love versus freedom

Freedom is like oxygen. I t is very needed for survival . If we chose love, between love and freedom  , we may lose both . It is the experience so many senior citizens . love alone can not ensure dignity and respectability. If we surrender to love we may surrender our basic rights when they are denied , we may lose our financial security and  we will be forced to live in a suffocating situation  driving us to mental depression . Freedom gives wings to fly out when living or working circumstances are not favorable. Love is like a diamond which can not be eaten  when we are starving .  It is like long rope which may strangulate us one day . Freedom is a fundamental requirement for any human being to live with dignity and self respect . Ask hundreds  of senior citizens who have willed and passed on  all their worldly possession to their children out of excessive love and trust and to what condition they were thrown into in their sun set set years due to neglect and abuse . They will tell us,  how financial security would have given them freedom and all they want in life including a dignified life . In the present materialist world nothing is done for love sake . It has become an ancient concept .It  is 21st century reality .

Kashmir

The headline in the Hindu (Page No 12, 22.8.16) that, “1,3 million pellets fired in a month’ causes mental disturbance and concern about the uncontrolled situation in Kashmir . Whether it is security forces or civilians  , loss of lives is a loss not only to the concerned families but also to the nation . We celebrated 70^th Independence day recently. Only now ,we are going “to invite foreign vendors to demonstrate various kinds of crowd control methods and then will select a suitable method?  The committee appointed for this purpose will take two months to submit it’s report?” We really do not understand the inability of the central and state government to find a solution to the continued violence in Kashmir . The central government  Minister’s statements should not send a message to the Kashmiris that, the government  is more concerned about the safety of the security forces than of the civilians . The government also should stop  branding any one who speaks about  human rights violations  and  loss of lives in Kashmir as anti nationals .

sports situation in India

The Time of India editorial yesterday advice that ,"the government sport funding should seed a new, professional and autonomous body to create a grassroots structure and elite-level programme. This must be accompanied with reforms in some 67 sports federations – all of whom are politicised "–is a timely  one . what is the use of showering one or two silver and bronze metal winners crores and crores of rupee after their achievement after making them suffer in every possible manner through out their training period . Only such candidates   with supportive parents who sacrifice a lot to help their children to achieve their sports dreams reach this level .What about hundreds  or thousands of potential candidates with dreams to achieve in the sports fields especcial from the villages? They are forced to give up their goals in sports due to poverty, lack of good food, basic sports tools, training support and decent scholarships  and disappear from the sports practice and end up as ordinary laborers.  Now it is time to stop endless  celebration of the poor show of India in the Olympics medal tally and think of constructive actions . It is better for the government to leave sports alone and entrust to a private professional body giving only financial support and such bodies should be headed only by experts in the sports field . No political person should come nay where near sports bodies .

Capabilty of women to head and lead nations

Ever since Hillary Clinton’s name started appeareing  as Democrats party candidate for USA Presidentship, questions and doubts seems to occur in the minds of the political observer all over the world  about the capability of a women  to govern the world’s topmost nation, not with standing the facts that , she is a successful lawyer, involved for many years in women development activities and  served as foreign secretary under president Obama , gaining  expertise in foreign relations and international affairs and has watched closely the administration of President Clinton as his life partner. We have always observed that professional women  emerge as better leaders in the industrial ,banking ,educational and health sectors because , they are used to challenges, crisis management, brutal criticisms all through their life and hence, develop a strong fighting sprit and will power to reach the goals of their  life .They understand working of human minds easily and always operate with dedication and will power to achieve their goals . These qualities  are sharpened as they gain experience through out their life in house hold management, business management or political affairs management , because they know that, to prove their leadership qualities they have to be doubly smarter in every aspect of life than men .They  are endowed naturally with enormous inner strength and they  use it fully to survive in patriarchal societies . Their success in any  field is a hard earned one since, it is earned without appreciation and support from others . It is very admirable that the democrats party of USA has come forward . to field Hillary Clinton as their candidate for US president ship  in spite of the rival party’s criticisms and general perception about women’s capability for top jobs .

Expoitation of senior citizens

The number of seniors with good saving and pension is considerable in India at present.  The real estate giants want to make use of this situation . They have no noble purpose of helping the elderly. They just  want to take advantage of the breakup of the joint family system and a change in the mindset of the seniors who want to live a totally independent life if, they are financially sound. This is the target group of the real estate profiteering merchants. If you have any doubt about my  opinion of such  retirement homes , go  to their websites and see for yourself the cost of ownership homes and the expenses involved in taking on lease or on rent a premise. Constructing retirement homes is a very lucrative business now and the helpless seniors are taken for a ride . Is the government aware of the exploitation of seniors in the name of retirement homes provided with luxurious facilities as shown in their websites and  thinking of regulating them  in any manner?

metropolitan cities during heavy rains

Every year ,during heavy rain falls the media covers extensively about the extent of damages in the metropolitan cities , loss of lives and paralyzing of normal life of the citizens  and the media writes and talks return of the great deluge before the onset of monsoon. Experts indulge in a very crisp analysis of the causes and action required . Any lessons learnt from last December Chennai flood calamities? What is the use of repeatedly  spending  on repairs ,relief and compensations , when the state governments and local authorities sleep over the need to take preventive measures before the monsoon sets in ? What is the need for creating smart cities imitating China by allocating  huge resources when, all the Indian state capitals present such a pathetic and poor infrastructural conditions during rainy seasons? This year also the Tamil Nadu government  expect private parties like corporates, NGOS , student and employee volunteers and religious organisations to render timely help and the government will join them in the last stage distributing food, and blankets. Let the government give top priority to preventive measures to protect  citizens during natural calamities . Just because thay are elected again in spite of blunders committed  during last year's floods , they  need not sleep over the arrangements that are to be taken on a war footing .

Amendment to the Child Labour Act

For how many decades India will be discussing the child labour problem ? many experts on child welfare point out that, the amendment to the Child labour Act  permitting children to work in family enterprises after school hours will have adverse effect on their mental and physical well being and the children from marginaised sections are in  danger of being deprived of both  the joys of childhood and their constitutional right to education . When this amendment gives legal sanction to work in family enterprises after school hours , when are these children supposed  to play, do home work, pursue their hobbies like reading or writing or painting or dramatics or music ? Are they built-up of iron  and hence  capable (after spending their mental energy in school for five to o six hours )of rendering physical energy in jobs in home run enterprises? What type of mental, physical, emotional and psychological development and personality development such children will have? Children are voiceless and  their rights can not be taken away cruelly through merciless amendment to Child Labour Act  .