Training Indian youth with technical skill

Santosh  Mehrotra’s article, “Utopia as skill set” the Hindu  Published in The Hindu (12.11.13) clearly points  out the deficiencies in our programme for technical and soft skill acquisition by undergraduates and graduates of India. He rightly says that setting unrealistic target regarding the millions to be trained in each year results in failure of the programme. All the suggestions given by him to reap the demographic dividend are worth government’s attention. India always seems to pay more attention to quantity than to the quality of services and this attitude is  standing in the way of consistent   and right type of technical  training to our youth and converting In them into human capital. If China, Germany and Japan have excellent technical  training  models , there is nothing wrong in picking  a suitable model among them and follow it in India , so that we will not be committing the blunder of wasting the enviable youth resource which has the potentiality to contribute to  industrial and agricultural productivity to a great extent  .

Clean India campaign

Swachh Bharat scheme is not an easy one to achieve in a short period  considering, the fact that, India’s global  rank in cleanliness is 123 . It requires a multi pronged approach and requires embracing water, sewage, garbage and pollution managements  and total coordination  between central and state and governments and local administrative units . It requires sufficient allocation of man , material and money to implementthe programmes chalked out. It requires massive awareness programmes in which the civil  society , NGOs , colleges and schools participate . Basically, Indians attitude of minding only the cleanliness of their homes  and ignoring and not minding littering or dirtying  the  public places should  undergo a  drastic change . Only then the position  where , “private places are clean and public places are very dirty " as many tourists feel will change

child labour and sathyarthi

In his article, “hero or persona non grata” (17.10.14) in the Hindu, Abhimanyu Singh exposes certain facts in support of the non recognition of Kailash Sathyarthi’s commendable service in the filed of child labour. The fact that, Satyarthi  “has marshaled facts and figures to show that the extent of unemployment of able bodied adults in India is directly related to the number of children below----the age of 16 year,” at the international level would have irritated the government, the bureaucrats  and the unethical employers and led to the non recognition of his human service .If the present government is really in an urge to remove the cobwebs in our economy, it  should take efforts in the direction of the removal of child labour, at least , after the media's exposure of the severity of child labour in India in the discussions  which followed  the award of Nobel Prize to Satyanath .It is because ,child labour  harms the society in two ways i.e.,  in the continued  illiteracy of poor children and poverty of adult unemployed persons.

On toilet constructions

The  “building toilets  is the necessary but easiest part , bringing about behavioral change  is the more daunting challenge”, the  editorial of The Hindu says.  If India has to achieve better health indicators , the government and private efforts are to be directed towards   preventive and promotive health care measures . The local administrative units are to be equipped with men, material and money (the three “M”s ) so that, they  can concentrate on spreading  health literacy related to toilet usage. They should   ensure sufficient supply of water for enabling people to adopt  better hygiene practices and maintenance of toilets .They are  to be made accountable for the maintenance of public toilets in tourists spots, high ways and in other public places which are now in deplorable condition and spoiling  the image of India in cleanliness aspects among the tourists.

Quality of teachers in iNdia

The Report on the pass percenatage in the teachers eligibility test as reported under the caption “ teachers tests throws up low scores” on 13.10.14  in The Hindu   causes worry about the  pathetic condition of our elementary school education and it’s effect on the quality of our future generation   This situation again confirms the findings of the various committees on education  that, in India ,the education sector does not attract the best minds towards the teaching profession  .Hence the teachers lack the desire and the efforts to understand the specific needs of Indian students and the need to upgrade their skills periodically . As long as promotions give weightage only to seniority, non recognition of good performance continue and concentration is only window dressing efforts while organising the various programmes meant for enhancing teachers quality such as ,the orientation and refresher courses, revamping teacher training curriculum  etc., the teacher’s quality will surly remain low.  

On an article in the Hindu

The article by Arun kumar(10.10.14), inThe  Hindu  “For a place in world space” has  broken many  myths related to the   tall  claims made about our three “D” , role of FDI  in the growth process, the benefits of centralised   power ,  the media’s projection that suggests that “India is being wooed by the major economic powers “after the visit of PM,  Modi  to china, Japan and USA. If the last claim is true why would President Obama make a statement immediately after  Modi’s departure from USA that, “USA is the best country for investment than China or India?”  Is it not wiser to use our demographic dividend by  encouraging  young and  technologically savvy man power  towards  agricultural entrepreneurs , use their brain in the industrial sector by accelerating it’s growth than exporting them, and by strengthening the  small and medium sector to cater to our growing demands of the middle and poor class  buyers than flooding our country with low quality  Chinese products ? Won’t  democratising the functioning  of our political parties attract young persons into active politics and  remove leadership vacuum atleast for the future?.

If it is true that , everyone is equal before law , why then it is repeatedly argued in the case of Jaya  lalitha that , she should not stay in prison for along period because, “if at the end of the appeal if she was found to be innocent , how should she be compensated for the time she spent in jail?” Is  not this argument  applicable to every political and non political persons holding  responsible positions in public life ? Moreover , even in the case of ordinary citizens  thousands of the prisoners languish in jails as under for many number of years and then released as not guilty . Don’t we know that, thousands of Muslim youth were arrested on suspicion of link with terrorist activities , kept in jails for nearly 4-7  years and then released as not guilty? Who had compensated for the loss of their education and productive years and damage to their future life? .

Tamil Nadu incidents

How can the lawyer members of the AIADMK not respecting the principle that , ‘all are equal before law and justice can be obtained only through courts? What can they achieve  through street demonstrations and resolutions  condemning the court verdict  and sending petitions to the President, ruling party leader and Human Rights Commission and sitting in dharna in Delhi ? There is nothing wrong in showing solidarity with their leader in their party’s  hour of crisis . But , causing inconvenience to the public of  Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and creating panicky situation and vying with one another to get noticed by their leader by their acts of loyalty ,is nothing but demonstration of high degree of sycophancy. The chief minister of Tamil Nadu should act fast to restore peace in the state. 

decision to close private schools and colleges in Tamil nadu

The news regarding the closure of all the private  schools and  engineering colleges in Tamil  Nadu caused in support of  release Jays Lalitha caused mental disturbance to neutral citizens . Why are the teachers, parents , students and principal’s associations cooperating with the order or  threat or request from some where ? What have the students and teachers to do with a  court verdict ?. Let at least the education sector remains  free from political gimmicks . It looks as though Tamil Nadu has lost sense of rationality , logical reasoning power and lacks the basic knowledge, “ that everybody is equal before law” and that a court verdict can be challenged only through the legal route and not in public places causing enormous inconvenience to every one .Spreading fear of occurrence of  violence at any place and any time sends a message that  currently Tamil Nadu is not under rule of law and governance has come to a stand still .

Make it in India appeal by PM Modi

“Make in India” the expressive appeal by PM Modi to outside and inside investors will not yield immediate effect on the outflow and inflow of industrial investments  unless the concerns raised related to land, laws and labour are addressed  immediately. The  previous congress led government was constantly accused  for policy paralysis and the resulting dismal performance of the manufacturing sector. At least they had an excuse because they were in a democratic mess  due to the non cooperation of the main opposition and coalition partners in every single step towards reforms. But Modi’s government with astounding majority to rule this nation  has no such impediments. Hence what the nation expects from this government is less of rhetoric and more of action  towards accelerating  industrial progress by reviving investor’s confidence . Is it not true that ,the foreign investors  are thoroughly  disappointed with the absence of clear policy statement for future regarding retrospective tax concerns?

s on smrithi's blunder

Is Smrithi Irani,, the HRD  minister of  the BJP government  really  unaware of the difference between the Yale University Degree and the participation certificate issued by it for a short duration leadership programme in which few other MPs also participated?  It is highly amusing and at the same time very distressing to know the caliber and the knowledge level of   a minister who is made  in charge of our  education system in particular  and the policies and programmes concerning the  Human Resource Development in general . Currently we are also aiming for the entry  of foreign universities in the Indian higher education scenario and engaged in many reforms in the education system. therefore, there is nothing wrong if the Indian voters expect  PM, Modi to exercise prudence in choosing  the right persons for  very important ministries like HRD ministry  at a time when the Indian higher education system is facing multiple and very complex issues.  

India's request for amendments in TFA

There is nothing wrong in India’s demand for, “permanent peace clause until a final  understanding on subsidy is reached” because, India’s  concern about the  financial  burden on the government  and plight of the poor if the present agreement is signed in it’s present form  is genuine . More over, India’s  badly designed grain procurement and distribution programme  is no reason to agree to the use of an outdated benchmark price to calculate the nation’s food subsidy. India can perfect the procurement system in course of time .It is true that,  it is a tough task  to convince 160 member countries of WTO about  the amendments India wants in  TFA , since it would involve drastic changes   in the WTO procedures and parliamentary approvals in the WTO  nations . But , it is also true that  India’s insistence   upon change in the method of calculating the legally permissible subsidy. It cannot be based on prices that prevailed in 1986-88. When India stand isolated in this matter , PM  Modi can make use of his visit to USA  to convince president Obama about the compelling reasons for seeking   amendments  in TFA .If  he succeeds in that attempt, half the struggle in convincing WTO members is won.

Shopping for saris and it’s therapeutic value

                   Shopping  for saris and it’s therapeutic value

There are many suggestions given to drive out mental depression, such as  seeing a comedy movie or scenes in the television, reading comics, joining a friend’s group for some activity or getting out of the home or listening to music etc., But of late shopping is suggested as an activity with higher therapeutic value. Even window shopping is considered as helping to fight depression. We indulge in shopping for acquiring household items, dresses, jewelry, accessories, furniture, latest gadgets, art pieces etc. But as far as women are concerned ,shopping for personal wardrobe is considered as an activity which would instantly drive out mental depression. I have heard many women supporting this idea. It is highly true in the case of Indian women because in no other country the weavers, the designers, the printers of handloom and mill made clothes are glorifying women with such variety of dresses through their creations. All the states in India specialise in a particular type of women dresses especially in weaving of the saris.

The minute a woman decides to buy a sari to get out of depression, she would be indulging in an urgent plan that includes allotment of budget for the purchase, the locality to visit, the shops to enter and a rough idea of the material and color of the of the sari, so that there should not be a repetition of any sari which they already  have or their friends and relatives have, because women get immense satisfaction in wearing exclusive saris which no other women should be seen wearing. (Vanity, thy name is woman)

Then, after entering the shop they hop from counter to counter to see all the available variety of saris even if they are remotely connected to their budget. The excuse for this behavior is to get knowledge regarding the latest designs and prices so that they can use that knowledge during the next available opportunity. This stage in the   shopping has dramatic effect on their mental condition. The mind is a so refreshed after seeing such variety of saris decorated with gold and silver colour zari  , beads , stone work , hand woven borders with breath taking designs with vegetable dyes, machine prints and hand woven saris with vast types of color combinations arrived from north, south, east and west of India

Most of the women have the tendency to stop and look at the saris unfolded by the sales men for others, even after selection their saris for comparison sake. This comparison attitude continues until the bill is settled  since, even at that stage saris selected  by others are casualty surveyed to check whether their saris  remain exclusive  still. Women prefer

to go to boutiques in spite of untouchable prices  for the sake of selecting an unique, latest ,and beautiful  saris because, they do not like to possess a sari 100 other women would be wearing .They hate to buy any sari  in their opinion is  “too common” in  design and colour combination . It is true that only those women who have husbands who do not micro manage the family expenses and only those  working women with financial independence  can resort to sari shopping to tackle mental depression . Others resort to window shopping because even  that activity  helps in relaxing the mind through visual effects of a huge sari collection and its beautiful display.

I have a friend who has one full size steel cupboard filled with “depression saris” as she calls them. I noticed that it was very unique and breadth taking  collection. I was wondering whether she would be getting into fresh bout of depression if she doesn’t get chances to display them for long time  . Many women would agree that sari shopping indeed has higher therapeutic value because , all the steps involved in it are interesting and relaxing to the affected  mind. Men do not understand the complexities and technicalities involved in sari selection. Those men who accompany women for sari shopping wonder at the time consumed in selection and the pity the sales men who untiringly unfold hundreds of saris for each woman customer in their effort to guess the particular taste of a customer. I often wonder why do  men accompany women to sari shops because women like to have total freedom in sari selection. If they are forced to select sari to please their  husbands who give a suggestion in selection , they are sure to exchange it the next day under some pretext. Moreover, sari shopping is therapeutic only when it is done with leisure and  patience and it is better husbands  stay way from it because , quite often they  are the source of mental depression  of their wives.   

 

Community psychology

                                                Community psychology

                                                   

The important economic and social problem of the 21^st century which the countries of the world are facing is growing number of the aged population. It is estimated that by 2025 the number of persons above 60yeras (the third age) will increase from the current 590 million to 1.2 billion. That means namely 25% of the population will be in third age. This situation is described as “silver tsunami” . This segment of the population is considered as unproductive and dependent population. The burden of higher dependent population on the limited working population would create economic and social problems. It will pose challenges to a growing economy in the form of fewer tax contributors and larger number of benefit receivers and this would strain the budget. The working population in addition to paying taxes will have to support the elders which is likely to result in cutting down their savings and investments and that would create tension within the family and on the nation’s capital formation process. Thus, aging has its impact on family and the economies all over the world.

Social scientists talk about “community psychology” as a solution to this problem. In simple terms, it means, involving the seniors in the  community services either on voluntary or honorarium basis  so that, their psychological  wellbeing is  maintained or restored . When they start  utilising their expertise in different fields and wisdom in executing community projects ,  they get a purpose in living . To fit in community projects , they have to  empower themselves through acquisition of the basic skills required for that projects.  They can even regain their social and financial independence since the funded NGOs and the government can pay for their services when utilising their services for their welfare projects.. Thus ,community psychology helps and this driving  away frustration  born out of  loneliness and idleness  by keeping them physically and mentally busy. . 

 The projects in which the senior can be integrated are plenty. They are,creation of awareness prorammes on  health, legal. adult literacy, organ donation, blood donation, environmental issues, family planning, voter’s rights , corruption,.  green environment and pollution free atmosphere, helping in empowering  the differently abled adults, managing   day care centers elders ,  senior citizens homes and orphanages. They can even help in rehabilitation of destitute women and children.  Rendering value education   to school children is the need of the hour since, India  is   facing crisis of character.  They can organise cultural programmes for fund raising for the betterment of   village schools and free senior citizen homes .They can supervise civil work schemes. The active seniors can offer counseling to depressed d seniors and help them in times of need.

Public intervention is needed to help the elders to achieve self enrichment i.e., it is the duty of the governments to allocate sufficient resources to upgrade their skills. Free computer   and crash teachers training courses can be arranged by the government to the elders  because,  there is a tremendous dearth of experienced teachers  in India  and The retired teachers and newly trained elders  can be engaged on hourly basis  so  that they can help  government school children   in English, mathematics and value  education.

Several countries such as USA, Canada, Norway Philippines and China have started adopting community psychology to convert the aging population from the position of liability to assets by converting them into productive human resource. In china arrangements are available for life long learning to elders. 15000 centers are engaged in teaching technology, free of charge to one million elders. Their proverb says “at dusk, do not say it is too late, do say that there is sunshine all over the sky.”

 Written By Dr. .Prof Rameeza.A.Rasheed                                                                         (published in Elders, the news letter of Tamil Nadu Senior Citizen Association )

the budget

After reading and listening to the budget presentation and the related and  endless  discussion that followed in the electronic and print media, one is left  with the doubt regarding  the revenue source for meeting all the budget proposals . The Finance Minister seems to have immense faith on the FDI and PPP sources . Are we to believe that , the foreign and domestic investors are standing up in the queue , to invest in the desired sectors in India despite the existing business climate, dominated by the administrative  hurdles, high level corruption ,  infrastructure barriers in the power and transport sectors, stringent land acquisition Act ,  complex custom tariff system etc., ? If the hope of the FM in this regard is not materializsng what are the alternative revenue raising methods? What is the urgent need to allocate Rs 100 crores for several projects like smart cities and tube trains which will not have greater economic impact? Instead of concentrating  on projects with maximum linkage effect, this budget has planned to distribute financial resources thinly on not very urgent projects .

railway budget

It looks as though for many of the proposals in the railway budget, requiring heavy outlay of resources, the reliance is on FDI and PPP investment. There is no guarantee for ready flow of resources from these sources unless their concerns regarding accountability, profitability and corruption  free dealings are answered through concrete measures. The problems facing Indian railway are serious in nature and requires urgent attention and waiting for FDI and PPP resources doesn’t seems to be an intelligent economic decision.  The budget is not only silent  on these aspects but also on the completion of the pending projects which would  help in creating a better base for further development .As long as political considerations out weigh economic considerations in framing budget proposals the Indian railway can not be converted into a viable sector.

muzaffar Nagar victims

We appreciate, welcome and want the government to speed up all the efforts to rehabilitate the Kashmiri Pandits. In their case, justice was delayed beyond a limit  Let not the same thing happen to the Muzaffar Nagar victims. They  ran out of their homes  due to fear about their safety . Unsafe conditions still prevail there and hence they are reluctant to go back home.  No body will  wish to languish in camps loosing their  livelihood and exposed to hunger, insecurity and  diseases unless they have compelling reasons  to do so.  If the PM wants to stand by   statement regarding , “making all the minorities equal partners in India’s progress”, he should make quick arrangement for rehabilitation of  Muzaffar Nagar victims with  or without  the state government’s efforts and without listening to the  advice of divisive forces.

Is it my fault that my gender is female?

                 Is it my fault that my gender is female?

When I was still in the womb  I heard from various sources  that  in India the son preference attitude is very strong resulting in   large scale abortions , especially among the well off and educated families and in well developed states resulting the skewed Sex ratio ie.,940:1000 .

• Feticide

I was a female fetus.  When my mother’s pregnancy was confirmed, there was jubilation in my family. But that turned into sorrow the minute the family learnt that the child to be born would be a girl, thanks to advancement in medical technology. From that day, I was helplessly watching my mother weeping all the time in the privacy of her room and arguing with my father against the decision of the family to abort me since they wanted the eldest child to be a boy. Finally, only their will prevailed over my mother’s wishes and I was brutally prevented from seeing this world. My fundamental right to be born was denied to me.

• Infanticide

My family allowed me to be born since they could not determine my sex before birth I was born as girl into this world in a poor family. When  I was still alive  I heard that in India  the practice of female infanticide is widespread  due  to dowry and security  problems and  contributes significantly to the number of “missing women”(Amertia Sen’s description )

From the date of my birth, the elders in the family and my father were planning to kill me since they considered me as a future burden on their limited income. My mother’s pleadings were turned down. After one week of my birth, during an early morning, a village traditional birth attendant ended my life by pouring hot milk into my throat and then choking me with hand full of paddy. Only my mother cried uncontrollably.  Thus my right to live was denied to me.  

• Female child mortality

I was a   six year old girl child, born in a poor family.  I was stopped from going to school when I completed my first  standard, since my younger brother was  only 3 years old , my  mother had to go for farm work and I  was needed at home to look after my brother and  to share the household work. There was total discrimination in food, health care and education matters against me. The result was, due to neglect, work burden and nutrition deficiency I was falling sick often. But I was not given timely medical care and I died due to some decease at the age of seven.  Thus my right to live with proper parental and medical care was denied to me.

• Sexual torture during adolescence  

I was a school going girl. Ever since   I attained puberty, lot of troubles chased me. I was subjected to eve teasing by boys in my locality, sexual advances by the male teachers and male relatives and love proposals by few boys. But I didn’t complain about these matters to my parents, since   I was afraid that they would stop my education. One boy was pestering me to accept his love. One day, unable to bear his torture any more,   I slapped him and threatened that I would make my parents report to the police. The next day he threw acid on my face when was going to the school. The sufferings I went through after that incident were excruciating. My poor parents couldn’t afford to continue plastic surgery required after the initial treatment for my burnt face and neck. My enthusiastic life was halted suddenly and the future looked bleak. Every one was afraid to see my disfigured face. I couldn’t get out of my house, couldn’t see or talk to any one, couldn’t think of continuing my education or taking up a carrier and I could not see the agony of my   parents.  The future looked very bleak, since repairing my face after acid attack involved heavy expenditure, excessive pain and longer time. Hence one day, unable to bear my parent’s agony and the hopeless future   I committed suicide. Thus my right to live with dignity was denied to me, for no fault of mine.  But the offenders were not convicted due to lack of strong evidence

• Sexual harassment in work places

I was a professionally qualified, working unmarried girl, and was getting a decent salary. I was putting in lot of efforts to get a promotion. But my promotion was delayed due to the behavior of one of my superiors. He made sexual advances to me. Since I was not cooperative to his desires he became a stumbling block to my carrier progress. There was no hope for climbing up in the carrier ladder in that company as long as he was there and therefore, for no fault of mine I had to quit that job remained unemployed nearly for two years  subjecting my family to hardships for no fault of mine.  

• Rape

I was a single, employed girl and was staying in a working woman hostel. Since I was working in a call centre and I had to return   from work at 4 AM everyday. My company had arranged for a van to travel back after work I was always the last be dropped. One day the driver took me back through a different route. When I questioned him about it he gave some explanation. On the way, he picked up two of his friends and I grew suspicious. But I maintained silence since, the roads were deserted and there was scope for any help. The van reached a deserted park and I was forcibly taken behind a bush and gang raped (. Before this incident happened I had read about raping of girls, in trains, in the car parks, in pubs, in beaches in the nights etc.   I used to think why can’t the girls scream and use their teeth and nails to escape)? Before they could get out of the park,   I tried to scream since I heard the voices of walkers from the entrance side. They immediately tied my neck with a towel tightly and attacked my head with a heavy stone and I died instantly. Thus for no fault of mine, I lost my life.

I was a woman foreign tourist.  I have heard that India is a land of rich culture traditions and values. We foreigners do not believe in male escorts when ever we travel. When I was enjoying my  late evening  in the beach, taking advantage of the  deserted beach , I was attacked by two men , carried to a lonely park and molested and all my personal belongings were robbed by them . Now Understand why India is declared as unsafe country for women When tried hard to hit them back with my self defense skills , I was over powered and attacked with a knife  and I was left with heavy and continuous  bleeding and I died  for no fault  mine. By the way what is the meaning of, “athithi devo bhava?”

What has happened to this country?  Children who are in no way provoking the males through their dresses (as some police officers claim as the reason for crimes against women) are raped. Women or girls of any age are raped by police men, higher authorities, politicians and even by teachers. Victims of rape often do not report because of police harassment, delayed justice and fear of offender’s power. The barbaric manner in which even girl children are gang raped and then killed and thrown into bushes is equal to the scenes in the discovery channel where, we see the tigers chase all the time the helpless deers and kill them and tear them into pieces.  Offenders of rape seems to  think that  the powerful tool to conquer women is through this barbaric act .The silence of women  over the crimes  of rape to protect family  honor and to avoid social stigma have emboldened these animals.

 After the Delhi rape incident eminent people are coming out with shocking advice to women regarding their safety. It only shows that a considerable percentage of Indian men are still view women with 18^th century mindset and are irritated with women liberation and empowerment process. 

• Domestic violence and suicide

I was a married woman. Day in day out I was harassed by my husband to get more dowry from my not so well off parents. One day I told them I would go to the police and complain. The very next day I died after eating my lunch because of poison mixed in my food and my parents were told that, I died due to dehydration inspite of medical attention.  Thus for no fault of mine I lost my life.

 Before my death I had heard that married women commit suicide if there is uncontrolled domestic violence or black mailing by cyber offenders. Some married women commit suicide if their husbands are drunkards, indulge in regular wife beating and do not take care of the family inspite of acute poverty.  Some girls are kidnapped from villages of backward states, forced into prostitution and due to lack of chance to escape and go back to their families, they end their life. Thus, for various reasons women commit suicide and these missing women together contribute to declining sex ratio.

• Maternal mortality                                      

I was a poor pregnant woman. I never had a chance to eat the right quantity and quality food. Through out my pregnancy I was anemic .When I was admitted in the hospital to deliver my child,  due to late admission and  delayed and indifferent medical attention given in government hospitals ,my delivery became very complicated and  I died immediately after delivering a still born child . I had heard that in India the maternal mortality rate is 50 times higher than in other countries. Thus I lost my life due to poverty for which I was not directly responsible.

 If greater number of Indian women of disappear from this world continuously due to feticide, infanticide, child mortality, maternal mortality and suicides due to rape, acid attack, domestic violence, dowry problem, cyber crimes and sexual harassment    the sex ratio will be surely a skewed one. Is the government and the civil society  going to passively  present the statistics  and talk about declining sex ratio for some time and move on to another human story  or gear up to take corrective steps on  a war footing?  

Why should the Indian men look at any woman only as sex object irrespective their age, education, intelligence, carrier, other capabilities and achievements? When men know how to treat women of their families with dignity, love and care, why should they commit crimes against other women? Who should teach them to treat all women with dignity and equality in today’s world, where, men and women have to work together in every field for the welfare of the family and progress of the nation?                                             

Let us be aware that the skewed sex ratio would result in bad consequences. such as negative dowry (boys giving dowry for girls), drastic decline in birth rate,  growing crime against women,  emergence of several ethical and moral issues ,  such as Polyandry (having more than one husband)would be the consequences

                                                                                                                                   

                                 

Community psychology

                                                Community psychology

                                                           

The important economic and social problem of the 21^st century which the countries of the world are facing is growing number of the aged population. It is estimated that by 2025 the number of persons above 60yeras (the third age) will increase from the current 590 million to 1.2 billion. That means namely 25% of the population will be in third age. This situation is described as “silver tsunami” . This segment of the population is considered as unproductive and dependent population. The burden of higher dependent population on the limited working population would create economic and social problems. It will pose challenges to a growing economy in the form of fewer tax contributors and larger number of benefit receivers and this would strain the budget. The working population in addition to paying taxes will have to support the elders which is likely to result in cutting down their savings and investments and that would create tension within the family and on the nation’s capital formation process. Thus, aging has its impact on family and the economies all over the world.

Social scientists talk about “community psychology” as a solution to this problem. In simple terms, it means, involving the seniors in the  community services either on voluntary or honorarium basis  so that, their psychological  wellbeing is  maintained or restored . When they start  utilising their expertise in different fields and wisdom in executing community projects ,  they get a purpose in living . To fit in community projects , they have to  empower themselves through acquisition of the basic skills required for that projects.  They can even regain their social and financial independence since the funded NGOs and the government can pay for their services when utilising their services for their welfare projects.. Thus ,community psychology helps and this driving  away frustration  born out of  loneliness and idleness  by keeping them physically and mentally busy. . 

 The projects in which the senior can be integrated are plenty. They are,creation of awareness prorammes on  health, legal. adult literacy, organ donation, blood donation, environmental issues, family planning, voter’s rights , corruption,.  green environment and pollution free atmosphere, helping in empowering  the differently abled adults, manageing   day care centers elders ,  senior citizens homes and orphanages. They can even help in rehabilitation of destitute women and children.  Rendering value education   to school children is the need of the hour since, India  is   facing crisis of character.  They can organise cultural programmes for fund raising for the betterment of   village schools and free senior citizen homes .They can supervise civil work schemes. The active seniors can offer counseling to depressed d seniors and help them in times of need.

Public intervention is needed to help the elders to achieve self enrichment i.e., it is the duty of the governments to allocate sufficient resources to upgrade their skills. Free computer   and crash teachers training courses can be arranged by the government to the elders  because,  there is a tremendous dearth of experienced teachers  in India  and The retired teachers and newly trained elders  can be engaged on hourly basis  so  that they can help  government school children   in English, mathematics and value  education.

Several countries such as USA, Canada, Norway Philippines and China have started adopting community psychology to convert the aging population from the position of liability to assets by converting them into productive human resource. In china arrangements are available for life long learning to elders. 15000 centers are engaged in teaching technology, free of charge to one million elders. Their proverb says “at dusk, do not say it is too late, do say that there is sunshine all over the sky.”

The congress party's refusal to learn lessons

The editorial in The Hindu recently  “On putting dynasty before party,” rightly  echoes the feeling of lacks of traditional congress voters who  are still in a state of shock with the  poorest performance of the Congress party in this election. But what is surprising, is the utter lack of genuine effort to analyse and understand on the part of Congress leaders about  the real reasons for the anger of their voters who were forced to vote for other parties. Now it is clear, that as long as sycophancy dominate in the  working committee discussions , the voice of it’s  genuine members who want to revive the glory of the party by all costs  would be stifled. any body who dares to talk about the performance of Rahul Gandhi are severely condemned and action is to be taken against them so that dissenting voice will not be heard . This type of undemocratic functioning will not help if they want to bounce back to their past glory . Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should realise that, the people who have been repeatedly voting for the congress party for their secular credential and pro poor image so far,  voted for other parties  this time because, they could not  digest and accept Rahul  Gandhi as future PM  because , he nether has the charisma and leadership  quality of Nehru or Indira Gandhi or even Rajiv Gandhi to a certain extent nor has he demonstrated so far ,  his political maturity , wisdom and capacity to lead this nation of 1.2 billion .Local party leaders are to be consulted in the selection of candidates for general and state elections and grass root party worker's hard labour has to recognised. Everything will be decided by "High Command " means discouragement to all the other layers of party leaders and workers . By interacting with few Dalit families and staying in  their huts overnight and sharing food and tea with them   means nothing and will not bring in votes to congress party .  These acts are childish but, praised by  sycophants. These people mislead the leaders and they should become cautious of these elements who will help in burying the Congress party .