AAPs methods of political mangement

AAP has to be appreciated  for it’s efforts to involve the voters in a very critical decision making process in spite of torrent of criticisms. The principal political parties of India  are criticising the referendum tool, since they are used only to top down approach in administering their party’s affairs . Their regional leaders are  not consulted even on important matters such as, selection of candidates for elections . Their state  leaders are imposed on them arbitrarily. Surly, they can not imagine involving voters in arriving at a decision on a   crucial  matter. The strategies of AAP have  attracted the youth of this country who are fed up with the archaic methods  of  the major political parties . They are to be congratulated for creating political awareness and interest among the youth in their attempts towards, “transformational politics.”

The behaviour of AAP

The AAP should realise that the opposition party’s role is not to oppose everything connected with other parties. They should cooperate to help the party with numbers to form the government or they should form the government  taking the offer of support from other parties. If they impose another election in Delhi, thinking they will get the majority, it might boomerang on them. Voters are not fools. They want to see functioning  the AAP as a principal opposition party so that they can judge their performance. In a democracy , adjustment only will work and  “I will break than bend attitude will not work” It is not good for the infant party .  

Congress partys agenda

If the congress party is not going to learn lessons from the recent election results it will heavily loose in the general election . They need a dynamic person as  prime ministerial candidate . Ragul Ghandi is not impressive. He is still in the learning process . They also need to choose a good team of spokespersons with power of articulation as the BJP has . They need to aggressively propagate about their welfare schemes ..

Recent Farook Abdullah's coment on sexual harassment situation in India

Indian Union minister Farook Abdullah remarks on sexual  attacks on women conveys his real mind set towards women . I t only means that " men indulging in sexual harassment is  their natural behavior and women reporting about them is recent phenomenon and unnatural and the true  womanly quality is to  suffer in silence as previous  decades women had been doing . Otherwise the women with carrier ambitions will find it difficult to get jobs." I t is a direct threat given to courageous women who report sexual offenses . this is the mind of set quite a number of men in influential positions . Imagine the fate of women protection laws which are to be implemented by them . it is very sad that highly qualified persons like him have regressive mindset about gender matters

 For one reported case of sexual harassment there are 10000 unreported cases. women and her parents do not want media gaze on them and wide publicity to the violation of their dignity and hence they hesitate to give police complaint . Moreover the delayed justice system in this country is mainly responsible for their suffering in silence attitude. Hence, faster delivery of verdict , severe punishment for sex offenses , police protection to victims if VIP s are involved in the crime and regulated media reporting will help in exposing many offenders .

Rahul Gandhi"s outburst

The recent outburst of Rahul Gandhi on the ordinance to save the convicted legislators  is  not impressing anyone. It has only helped the opposition parties to call the Prime Minister  Man Mohan Singh as the weakest PM and ask for his resignation and the media with breaking news followed by hectic discussion  on the political immaturity of Rahul Gandhi .His sudden decision to indulge in political gimmicks of this sort will not boost up his image in the eyes of the people. His party might think his silence is better than outbursts over Cabinet’s decisions Does he understand that his articulation and defiance on the ordinance amounts to total disregard for the dignity of the office of the Prime minister, collective responsibility of the cabinet and party discipline? Is  he not aware  where and when he should have registered his protest over the ordinance?

Lalu"sconviction

Lalu’s conviction has proved to the Indians that , in India justice may be delayed but not denied. Even the delay can be justified to a certain extent due the involvement of too many politicians and bureaucrats  of the two states,  the complexity of the crime committed and the need to file too many cases .The Indian citizens who had lost hope of removing corruption from India which has become deep rooted and widespread and are numbed by the exposure of new scams involving huge amount of money one after another   have now seen a silver lining in  the midst dark  clouds.  The corrupt politicians and the bureaucrats may now ponder over the consequences of their corrupt practices  and try to mend their ways since, they would not like to spend their old age in prisons leaving out all the luxuries and the mighty power  which they have been enjoying hitherto with the corrupt money. .

                                  We are not ashamed

The Indian government and the Indian citizens   have been aping the west in many matters in an attempt to project themselves as a very trendy nation.  It is true that India  is an emerging economy and has  a pride of place at the global level.  But, we, as a nation have to be ashamed of certain undesirable factors which exist in this country.   They are related to the treatment of women, senior citizens, children and the disabled, the indifference to environmental cleanliness and the high level of corruption prevailing at all the levels of governance.     

Position of women In India

Indian  women are denied justice in matters of economic, social and political equality in spite of constitutional guarantees and  legal protection.   The very bad treatment of women in this country is  indicated by the result of  Expert polls conducted by Thompson Reuters Foundation  i.e.,” India is the world’s biggest democracy, but is ranked fourth most dangerous country for women  in the world due to a combination of violence, dangerous customs, lack of education and poverty  affecting Indian women.” . It is not an exaggerated finding, because,  not a day passes without news report of  rape incidents happening in different parts of the country  and Delhi proving to be the rape capital of the country . Even  four year old girl and old women are subjected to brutal form of sexual .violence .The PM, the President and the leaders of the ruling party and the opposition parties  expressed shock and concern over the raping of five year old Delhi girl child .. But what is the use of their reaction when rape incidents happen unabated in spite of the recent , "anti-rape law" which has put in place a slew of new provisions and tougher punishments? The recent rape reports  prove the point  that the   solution to sexual assault on women can not be solved by laws alone. Laws  have been ineffective in the face of a patriarchal culture. A combination of several measures have to be attempted urgently, if we are really ashamed of the  poll result of 370 gender specialists around the world that voted  India ,as the worst place for women among  all the G20 countries .

What is the use of death sentence, sacking of the police commissioners or advising girls to be careful in several matters?  These incidents mostly happen within homes . It is the mind set of boys and men that has to undergo drastic changes. The responsibility for correcting this situation  lies on the parents , teachers and film makers . It is true that  it will take a longer time. Till then the quick solution is to sensitise the lower level police personnel who are slow in filing FIR and speedy justice system . More over , the sexual assault crimes must be declared as non bail able offence. The  son preference  attitude which is dominant among even rich and educated families results in higher level of feticide resulting in skewed sex ratio i.e., 940/1000 as per 2011 census. The missing women of 60/1000  have disappeared from this world due to feticide, infanticide, higher female child death rate , higher maternal mortality , dowry death,  honour killings and  suicides which is due to rape, acid attack, sexual harassment , dowry harassment, domestic violence etc., In no other country the teachers, religious preachers, policemen and politicians indulge in raping  girl children. The culprits  are selected to contest election without any political morality s and win the elections  too and then try every method possible to escape punishment . Even   female tourists become victims of rape and this has compelled   few countries to declare India as an unsafe country for women travelers .  In the three months since that attack, the number of foreigners traveling to India has dropped by 25 per cent, according to the study by the New Delhi-based Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The number of women tourists has dropped by 35 per cent, the study released  said. A poll of 370 gender specialists around the world that voted ,India ,as the worst place for women among  all the G20 countries  caused  ripples in India. It stung – especially as Saudi Arabia was at the second-worst. But the experts were resolute in their choice. “In India, women and girls continue to be sold as chattels, married off as young as 10, burned alive as a result of dowry-related disputes and young girls exploited and abused as domestic slave”

Yet, we are not ashamed  of the unsafe conditions prevailing in India for girls and women  in spite of the existence of so many  laws .

Position of the poor senior citizens  In India   ”

The elderly population of India  will increase to 12% of the total population by 2025, 10% of which would be bedridden, requiring utmost care. And yet, states haven’t woken up to putting in place systems or infrastructure to take care of its elderly, a ministry official said.

A study by the National Commission on Population projects that senior citizens will comprise 8.3 per cent of the population by 2011, 9.3 per cent by 2016, 10.7 per cent by 2021 and 12.40 per cent by 2026..  60 % of the senior citizens are dependent on their children and not covered by government pension scheme. They belong to poor families and impose a burden  to their children due to their  and geriatric problems. This situation  results in abuse and ill treatment of the elders and creates mental agony for the elders in their sunset years.  Poverty in old age is a curse A study on abuse of India’s elderly, conducted across 20 cities and involving over 5,500 older people, has found that almost 1 in 3 (32%) have faced abuse. The son has been found to be the primary abuser in 56% of cases, followed by the daughter-in-law in 23% cases.. A review conducted by the Union health ministry has found that most states have failed to honour or execute the much-touted National Programme for Healthcare of Elderly (NPHCE). Any welfare oriented nation should take measures to take care of  their needs . But what is happening in India?  Under the Indira Gandhi  Old Age Pension scheme, those above 60 get Rs 200 per month and those above 80 get Rs 500 per month as pension. This amount is too low and the scheme covers only below poverty line citizens. Only 1.8 core of the elderly population benefit from this scheme. With the existing inflation level , how can the poor seniors expect to have decent living with this low pension amount? These seniors have spent their life time  toiling  in the agricultural fields , in the factories as un organised laborers ,  in developing  in infra structural  facilities for the nation  and in cleaning operations . But the government is indifferent to their needs  We are very proud of our communication development, nuclear power position , larger defense forces and allocate huge amount of money for these projects  But  the budgetary allocation for the care of the poor elders is very low causing immense hardships for them and  force them  to turn into beggars .The free senior citizen homes are run in very deplorable conditions causing distress to the elders.  Yet we are not ashamed of the indifference shown to the senior citizen’s needs .

Position of disabled persons in India

As per Census 2011 results  there are  21 million people in India as suffering from one or the other kind of disability. It is equal to 2.1% of the population as per 2011 census data  This meant that while the government officially recognises 20-30 million disabled people, 50-60 million are invisible. The constitution of India ensures equality, freedom. Justice and dignity for all the individuals, including persons with disabilities through the  policies of the Government of India. But there is total indifference to need of the disabled persons in this country. For example, the railway stations are not accessible. Ramps are rare and that too limited for entry into the foot over–bridges. Platforms are inaccessible. The gap (height) between the platform and the coach varies from station to station. India is noted for lack of resource allocation for facilities and opportunities for the disabled. The toilet has been made, but sadly it does not follow the international standards. The height and space are not made according to the requirements."

Negative attitudes held by the families of the disabled, and often the disabled themselves, deter disabled persons from taking an active part in the family, community or workforce. Those suffering from mental illness or mental retardation face the worst stigma and are subject to severe social exclusion. In fact, employment of people with disability actually fell from 43% in 1991 to 38% in 2002, despite the country's economic growth. In the public sector, despite a 3% reservation since 2003, only 10% of posts have been identified as “suitable”. The situation is far worse in the private sector. The sector has few incentives for hiring disabled people. In the late 1990s, employment of people with disability among large private firms was only 0.3% of their workforce. Among multinational companies, this was a mere 0.05%. Financial assistance too has hardly reached those in need. The quota policy is also covers just three types of disability – locomotors, hearing and visual. The equipments needed to assist the disabled in their daily tasks are not mass produced and are costly.  The Indian disabled persons are subjected to deprivation in many dimensions of their lives. Yet, we are not ashamed   of the inhuman attitude and indifference towards them.

Dirty cities of India

India cannot claim to be the world’s leading economy when its urban areas pose a major public health hazard. We might have reduced the number of poor people thanks to the benefits of planned economy. But the Indian government has failed to instill in urban and rural Indians, a civic sense and respect for public spaces. Many people are still defecating and urinating in the open, like they did centuries ago – not just in villages, but in urban areas as well. Forbes has rated Delhi as the 24th dirtiest city in the world with the filthy waters of the Yamuna and its unhealthy surrounding being cited as one of the chief factors. The arrangements made to improve the basic facilities like sanitation, drainage or infrastructural facilities by our government are not sufficient to meet the growing expectations of ever-growing population of the developed or developing cities. A Chinese tourist made a comment about Indian environment in one of her travelogues as, “All the places in India where there are human dwellings have three things in common—they are dirty, smelly and messy.”

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 Indians seem to lack civic sense when it comes to cleanliness of our public spaces  It is true that, it is difficult to expect the slum dwellers to maintain cleanliness since they are not provided with toilets and  regular supply of water. What about the well off sections? We often see people traveling in busses and trains and walking on the roads, spitting, urinating and throwing garbage anywhere and every where. The beaches and parks and other public places look dirty because of the lack of civic sense among the Indians. The conditions of some bus-stands and railway stations are a direct reflection of national attitude towards cleanliness. Some government offices look very dirty. Indian city roads and lanes are filled with  un cleared garbage and stagnated water.According to some survey report, half of the households in India do not have access to toilets. Many government schools do not have toilet facilities . The lack of clean   toilets  in the tourist spots and national highways is driving the  foreign tourists mad . We are not bothered about environmental degradation and  pollution caused by some of our activities. Is it because Indians in general  have no regard for cleanliness?  No,. India is so dirty because people prefer to live in that dirty environment than to clean things . . The government departments and the individuals  lack sense of cleanliness. Yet we are not ashamed and talk about Incredible India

Status of children in India  

The children of today are the future of tomorrow and they constitute one third of our population. Hence their needs are to be  addressed immediateBut the statistics available on their status in India is very shocking.

One out of 16 children die before they attain the age of 1, and one out of 11 die before they are 5 years old.

35% of the developing world’s low-birth-weight babies are born in India. Out of every 100 children, 19 continue to be out of school.

Of every 100 children who enroll, 70 drop out by the time they reach the secondary level.

Of every 100 children who drop out of school, 66 are girls.

65% of girls in India are married by the age of 18 and become mothers soon after.

India is home to the highest number of child labourers in the world.

India has the world’s largest number of sexually abused children, with a child below 16 raped every 155th minute, a child below 10 every 13th hour, and at least one in every 10 children sexually abused at any point in time

The very survival of the Indian child is a matter of concern. Around 2.5 million children die in India every year, accounting for one in five deaths in the world, with girls being 50% more likely to die

According to a report on the state of India’s newborns, the health challenges faced by a newborn child in India are bigger than those experienced by any other country.

One in every three malnourished children in the world lives in India. Child malnutrition is generally caused by a combination of inadequate or inappropriate food intake, gastrointestinal parasites and other childhood diseases, and improper care during illness.

40% of child malnutrition in the developing world is in India

A new report by the Naandi Foundation concluded that around 46 percent of all children below the age of three are too small for their age, 47 percent are underweight and at least 16 percent are acutely malnourished, or wasted.

India does have welfare systems aimed to aid millions of the hungry; school meals theoretically feed poor children across the country, and the Anganwadi services provide support to mothers in every district. Yet the services are plagued by mismanagement and corruption, Al Jazeera reports, that, the school meals carry worms and insects in them, and the Aganwadi centers are often closed and dysfunctional.

 Many of the street children who have run away from home have done so because they were beaten or sexually abused. Tragically, their homelessness can lead to further abuse through exploitative child labour and prostitution. Not only does abuse rob runaway children of their material security, it also leaves them emotionally scarred. Many of the abused children are traumatised and some refuse to speak for months. The facts and figures about the Indian children should cause some concern to the government. Yet we are not ashamed of the plight of the children.

Corruption.

Corruption is a  social evil. It spreads like cancer .Corruption in India is a consequence of the nexus between bureaucrats, politicians, corporates and the law offenders. Today, the number of ministers with an honest image can be counted on fingers. It looks as though entry into politics is to earn illegal money .At one time, bribe was paid for getting wrong things done but  now, and the citizens are used to bribing for getting right things done at right time. It has become  so widespread and deep rooted and the result is for everyone to see i.e., India is ranked at 95th position and 96^th among   183 countries in 2011 and 2012 respectively as per Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

. Most of the government offices are the places where corruption is most evident. Police are supposed to be the symbol of law and order and discipline. Even they are indulged in wide spread corruption. This is more so because, they enjoy unlimited powers and there is no action against them even on complaints. It is very distressing to note that   even the judiciary is not free from corruption. No one is made accountable for the various scams, involving several thousand crores of rupees .The process of law dealing with them is very slow. Hence, the influential law offenders are not really scared of punishment.

.Currently, the nation is rocked   by exposure of scam after scam at the government level.

Major corruption cases uncovered in 2012 include: the Karnataka Wakf Board Land case, at US$36.4 billion; the 2G Spectrum telecommunications case, involving the alleged misappropriation of US$32.15 billion; the Indian Coal Allocation case, a major issue as India faces energy scarcity, involving US$33.78 billion. With a total value of over US$100 billion, the corruption cases represent 5.5 per cent of India’s gross domestic product for 2011. If it is not controlled in time ,it will eat up all the good work done far.. Even the safety of our nation is jeopardised due to corruption in defense deals.

According to the World Bank, India has a poor rating on business climate. "One of the reasons is related to bribery and corruption resulting in lower FDI flow.. "It is difficult for foreign companies to operate in India without being touched by the issue  of corruption in some shape or form. India slipped to the fourteenth spot from the eighth position in the list of countries that attracted the highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) last year. The FDI   Inflows into India declined by about $10 billion to $25 billion, according to the “World Investment Report 2011” released by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) According to the investment report, India ranked way below its competing neighbor China, which saw FDI inflows to the tune of $106 billion in 2010. India was in the eighth place in 2009.The major reason is corruption, yet we are not ashamed of our global image in this matter

 

The concept of “women empowerment”-The real meaning.

        

 Women‘s empowerment is a new phrase in the vocabulary of gender literature. The phrase is used in two broad senses i.e. general and specific. In a general sense, it refers to empowering women to be self-dependent by providing them access to all the freedoms and opportunities, which they were denied in the past only because of their being a women ¶. In a specific sense, women empowerment refers to enhancing their position in the power structure of the society.

All the countries of the world have taken efforts to develop women resource, enacted  laws to guarantee the fundamental rights and opportunities and to protect them against violence so that women empowerment can be achieved and women resource become apart of the productive resource contributing to welfare of the society and national devilment.

Every nation believes that   If women are empowered with certain tools of empowerment such as higher education for knowledge on many matters , ,job training for independent income, health promotion facilities, legal protection for dignified living , political opportunities to participate in decision making process, they will be able to develop certain qualities such as

The ability to live without depending on others,

The ability to participate in decision making process,

The ability to protect themselves from violence,  

The ability to fight for equal rights, 

Their the ability to use the resources available to best advantage,

The ability to achieve the goals of life.

Women endowed with such qualities will not be sitting in a corner crying or suffer in silence or and remain passive under difficult circumstances and get into depression and then   commit suicide.

But when we see highly educated, women with high profile jobs like computer professionals, lawyers, teachers and scientist and film stars commit suicide, we get a doubt about their empowered status. These women who are not able to face the challenges of life and end their life  have not learn t  to use the tools of empowerment such as education, specialized job training, independent income ,women protecting laws of the land and the political rights effectively  to attain the empowered status. That means, they have not learned to use the empowerment tools foe betterment of their life. People mistake them as empowered women since their dresses are trendy they communicate excellently in English, able to drive vehicles, hold high profile jobs. But to qualify to be an empowered women they have to possess certain other inner qualities, in addition to possessing the tools of empowerment.

They are---     

     Positive attitude towards life

     Mental strength to face crises of life

     Willingness to work hard to achieve goals of life

     Courage to use women protecting laws in case of necessity

     Ability to cross hurdles of life without yielding to pressures

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Status of Indian women

    Year                                        2001                                       2011                      

    Sex ratio                             927:1000                                940:1000              

    Literacy rate                         54.17%                                   65.46%                 

    Female employment              26.2%                                    34.1%        

    Political-status              10.8 %,( Lok Sabha)                          9 %-( Rajya Sabha)

    Legal status--    27 direct and indirect laws but conviction   rate of offenders is only 2%

 India’s position in gender equity in the world is    129/146

 Better only than Afghanistan in South Asian countries  

The status of Indian women is still lower because of lack of awareness about many things such as, legal, health, political and economic rights. Majority of women have faith in certain traditional believes such as “women’s role is only within the family as home maker, they have to be content with a secondary role, women’s virtues are obedience and patience, political role is taboo for women, fighting for dignified treatment by men will affect family harmony, religions expect them to be subservient to men etc”., Since these cultural factors determine women’s mind set, fighting against injustice is unthinkable for them. 

This type of mindset prevails even among the highly educated and employed women who are considered as progressive minded. They are even afraid that they will get the tag of 'feminist"(as if it is an abusive word) if they start talking about their rights. The result is for all of us to see in the form of 129th rank in gender equality among the countries of the world. Let the women of India develop their inner strength, so that they can face the challenges of life with courage and confidence, attempt to live with dignity by avoiding total economic dependence on men and make use of the protective laws of India when crimes are committed against them instead of attempting and committing suicide. They do it In spite of having higher education and decent jobs. Such women do not understand the real meaning of empowerment and there is an urgent need to create awareness among women about the correct meaning of the word, “women empowerment” 

Women empowerment is the product of evolution and not of revolution. Women with stronger inner qualities can make best use of the tools of empowerment, such as higher education, economic independence, and better health, legal and political awareness to attain the goals of their life and live with dignity.  Let us not mistake that modern appearance, vehicle driving capacity, fluency in English, college degrees and jobs will make them as real empowered persons.  The strong inner qualities make a difference between a weak and a strong woman

Talk shows or break shows?

Talk shows are becoming popular among the television viewers. Those who are fed up with too much cinema events found them interesting. The success and popularity of a talk show depends on the anchor’s efficiency in leading the discussions, without losing the thread of the thought process which revolves around the theme of the talk show.   Usually they are conducted on topical issues. The general practice adopted is to divide the participants into two groups, holding opposite views on the topic   of discussion so that the viewers are able to understand the different perspectives of a particular problem. But the recent trend in talk shows seems to be the analysis of the relationships   between the family members such as, husband and wife, siblings, parents and chidden, mother and daughter in laws, fathering laws and son in-laws or between the teachers and the taught, employers and employees and girls and boys.

 It is agreed that talk shows can’t be conducted all the time on serious topical issues. We need relaxation to the mind through discussions on lighter topics too. But three is a danger when the strength of close relationships are tested before the television camera and telecast to the world if the anchor or the director is not careful. Human relationships are built more on sentiment and emotion than on practicality. Once it is cracked it is difficult to mend it. In a bid to make the show vibrant an anchor may encourage participants to reveal more and more of private matters in public and during such times the person who was thus exposed may feel humiliated and hurt and there is a chance that hurt turns into anger and spoil the relationship between the victim and the offender?   When family members participate in  a  talk show, get into a mood of uncontrolled talk for the sake  of 5 minutes popularity or just because he/ she was goaded by the anchor a danger likely to happen.  After the end of the shooting they have to back to the same home and face others about whom they exposed in the talk show. Not every one will take the exposures lightly. Even the adverse comments made liberally in such talk shows about relatives and friends might destroy human relationships

 Every talk show is has a theme. It starts with simple exchange of ideas related to the theme .  But as the discussion proceeds, the two groups become like war groups vehemently opposing each other. Sometimes,   the limits of privacy and decency are violated. Both the parties are goaded by the questions thrown by the anchor that compels them to articulate about their innermost opinion about family members seated in the opposite group. Sometimes they are coaxed more and more to come out with even actions or words done or said in the privacy   of a home. When such private matters are discussed in public by one party, the other party who was exposed in public is very embarrassed. The viewers often wonder how a wife or a husband after humiliating in pubic each other will go back home and continue to live with harmony. After describing the relative' behavior in the worst manner possible before a huge audience how it would be possible to continue the social intewrction with them?  Daughters expose freely the behavior of restrictive mothers and mothers expose the defects of daughters without any hesitation.  In one of the talk shows a mother was asked to   talk about the action of her married son which has caused her utmost distress. She started telling about an incident related to a personal help rendered by her son to his wife when both of them were getting ready to go to office with that she stopped. But the anchor didn’t leave her and continued to push her to reveal about her mental turmoil at that time. She was unwilling to talk further, because her daughter in law was seated opposite to her and was sitting with an shocked expression because she couldn’t belives that her docile looking mother in law will state before TV camera a simple act of help which her husband did to her with in the four walls her home as the act which has caused her mother in law maximum pain.  The camera focused on the mother in law for a long time until she broke down. It was very clear to the viewers that she had been driven to that situation and was afraid of thinking of the consequences on relationship with her son. All the viewers would have felt sorry for that mother, the daughter in law and the son.  When talk shows proceed in this manner there is neither information nor entertainment.  It only creates uneasy feelings among the audience

 Some young members talk uncontrollably in their anxiety to become more articulate in a talk show. We also find that boys are more restrained in expressing their views than the girls. In the name of liberty of expression the youngsters convey their opinion on every matter with least regard to values of life.  Al present   India is facing social crisis. The joint family system has  disappeared ,  gender conflicts are rising, the divorce rate is increasing,  respect towards  elders is dwindling , family bond  has weakened , the  in laws are always viewed as outlaws  and  there is trust deficit among relatives and neighbors ..  In short, the social and community harmony are weakening, for which India was so famous until a few decades ago. Let not the talk shows conducted only with an eye on TRP rating with least regard for breaking up of   human relationship.

The right words on the right occasions

Words uttered on various occasions have to be suitable to the occasion. . Words spoken once cannot be taken back. Hence, maximum care and diligence is required before speaking to others. Speaking the right words on the right occasions is like an art, which has to be practiced. “The words we use to communicate our feelings are like knife. In the hands of a skilful and careful surgeon, knife can do wonders to a person’s life. But in the hands of careless person it can cause greater harm”.

Every one of us has social obligations in our daily life and we try our best to fulfill them. We have to attend to happy and sad events occurring in the lives of our neighbors, friends, and relative’s. One wrong word or a sentence not suitable to an occasion might do irreparable damage to human relation ship. “Kind words should be short and simple. But the echoes are endless” –mother Theresa.   

Generally, happy events do not require too much caution while talking, because the atmosphere is charged with joy, noise, humour, enthusiasm, and connectivity with relatives. However, sad events require consoling words and our words should convey our sincere feelings and concern   towards the affected person. For example, if death has occurred in a family, no amount of consoling words would help in relieving the mourner from the sense of loss. At those times, any word in meaningless. A pat on the back or a hug or holding of hands might help in conveying our condolences than formal words. It is said, “Silence is the word of God”. Simple words like, “Don’t hesitate to call me when you need any help” or “I will pray to God to help you to give enough strength to bear this loss” are enough to convey our real feelings towards their loss than philosophical or religious sermon.

When we pay a visit to a patient admitted in a hospital for surgery or treatment, it is important to take care of our facial expression and words uttered .Our aim should be to boost up the sprit of the in-patient. A bouquet of colorful flowers will have the magical effect on the patient. If the patient is fond of reading, books or magazines with lighter themes or with jokes or funny events can help them to come out of depression. The inpatients are always eager to catch up with outside world activities. Office events or gossips can be shared, local news can be reported and successful cases of patients with the same decease can be narrated to give them courage and confidence. We should avoid suggesting some other hospital or doctor or complaining about the admitted hospital’s facilities. If there is complications in the patient’s condition or if the patient is deteriorating, concern and worry or other details regarding the patients position should be shared with the attendant outside the room .Even the attendant should be consoled through offer help and words of courage and should not be demoralized by our words.

Retrenchment of employees has become common ever since, the global recession started hitting the economies. The sudden loss of job causes tremendous mental stress to the retrenched employees victims. They are filled with anxiety about the need to meet the existing financial commitments,  good reemployment opportunity and the waiting period .  The future looks bleak during the intervening period, when a series of interviews attended fail to get them a satisfactory job. At such times, they get into deep depression and even consider suicide if unemployed period prolongs. At such times,   the immediate family has to be extra careful while dealing with them. No word that would crush their hope for better future should be uttered. Useful suggestions regarding alternative ways earning an income should be given to them. Friends should be supportive through offer of help such as forwarding their resume to the existing vacancies in their companies and visit them frequently. Their “words of kindness are more healing to a dropping heart than balm or honey.”(Sara Fielding, British novelist). Positive energy should be passed on to them through encouraging words. Sympathetic words or word that would create fear in their mind about future should be avoided.  

 The school final examination result day creates havoc in many youngsters’ lives in India. If the daughter or son failed to get higher percentage of marks, the whole family behaves as if the worst misfortunate has hit them .The parents use humiliating words in front of others and daunt them with comparisons with friends and other siblings. It is because the words uttered at such times carelessly, the children loose self-confidence and self worth .Unable to bear the cruel words they opt either to run away from home or attempt suicide. They never realise that, “reckless words pierce like a sword and the tongue of the wise heals.”- (Proverb)

It is true that education is a powerful tool of empowerment and getting higher education in prestigious college and getting admission into a highly demanding course help in progress in life. How ever, parents do not understand that in today’s changing education scenario, school final examination mark neither offers total guarantee for bright future or does it proves originality or intelligence of a student. A lot of mediocre students from mediocre colleges also shine well in life. Academic performance might help only at the entry level in the job market.  After entry, various other soft skills play a major role in carrier advancement. Moreover, at present the job market has become broader and demands variety of skills. Innumerable courses are offered by the colleges especially, by the self-financing stream, which do not expect high percentage of marks for every course offered.  The students can be admitted into any such course as per their aptitude and future goal. Hence, the parents should understand these matters and use suitable words to console and instill confidence in the minds of their children and guide them properly.

Written by DR. Prof. Rameeza.A.Rasheed

When loneliness stalks the senior citizens

Prof. Rameeza A. Rasheed

The article was published in the Hindu Open page On 16.6. 2010

  

The solution to the problem may lie in joining homes for elders or forums modelled on those existing abroad

The reduction in fertility level, reinforced by a steady increase in life expectancy, has produced fundamental changes in the age structure of the population. This, in turn, leads to the ageing population. The older population of India, which was 56.7 million in 1991, was 72 million in 2001 and is expected to grow to 137 million by 2021. Today, India is home to one out of every 10 senior citizens of the world. Since the number is big their problems are worth discussing.

Senior citizens face three serious problems. They are poverty, disease and loneliness. An emotional and psychological problem tormenting the elders is loneliness. This is due to the growing “empty nest syndrome”. The children go away to far-off countries in search of economic betterment. Even if they live within the country, due to the spread of western ideas such as “spacing, privacy, individualism and non-interference,” the nuclear families are becoming the norm even in villages. Love marriages have further aggravated the breakup of the joint family system. Even within joint families, the elders feel lonely owing to the denial of due respect, concern and care by youngsters. The younger generation generally lacks sensitivity towards elders' need for emotional support. All these factors have contributed to the psychological trauma called “loneliness”.

The elders suffer extreme loneliness, not having anybody to share their thoughts or the burden of day-to-day management. In the cities, neighbourhood friendships are rare and relatives and friends are busy with their own lives. Phone calls and visits become rare. Under these circumstances, the ‘living alone' elders have no option except to rely on television, books and computer and the telephone; sometimes, to keep themselves engaged, some people resort to hobbies or do community service or take to freelance writing or blogging. In spite of the efforts to engage themselves fully, when they are left alone without any human contact day after day, week after week, the senior citizens become depressed, especially when they recollect their productive past and their sacrifices for the family and compare them with the destitute-like situation which they are pushed into. Then they decide that there is no purpose in living because, “to be forgotten by everybody is worse than death.” When such thoughts affect them deeply, a prolonged life becomes deadweight and not a blessing.

They also get depressed with the burden of single-handedly managing matters related to food, medical care, household work, security, finance, transportation, servants and repairs in a country like India where the support facilities are highly inadequate. There are also growing incidents of attack on elders when they rely on strangers for certain services. They dread to think of facing their last moments alone. In a world so fearful of old age, there may be not be anyone physically close enough who recognises the symptoms and can help them.

The solution to the problem of loneliness may lie in the elders joining senior citizen homes. But in India, these homes are not run satisfactorily. Private homes are run on profit motive and have hostel like restrictions and the free ones are run in a deplorable manner — hence these are the last option.

Another solution is to join senior citizens' forums, so that their psychological need for social networking to fight loneliness will be met. They think it will put an end to the monotony in life through interactive programmes and new friendship developing resulting in caring and sharing.

But in India, they are all working like trade unions, always discussing, drafting and presenting charters of demands to the government. They work as watertight compartments, and hence their voice is not heard by the authorities. They usually specialise in conducting health awareness programmes and arrange for a talk by doctors once a month followed by a question and answer session. Meeting after meeting, the same questions and answers are repeated. Members disperse without any interaction with others and with more worries about their health. There is no programme to relax their mind or to promote interaction and friendliness. Another peculiar feature of the Indian senior citizen forums is the total absence of women.

In contrast, look at the working style of a foreign senior citizen forum. I happened to participate in one such meeting. I was informed that they conduct six programmes each month for members. They are lunch or dinner in a centrally-located hotel, a picnic to a nearby place, a cultural event, a visit to a senior citizens' home or the geriatric ward in a hospital to talk to the patients, awareness programmes on health, safety and security, the use of pets for assistance, investment priorities, insurance facilities, legal matters and preparation of will, etc., and finally, a book circulation programme.

I was much impressed with the way it works. Members bring all their used books, magazines, DVDs and cassettes on an allotted day in a month and exchange them among themselves; each one of them maintains a diary to note down the details of the exchanges and thus there is an endless circulation of books and DVDs. This programme has helped the seniors get access to a very good source of knowledge and relaxation in the most economic manner and facilitated interaction with the other members.

The compatibles among them become close friends and this friendship is extended to the family level too. Thus, the lonely seniors gain family friends and effective social networking is the final result. Such friends turn into supporting groups and help each other. This model is worth emulating by the senior citizen forums in India.

(The author can be contacted at: rameezarasheed @gmail.co

The golden days of my village life

The memories of my childhood days spent at Natchiar Koil village in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu are still fresh in my mind. Such memories led me to compare the existing situation in India, in general, and in villages, in particular, with the past. An analysis left me sad for the undesirable transformation which India has undergone over the last few decades. Those were really golden days.

As children, we didn’t know that our village was famous for the Mariamman temple, the Perumal (Vishnu) and Natchiar temple, for the world famous brass lamp factories, for Nagaswaram vidwans like Raghavan Pillai and for betal leaves. Our village, like any other village of yesteryear in Tamil Nadu, had an Agraharam, where Brahmins lived, the Muslim streets surrounding the mosque and the colony where the Scheduled Castes lived. The Brahmin youth were working in offices, the Muslims were landlords and traders and the Scheduled Castes mostly served the other communities in various capacities. But we never witnessed communal clashes or disputes. We lived in total harmony. Everyone treated the other with dignity. All community leaders participated in the meetings held to discuss village matters.

The Mariamman temple festival was celebrated for 10 days at a stretch. It attracted crowds from all surrounding villages and towns. Small traders from all over Thanjavur district participated in the shanty, spreading their wares in the lanes around the temple. Children, and even adults, used to crowd the shops for the whole day. Things which attracted the women were vessels of all types, readymade clothes and kitchenware. The children liked seeni mittai, a sweetmeat in different shapes and colours. Jav mittai was an attraction as well. The vendor would sing songs to attract children and pull out the colourful, sweet semi-liquid material which was elastic enough to be moulded from the bamboo which was holding it and out of which he would make birds, animals, watches, insects, etc., as per our demand and stick the design on our hands. Girls used to crowd ribbon, bangle and wooden and papier-mâché doll shops and boys thronged shops selling kites and tops. There were bioscopes through which we can see “cinema bits” and the merry-go-rounds, and folk arts performances provided us enough entertainment.

The best part of the festival was the display of religious tolerance. All Muslim families wrote letters to their relatives living afar, inviting them for the Mariamman festival. Every Muslim home used to have so many guests during those days. The same way, people of different faiths arrived for the three-day float festival of the Natchiar temple, making it grand by their presence, participating in the festival activities organised outside the temple. I still remember the regular badminton practice given by my father to Brahmin boys on the mosque ground in the evenings.

Hindu women used to bring their babies suffering from fever to the mosques in the evening and would wait for the Mullahs to come out after prayer and get them cured of illnesses. The Mullahs would recite Arabic prayers, and bless the babies.

Muslim families always threw a separate vegetarian feast the day after their family weddings for Hindu friends. On Pongal days, all agricultural labourers used to bring fruits, flowers and hens for the Muslim landlords and they, in turn, were given dresses, money and food. They were allowed to decorate the cattle as they liked.

In short, everyone faithfully followed his/her religion and was tolerant of other religions. They never talked of conversions. As children, we never bothered to know about the classmates’ religion. We never heard of untouchability during our school days. In the big bazaar of our village, Hindu and Muslim traders conducted business without any clash of interests or rivalry.

Our village had panchayat-run Tamil medium primary and secondary schools. Private schools were unheard of. Students belonging to the rich, middle and poor classes studied in the same school. Our teachers never demanded but always commanded the respect of not only students but also the village elders. The headmaster was always consulted by the panchayat leaders in village matters. Out teachers inculcated in us the values of religious tolerance, patriotism, secularism, respect for elders and honesty. Independence and Republic days were celebrated with patriotism. I still remember some Hindu teachers giving free tuition to poor Muslim students and some Muslim landlords helping poor Brahmin boys in their higher education.

Life was simple and stress-free. We spent our childhood playing out on the dry riverbed, the open ground for the entire evenings. We played in rainy and summer seasons. We played in mud and clay, but were never discouraged from playing for a long time and we never felt sick because of dust or pollution. We never had heavy homework. Going to school was fun since we could meet all our friends and exchange our eatables. We studied only for the examinations. English was introduced only from Standard VI. Yet many of us could get higher educational qualifications and a decent status in our life.

I can go on and on, with the memories of my village life. My heart bleeds when I now hear news of loss of human lives, destruction of business and property taking place, in the name of religion. It is painful to see responsible political leaders making hate speeches about different communities, owners refusing to rent out their homes to particular communities, children in village schools suffering the indignity of untouchability and neighbours in apartments in the cities boycotting one another on the basis of religion. How backward have we become in social harmony and religious tolerance? Our mindset has become so rigid against peaceful co-existence. Such an ugly transformation is not only confined to the cities but has spread to villages, which had all along protected the rich Indian culture. Will India revert to the golden days?

(rameezarasheed@ gmail.com)

Written by Rameeza A. Rasheedand published in the Hindu, Open page on 9.9. 12 

predicament of the diabetic patients

            Diabetic is just a “disorder and not a disease” –say the doctors

 India has achieved a pride of place as “the diabetic capital of the world ‘with 50.8million diabetic patients followed by china with 42.3million and the USA with 26.8million, according to new figures released by the International Diabetic Foundation. What an achievement?

According to the medical fraternity ‚ diabetes is not the “disease” at all. It is a "symptom" – an outward "signal" – or a “disorder” created by the damaged pancreas that simply is too damaged to produce the insulin your body needs to regulate the levels of sugar in your blood. Even the doctors acknowledge that they have no idea, what causes diabetes and   they don't know how to cure it but there is always a prescription for some drugs any way. Our common sense asks, why would you take drugs if there is no cure for a disease or disorder? The doctors warn of severe consequences if a right balance in this disorder is not restored and such a balance is possible only if we learn to mange diabetic, with total control over diet, medicine, exercise and mental stress.

 The Indian diabetic patients are the proud members of a club which has the maximum membership in the world . Once they are pushed into its membership, they should learn that “just a disorder “description given by the doctors should not be taken lightly as it is made to appear. They should understand every aspect of this disorder.  

Dr. Young who is an American microbiologist and nutrition scientist and known as one of the top research scientists in the world explained that “The pancreas is a vital organ in our body near the stomach. Its main job is to produce the hormone, insulin. Within your pancreas there are cells called Beta Cells that produce insulin. Normally, these cells produce insulin continuously, raising their output in response to the increase in blood sugar that occurs after you eat. When we ingest all the poisonous foods which cause the blood to turn acidic, these Beta Cells are unable to do their job correctly. Obviously, with heavy demand on your Beta Cells from the acid in your system, your pancreas cannot function properly. Diabetes comes to life. Note that the cells in your pancreas are over acidic because of the food you eat and that is the reason , we are told that diet is one of the major influences on your Diabetes condition,. Because "We are what we eat”. Once you “cleanse” the pancreas from the overflow of acids‚ it starts to rebuild the beta cells to their only natural function, the production of insulin. Once you focus on the ‘Root Cause’ of your Diabetes — you instantly start seeing Diabetes from a different perspective — instead of "Medication" and "fighting the symptoms," you start thinking about "Health" and treating the cause.”

When we try to understand this “Dis order,” we learn that it is more important to pay attention to what you eat, than to deal with the symptoms that drugs can fight from the outside, because “prescription drugs only mask symptoms. They do not cure. Actually they exacerbate the problem as they weaken your immune system. What is meant to help you out only make matters worse? We learn that the medicines help only to control blood sugar artificially and do nothing to control the decease because, these medications cause other health problems. The doctor ends up prescribing more drugs to control those new symptoms which cause yet further side effects and render your original medications less effective, so your doctor doubles or quadruples your original dosages and this vicious cycle just goes on and on. In the end what awaits you is an implicit death sentence of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure debilitating nerve damage (neuropathy) blindness, impotence, amputations and many other grim diabetes complications .Quite scary, isn’t it? Yet it is described as only a “disorder.” The solution to all of this is to get back into your natural state of vibrant health by "cleansing" yourself from the inside, allowing your body to get rid of the acids that are taxing your cells, to enable them to start functioning properly again. Is it as simple as that?

Just observe what happens, as soon as soon as a person is diagnosed with diabetic “disorder.” The first thing he /she do is to call all the near and dear ones and share their fears of this “disorder. The next things they do is , to   browse the internet, read all the medical articles that appear periodically in the print media and listen to doctor’s discussions in the electronic media to get maximum knowledge on this problem. They get panicky after reading about the nexus between the doctors and pharmaceutical companies and the effects of too many medicines and end up doubting the doctors and the specialty hospitals. Then they start seeking advice from   the senior club members regarding the right food since they go mad with the list of forbidden food items which the dieticians give. In fact this disorder has entered into every family and hence when two family friends meet, next to weather, diabetic diet is the subject of discussion.  .Due to endless diabetic gossip on what to eat and what not to eat, they get into the trap of fear psychosis and avoid most of the food items, and become physically week and the energy level drops, leading to other complications. The patients think it is the dieticians who confuse them to the maximum extent regarding the right diet pattern. But in reality they have a tough job. The diet differs from person to person according to their age, body constitution, digestive capacity, level of blood sugar and their life style. They have to answer hundreds of queries of the patients patiently. The patients get out of the hospital with frustration with all the food restrictions. Most of the nice and tasty items of food which we have been relishing so far are banned for ever. The dieticians constantly din into our ears about the need to take  raw vegetables, greens, sprouts and sundals  making us to doubt , whether we have become members of the  animal kingdom. Even most of the fruits created by God for humanity and even the innocent looking biscuits are forbidden for ever. It is so difficult to manage the diabetic’s diet because, the quantity,   the calorie, the protein, the carbohydrate , the fat, fibers and   the sugar contents of our food  are to be constantly monitored . The next thing is to take care of the exercise part. It requires tremendous will power to get into the routine exercise regime. The easiest part is swallowing the medicines. We do not mind taking one dozens medicines than agreeing to take insulin injection, even when the doctors try to educate its benefits. Somehow self poking everyday is anathema to many patients and they are afraid the number of times insulin has to injected might increase in course of time.

When we visit a specialty diabetic center, our sprits get boosted up since the diabetic club members see hundreds of fellow members waiting in the queue( to shell out thousands of rupees.) They don’t have to worry about their stay there for 4 to 6 hours since all the facilities required for them is available less than one roof. The atmosphere is high tech and their confidence level rises as they see posters every where announcing very grandly that “diabetic is only a disorder and not a decease.” Their comfort level in becoming a member of the diabetic club of India   becomes higher when they see even children and youth as fellow members. The awareness lecture given there explains that, “Just as the four legs of a chair help in keeping the chair firmly on the ground, balance between diet, medicine exercise and emotional balance are to be maintained if diabetic disorder should not create any problem.” Easily said than done! Is it that easy to live without any stress? When we have to consume so many medicines and worry about their side effects, the need to have regular self check and the growing medical expenditure, is it possible to live stress free? Diabetic management itself is very stressful. Even the simple events of life such as the absence of a servant, frequent power failure, daily news on corruption create stress in our mind.  In short, it looks as though our 24x7 hours job is to monitor our health status and life can not be lived in a care free and light hearted manner. The senior citizens have another worry. Most of them are dependent seniors and they shudder to think of the burden they will impose on their near and dear ones if they become members of this club. Is it not high time for the medical fraternity to call the diabetic as a “decease” than a “disorder ‘so that the finance ministry will consider taking this problem seriously and give tax rebate for diabetic care expenditure of senior citizens  at least ?

 The worst situations are experienced during marriages and other functions. The dining hall is filled with aroma of mouth watering dishes. The “disorder “club members have to omit all the tasty items like sweets, dishes mixed with coconut, ice-cream, fruits and the chutneys. The non members can never imagine the misery of drinking tea, coffee and milk with out sugar. In short everything in life which we have enjoyed so far is to be sacrificed forever.  Is there any meaning in life in living for a long time with these regimented restrictions? Now, a question arises in our mind i.e., prolonged life with diabetes is a boon or bane?

Wanting to strike a positive note after a narrating a negative note on “diabetic disorder” this author wants to list out the benefits of becoming a member of the diabetic club. Each member of this club becomes  health conscious ,  do periodic  medical check up,  consume the  right food  in the right quantity and in the right time, do  regular exercise and thereby are likely to prevent so many other serious health problems. But the non members remain happily free from these ordeals, enjoy their food without any restriction and remain free from regular exercise and thus are exposed to major health risks and medical emergencies. The prestigious club members tend to become philosophical too and accept the situation “of eating to live than living to eat” Finally, they turn religious too, because every time they enter a diabetic specialty hospital, they have to compulsorily pray for two things viz., for protection from enhanced charges for the various tests and   for the test result of below 5.6% HbA1c which is the true index of the average blood glucose control over previous 2-3months.