1) Our heads are down in shame
Our heads are down in shame to see the Best Parliamentarian for the Year 2018 feeling utmost happy to get his feet washed with complete patience by a party-worker on September 16, 2018, and then mutely watching the party-worker drink that dirty water. Instead of feeling ashamed, Nishikant Dubey in his repeated posts on Facebook justifies such washing of feet as tribal tradition. Even with BJP Parliamentarian Udit Raj and BJP-ally JD(U) rightly criticising the episode in strongest words, Nishikant Dubey finds the criticism as a political vendetta and unreasonable.
The President of India in his capacity as the head of Parliament should immediately order snatching the Best Parliamentarian Award from Nishikant Dubey. The BJP President and the Prime Minister as the leaders of BJP Parliamentary Party should express regret on the incident and expel Nishikant Dubey from the party to make it a lesson for other BJP leaders.
– Subhash Chandra Agrawal
2) We must eradicate caste system
It refers to your editorial ‘Will there be any end to caste violence?’ dated September 18, 2018. It makes us feel ashamed when we see the people hacking one to death on caste-based discrimination in our democratic country. Caste violence is all about caste supremacy. ‘Many times it is being observed that when an upper caste boy gets married to a lower caste girl then nobody raises any objection, but when an upper caste girl gets married to a lower caste boy, then they have to face opposition from the society. This exposes the double standard of our society.’ How India will progress and will claim as a superpower while its people are being killed on the basis of such silly reasons. As if the caste discrimination gets eradicated, then the focus will be on financial inequality and people will start agitation against it. So, all of us must try to remove the caste system from our society.
– Mohd Rahmani
3) Make registration compulsory
It refers to the media-reports about absconding of some Asif Khan in Delhi befooling public in the name of doing astrology with changed name Ashu Bhai, where charges of rape are levelled against him. In the past few years, several so-termed spiritual and religious personalities have been jailed who earned an enormous amount of money by managing a very large number of followers.
People out of fear and blind-faith do not lodge complaints about frauds and cheats which have established their trade of astrology and spiritualism in large numbers. Many such less known persons are minting money and involved in unreported rape-cases.
The central and state governments should make it compulsory for all astrologers, spiritual leaders, and likewise to get themselves compulsorily registered with registration-numbers prominently displayed on all their published literature, receipt-books, and even sign-boards. The criminal cases may be initiated against any astrologer or spiritual person doing practice or holding gatherings without getting registration-number from the concerned government. The registration to such persons should be given only after proper police verification and certification by some elected representatives or prominent citizens but without any liability of any kind on certifying persons in case of such certified person is caught in some malpractice or crime. Otherwise, no one will take risk of certifying even the genuine persons as an astrologer or spiritual leader.
– Madhu Agrawal
4) Protect interests of beneficiaries
The recent statement by Dr. Raghuram Rajan related to NPA losses during 2006-2008 is worth taking note by the government. The statement has been made in response to the call given by the Lok Sabha’s Estimate Committee. No doubt that the NPA damage and mess has been done, for now, the policymakers now need to take the experienced economist and former RBI Governor’s note seriously — especially at a time when the nation is heading for the General Elections in 2019. After witnessing NPA crisis, scam-hit banks, top-leadership changes, and other issues affecting the image of the Banking sector this year, one isn’t keen to look forward to yet another possible and predicted mess cropping-up in the upcoming financial year in 2019, either.
As pointed out by Rajan, MUDRA Scheme’s credit risks and its possible impact resulting in much bigger than NPA mess warrants attention on a full-throttle mode. The government should now do a quick think and pay heed to Dr. Rajan’s warning of the possibility of mitigating such a predicted crisis. This certainly doesn’t call for when the nation is looking ahead to either elect or re-elect new government in 2019. If the prediction turns out to be nearly true, it could largely affect the beneficiaries of microenterprises. The government now should also imperatively strive to protect the interests of the beneficiaries and take steps to shun the fears.
Further, currently under the Parliament’s Committee System, the Committees meet on a periodic and fixed-term basis. The Financial Committee also comprising of the Estimate Committee, should now be empowered to proactively huddle throughout the year. This will help ensure to take stock of any financial situation prevailing in the market and any other crisis largely affecting the economy. The Committee’s periodic assessment system will then help to take suitable steps to address the risks if any immediately.
Banking on the experts’ help will definitely be an advantage but not at the eleventh hour or during the shadows of an election year, as done currently. Lending an ear to the experts will otherwise help to quickly address necessary issues.
– Varun S D
5) Shroud burials should be made compulsory
Many families have now discovered new (yet old) ways to honour their loved ones in how the body is buried. In making the decision of whether to bury or cremate, many factors are taken into consideration. One of the final disposition options that are becoming more widespread in recent years is shrouding.
Shrouding is simple, eco-friendly, and relatively affordable. Some faiths require it, some people simply prefer the aesthetics of it, some families are looking for a budget-friendly option, and of course, many people have healthy concerns about the environmental impact of burial. For these reasons and many more, the idea of a natural burial with a body wrapped in a simple shroud is appealing to many families.
Depending on the cemetery and your personal preferences, a shrouded body can be placed directly into the ground or perhaps buried in a simple pine coffin or a biodegradable willow casket. These “natural burial” options are often less expensive than many traditional choices. Shrouds also forgo the use of metal, chemical finishes, or other non-biodegradable products.
Shrouds, in particular, contribute towards sustainable burial practices. Used to provide a sense of dignity and honour to the decedent, the shroud covers and protects the body while shielding it from public view during transportation and the burial process.
– Jubel D’Cruz
6) Citizens are deprived of basic facilities
These days, the citizens are facing dangerous diseases like dengue, malaria, TB etc. Some people in every house are being seen as ill and no medical facilities are available in the hospital. According to reliable sources, Mumbai city has a total of 186 municipal hospitals, clinic, and dispensary, including 12 police hospitals — most of them are located in urban areas, 41,139 people must have a hospital on the population, while in the suburbs, there is only one hospital for 84,297 citizens. It is apparent that how the civil administration has been negligent in health care. I respectfully request to the Health Minister, please pay attention to this issue.
– Ateequr Rahman Alqasmi
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
