen that the child without sufficient knowledge of mother tongue has no affinity or empathy with the society around them. These young ones grow up to condemn everything that is Indian... The essence of patriotism do not matter to them as they start speaking only in a foreign language.
India becomes foreign to them..
I do not wish to imply here that the learning English or any other foreign language is not welcome. But, the child going to an English Medium School must have to learn their mother tongue fluently and the knowledge of Indian languages should not only be compulsory but respected as much as learning Science and Math... As these languages will connect the next generation which has already stated disintegrating with their roots and our cultural heritage...
We should remember that the knowledge of English, that too at standard 1st level, should never be made a criterion for judging the intellect of our young. This trend will put undue burden on them and their teachers. The result will be that teachers will try hard to make them learn English instead of grooming their overall potential on one hand and teaching essential patriotic values on the other.
It’s a new beginning, for you and me... Just like first day at school... This is my first day at blogging... Please welcome me and share your thoughts with me. I am here to discuss the various happenings around us and its impact..All of us are tied down with our own schedules, duties, happiness and stresses... But as we are a part and parcel of the society, we are more or less affected by the ups and downs taking place here... As a dutiful citizen, it’s a pious duty of all of us to act and react, at any turmoil or progress is initiated... So, even if I can awaken a part of your soul and you initiating the same around you, it will be a vibration worth spreading..
Namaste...
A few days back, our Hon. Supreme Court displayed fear that the China would surpass India in English Proficiency... The statement of Hon. Supreme Court was based on the survey done by a NGO called Pratham, which states that the learning ability of English words of a child in standard 1st in India is 43.5%. Gujarat, which has recorded a milestone growth rate of 11.5% shows that not more than 25% of children can read and comprehend English at the standard 1 level (!!)
Bihar, with growth rate of 11.2% shows that only (!!) 33% children of age of 6 and 7 years [this would be the age where they are in std 1] have the ability to read English... The same data shows that Karnataka with the glitter of high high-tech education, has barely 37% of kids of standard 1, having basic knowledge of English! Orissa shows 34.5% and Jharkhand shows 41.8% are other states with low intellect of kids as per the survey (!!)
The entire survey is absolutely baseless and whole heartedly humiliating..
Firstly, the states which are shown as examples are the states that have achieved exemplary growth rate in the last 5 years... According to an eminent economist, Swaminarayan Anklesaria Aiyyar, in an article in his column Swaminomics, commented that in the 5 years, till the mid 2009, the growth rate achieved by Gujarat was 11.5% , and was highest in India.
Bihar at 2nd best registered 11.2% growth rate and that too, from the negative growth rate of -5.5%. [Magnificiant progress]. Jharkhand at 9.71% and Karnataka above 7% (which is calculated as the base percentage for desirable growth rate) have illustrious progress to show... Now, the next generation of these states, being judged as having low intellect and that too, for a frivolous reason of insufficient knowledge of a foreign language at the tender age of 6 or 7, is totally absurd..
This is the age the child learns the basic values of being a good human, responsible citizen and devoted patriot... The knowledge of a foreign language is not at all a must...
My question...
Are we preparing a society of tomorrow, without any concern for or integrity with the fellow countrymen? I have seen that the child without sufficient knowledge of mother tongue has no affinity or empathy with the society around them. These young ones grow up to condemn everything that is Indian... The essence of patriotism do not matter to them as they start speaking only in a foreign language.
India becomes foreign to them..
I do not wish to imply here that the learning English or any other foreign language is not welcome. But, the child going to an English Medium School must have to learn their mother tongue fluently and the knowledge of Indian languages should not only be compulsory but respected as much as learning Science and Math... As these languages will connect the next generation which has already stated disintegrating with their roots and our cultural heritage...
We should remember that the knowledge of English, that too at standard 1st level, should never be made a criterion for judging the intellect of our young. This trend will put undue burden on them and their teachers. The result will be that teachers will try hard to make them learn English instead of grooming their overall potential on one hand and teaching essential patriotic values on the other.
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