The Hindu editorail on Man Mohan singh

I appreciate the  neutral and justifiable analysis of the PM Man Mohan Singh’s performance during the two terms of the high office in the Hindu editorial last week . The high editorial standard of the Hindu is proved once again in listing out his achievements in the fields not generally covered by the media particularly in foreign relation. It is very sad that a man of impeccable integrity , scholarship and dignity in political and personal conduct should be attacked so very crudely by the BJP on every occasion of  conflicts of interest between them and the congress party. The electronic media is  the main culprit  in not highlighting his achievements in international relationships ,  concrete performance in international forums and  his ability to  command respect   among world leaders by his patient and sagacious ways of dealing with contentious issues . They played the role of media partners in shaming the PM mercilessly even on matters not connected with him. They have totally forgotten that silence also is a powerful weapon sometimes when bombarding  goes  beyond a limit . He is constantly blamed for policy paralysis of his government by the BJP, conveniently forgetting  that the total non cooperation of the principal opposition party, the alliance partners and  the state governments headed by leaders  of the regional parties has also contributed significantly for policy and progressive reforms paralysis . Regarding the mystery over his tolerance of the second and third power centers blocking the exercise of his assertive leadership actions and bearing the blame of the “protector of corrupt”, he alone can explain may be through an a autobiography in the near future

BJP menifesto

It is no secret that if the BJP  is voted to power with absolute majority they would take all the efforts possible  to implement the hard core Hindutva agenda, especially the cultural part of it  and would  not mind displeasing the minorities.  It is true that  their manifesto published so late is “seen  being both modern and traditional at the same time,” as rightly pointed out  in the editorial , “Hindutva confronts modernity.” Is it not a desperate  attempt  to harvest  the votes of undecided minorities and secular minded non minorities  who are utterly disappointed with the performance of the congress led UPA governments , by posing as a party interested only in promoting “socio, economic and cultural life” through their manifesto? It is also meant to appease their coalition partners . How modern and traditional they are going to be  if voted to power, will depend  whether they are going to have brutal or absolute majority  or form a coalition  government .

women matters

The statistical analysis relating to women’ safety, health status and crimes against them done by various scholars through the media   reveal  that there are several  miles to cross before we reach higher rank in gender equity. If the government is really serious about ensuring dignified living conditions to the Indian women, it has to concentrate on effective measures for women’s social, economic, legal and political development .  A  minister with cabinet ranking should be in charge of women affairs and the Women  Commissions   at the central and state levels and these commissions  should be given more powers and headed by eminent women with expertise  in women issues and  not by  political appointments . Women development measures would ensure self help measures since the empowered women would have  awareness about the dangers surrounding them and the recourse  to legal remedies. Such women would also  take preventive, promotive and curative measures for better health status of women and female children.    

Role of education in development process.

The various political parties of  India are least bothered about education’s role as a vehicle of  This is evident from  the glaring   neglect of educational concerns and remedies by the political parties in  their manifestos and the electronic media in their  discussions. If the political parties  recognise the  major role education plays  in human capital formation through creation of knowledge society  and in removing social and economic inequality which are  responsible for the existence of “Two India,” through the tool of education ,they would have covered extensively about their promises for educational reforms in their election speeches , the way they talk about black money and higher growth rate etc.,  It looks as though  the nation’s lack of quality education for all  is viewed by them as  a blessing in disguise.

declining sex ratio

Despite the various efforts taken by the Indian  government for women empowerment , the major indicator viz., the sex ratio tells  a different story about their   status.. Due to lack of social, economic. legal and political awareness among women ,  they are unable to  use the resources at their disposal for their betterment resulting in their continuation as the  dependent population. The result is,  not having their voice in matters regarding their own education, job, marriage, child spacing and gender of the child to be born, property ownership and management and exploitation within the family and the work places. The Indian women’s participation in decision making process in family and national matters is very minimum .The recent media exposure of the various types of crimes against women has further restricted their  mobility and  affected their  knowledge seeking and income earning activities and thereby pushing them backward .

gender balance in IIndia

An UNO  report says  the lower participation of women in decision making process which means lower political participation of women is the main reason for violence against women and  gender imbalance in India . But, women's  participation at the decision making level alone will not help in ending violence against women  and achieve gender balance in India . There are two other primary requirements to   reach these goals , such as the need for legal and political awareness among women.  Only, when, all  the  women voters, make it a point to exercise their franchise and that too, armed  with knowledge on the existing political scenario in the country and the quality of the contestants, they could  make  informed choices of their candidates and succeed in sending good quality members to the law making bodies. Women should remember that , the  right to vote for women  is gained after a prolonged struggle and should not  waste it.  This is the first step  to participate in decision making process and to achieve gender equity..  The a second step is to get legal awareness on the existence, provisions and recourse to women protection laws, if they want to guard them against  crimes .Ignorance in these matters will keep women permanently at the receiving end .More number of women in the law making bodies can not be a panacea for gender imbalance and violence against women. It is in the hands of all the empowered  women of this country

The recent incidents in the parlaiment

The nation is shocked over  the recent  happenings in the Indian parliament and as usual the blame game has started. But, the primary culprits for allowing the deterioration in the conduct of the parliamentarians to happen are the voters. From the time the voters started voting on the basis of cash provided for voting, the freebees, the caste, religion and the political and the economic status of the contestants, the right people’s entry into the parliament has stopped. The parliament is filled now with MPs who have no faith in democratic procedures but rely more on   muscle and vocal powers to achieve their ends. The need of the hour is to create awareness among the voters regarding the use of their votes in a very cautious and responsible manner     .   Even the opposition parties can not act as mute spectators when such extreme incidents happen inside the parliament , they lend helping hand to the ruling party in the restoration of the image of the Indian parliament. That is what is  expected in a mature democracy. But is is also very strange that, the speaker who has got the powers to take strict action on unruly members. always plead with them to restore normalcy or adjourn the house .