lockdown and the migrant labourers

After going through all the news related to exodus of the migrant laborers with women and children, their starvation conditions, walking several kilo meters to get into a vehicle and their inhuman treatment by the police leaves a heavy  burden on our heart .  They prefer to die due to  corona virus in the middle of their family members than   dying in metropolitan cities which have abandoned them after using their labour all along due to starvation. The center and the state governments are to be blamed for not making adequate arrangements like food and shelter and  cash compensation before announcing lock down. By looking at their sufferings we can come to only one conclusion that,  this country, India is no country suitable for the poor. God only knows what will  happen to all the schemes with allotment of crores of rupees   announced for the poor  ? Bathing the migrant laborers on the roads with bleaching powder liquid  by the police amounts to  height of barbarism  and heartlessness of the police officials responsible for this inhuman act .

senior citizens and the lock down

The report by Sujatha (The Hindu)  on , “elders dependent on others for help are at a loss on how to tackle the lockdown “ (24^th march )has exactly reflected the problems and worries  of innumerable living alone seniors in Chennai and other places  .These seniors live alone due to the migration of their children to other places inside and outside  India. They are in the age bracket of 60 to 90 years . They  have innumerable health problems a. They need speech therapist, physio therapists . dialysis services and need some one to be with them all the time . Many seniors have employed reliable persons capable of handling health crises in the nights  so that , the relatives can be informed about the emergency and arrange for ambulances if needed. If no one stays with them in the nights ,  even their sudden death may not be  known to any one .It is true that , there are  dangers of being exposed to outsiders. But the seniors should take all protective methods   . Hence a letter issued by the employers  should be accepted by the police and can be verified through phone numbers given in the letter and allow these services providers to reach their destinations instead of sending them back .

students and democratic struggles

The author of the article, (THE HINDU)“students in the van guard of democratic struggle” Prabha t  Patnaik  (7.1.20) is right is stating that, students who are socially sensitive and who are committed to the values of secularism and democracy are powerful bulwark against Hindutva projects , because , they bring with them the energy of youth and the  enlightenment of education . We have given voting rights to the youth from the age of eighteen,  yet ,we do not want them to have  their own  political ideology  and express solidarity and support  to their informed political choices. We want them to  develop   critical thinking power and sharpen it through the tool of questioning , so that they invent and innovate, but we do not want them to cross this boundary by questioning  their university administrators when  they indulge in mal practices and curtail  their basic academic freedom. We want them to grow as responsible citizens , yet, we attack them physically when  they fight for social issues , arrest them and penalise them in different ways to kill their independent spirit . But the courage and conviction with which the targeted students fight for their democratic and personal rights give  hope about  future India

My letter published in the Hindu on on Tamil Nadu's all India ranking in certain indicators

Tamil Nadu government is giving wide publicity to the all India ranks announced and obtained  by this state  in the social and economic indicators . While the government  feels  elated about higher ranks(within 10 ranks) in few sectors , it should  also  feel ashamed about the shocking rank in commerce and industries sector which is responsible for contributing higher per capita income ,savings and further investment and finally reflect on job generation and higher growth rate. Every one knows that, high level of corruption and low rank in ease of doing business  are the prime reasons  which obstruct investment flow into Tamil Nadu and divert the course of investment to our  neighboring states  Poor performance of the secondary sector is a matter of grave concern  and will affect the present and future of millions of  educated and trained  youth through continued jobless growth .

Why women need financial planning?

In the process of women empowerment, economic empowerment is given top most attention, because, it is a universally accepted fact that, financial dependency on men is the basic reason for the sufferings of women and their “suffering in silence” behavior.  Ever since this realisation has set in the girl’s minds, there is a welcome progress in girl’s education and employment. But, our education system does not provide financial literacy to the students. Hence, most of the working women think ,it is the responsibility of men to manage expenditure, saving and investment   decisions and choose to remain ignorant on these matters until, they meet with personal crises in life  and have to manage their life on their own. Due to financial illiteracy, they tend to rely blindly on friends or relatives and some wrong decisions on financial planning lead them to irreparable loss of their hard earned money. Hence, Imparting financial literacy  should be part and parcel of women empowerment process as is the case, with health  and legal literacy

Inhuman treatment Dalits In India

The news coverage regarding the plight of the Dalits of Bhavkhedi village  and the most undignified treatment of their children by their  schools resulting in their dropping out from schools and migrating attempts  to save their lives and dignity leaves pain in the heart . What is the use of tall claims about emerging economy status, technological advancements in multiple fields, growth story ,space research achievements , highest external security arrangements , when the marginalized sections are still denied basic rights like safe living, education and dignified treatment by fellow citizens? India presents two pictures . Everything is rosy for the rich and powerful and it is every day struggle for the poor even after few decades of Independence . What type of scars  these incidents will leave on the minds and hearts of the children about whom it is reported ?