World Doctor’s Day that falls on July 1 is an opportunity to raise awareness about the doctor’s role in our daily lives – a day when people across the country acknowledge the commitment and dedication of the medical and health care fraternity towards society. Doctor’s Day is the time to pay tribute to the entire medical profession.
It is a special and an ideal opportunity to remind people of the critical role doctor’s play in our lives. It is also a time for doctors to reflect on their own careers, realise their responsibility they bear and redirect themselves onto an ethical path of healing those in need. It is the day we celebrate the selfless service of doctors and their huge contribution to the medical advancement in India.
India has a long tradition of service to mankind. It is ingrained in its culture and all the religions. As a result, Indian doctors are well known for their charitable attitude, dedication, hard work, and personal touch. For the year 2019, the theme is “zero tolerance to violence against doctors and clinical establishment”.
India is unique in the sense that patients revere their doctors’ majority of who are sincere, honest and ethical. The concept of ‘Family Physician’ is more or less extinct in India. It is imperative for both patients and doctors to work together on re-establishing some of the lost trust, and truly, there could be no better day than Doctors’ Day to reinforce the unique relationship between the doctor and patient. Reverence for human life and individual dignity is both the hallmark of a good physician and the key to truly beneficial advances in medicine.
Doctors play an important role in our society. When you get ill the most important person in life is the doctor. A doctor performs diagnosis and treatment. He cares for the patient and keeps them well. It is not enough just to pay the bill or says “Thanks” for doctors are the life saviors who strive tirelessly to cure the ailments of the patients. Doctor’s Day is the perfect time for patients to acknowledge the high-pressured job and appreciate their doctor’s ability to comfort and heal.
It is observed that doctors are more often the victims of criticism while their successes are overlooked. No doubt, it is a fact that the medical profession carries a heavy responsibility with it, but people need to understand that behind the white coat and stethoscope is a normal human being and like in all other professions, doctors too need appreciation for their work and efforts. The value of medicine and doctors in human life is crucial. We cannot battle diseases and illnesses without medicines. People think God is Omnipotent – having unlimited power, omnipresent – one who is limitless, boundless, infinite and omniscient – one who knows everything and the patient finds the doctor as one of them.
The patient trusts and places his life in the hands of the doctor. On many occasions, the patient discloses confidential information to the doctor which he/she might or might not have discussed with his/her spouse or family member. In no other profession does the individual place so much trust and faith. In some regions, particularly in rural India, the doctor is equated with God. The doctor is, therefore, duty-bound to have a higher level of the moral code of conduct than those in other professions and must understand that he/she is in a very privileged position.
Doctors in India over the years have shown remarkable improvements and made definite progress in medical treatments that really need to be acknowledged. Let us honor their work to help mankind thrive by being healthy and disease free.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
In a rare move, a social media group by the right-wingers is appealing people and financial institutions to ban a certain mainstream newspaper and not to give it any advertisement because of its anti-Modi and anti-RSS news coverage. The group accused the newspaper of being biased towards the RSS and the BJP and it is needless to say that biased media is a threat to democracy.
VT Gokhale, a city-based lawyer and social activist has told Afternoon Voice, “Media has got the right to criticise any government and any political leader but this criticism should be based on facts.” Gokhale further said that news coverage should not be untrue, false, and misleading.
He went on saying, “A certain newspaper has been publishing news articles which are not based on facts. I have written them several letters saying that this news is misleading and I have given the facts. However, they never gave any clarification and published my full letter.”
Advocate VT Gokhale also said, “Some gentlemen have gone to the Press Council of India. The Press Council censored the Editor of the newspaper because he had written that the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had justified the lynching of Mohammed Akhlaq. Bhagwat had said that capital punishment should be given to the person who criticises the Vedas. However, the fact is that Bhagwat has never supported the lynching. In fact, he condemned the death of Akhlaq. The owner of the media house is concerned about the revenue stream and he/she does not care what is being published. If the revenue will be affected, he/she will ask the reason. That is why I have appealed through the WhatsApp group not to give advertisement to the news publishing house.”
“I do not mean to strangulate it or anybody. They have to improve their ways. They have to resort to objective criticism. Then, there is no problem. I discussed it to some friends and started appealing on social media to copy and paste this appeal to spread it. We have put it on Facebook, too. We appeal people to forward this message with their name and mobile number. This will create awareness among people,” he added.
It is notable that the right-winged WhatsApp group is appealing to ban a certain newspaper from advertisements to punish it financially. According to their message meant for the sympathisers of the Sangh Parivar or the BJP, they are appealing to banks, other financial institutions and industries that are behind Prime Minister Modi and his development and welfare programme and NDA government, that they should stop financial support to the mainstream media house. They said that the editorials of the Editor have taken a lot to defame PM Narendra Modi and Sangh Parivar without any reasonable reason. Even the request of publishing the disclosures about the wrong news has not been appreciated by the Editor.
Sanjiv Oak, another member of the right-wing WhatsApp group said, “Alike Saamana, the mouthpiece of the Shiv Sena and Tarun Bharat, the mouthpiece of the RSS, if any newspaper is anti-BJP, they should declare it openly. However, a newspaper must be balanced and neutral.”
Retired Wing Commander ShashiKant Oak asserted, “Some journalists are behaving as if they were taking personal revenge. They always try to find out defects in the plans and works of PM Modi. It is good if they bring shortcomings to the fore. It is the job of a journalist or reporter. However, writing or reporting wrong is not good. We do not expect this from them. Therefore, we have started this initiative.”
Advocate VT Gokhale said, “We do not think that the Editor of the newspaper will see our WhatsApp message and soon write an apology. I have written a letter to three banks — Dombivli Nagari Cooperative bank, Thane Janata Cooperative bank, and Kalyan Janata Cooperative bank. It does not mean that we are against the freedom of the press. Giving advertisement is our decision. So, I am appealing to people.”
When we study the history of Congress, we find that the party rose from ashes only when it had a charismatic leader or a strong wind in favour of it due to sympathy. The Indian National Congress is a “sinking ship”; many of us have heard that by now. Yet it’s a bit astonishing to think how far the political party has fallen. After all, until recently, the history of Congress ran almost in parallel with the history of India itself, to an extent where the line between these histories seemed blurred. The leaders of Congress were the leaders of India and a large part of the Indian Freedom Movement owed its existence to this “grand old party,” which was not just a political party, but also an umbrella organisation where different schools of thought used to co-exist together.
From Gandhi to Jinnah, from Nehru to Bose, from Tilak to Gokhale, the Congress itself contained people poles apart from each other ideologically. However, yet it not only remained as one party but also went on to define the political system itself in India, leading Dr. Rajni Kothari to coin the term “Congress System.” The organisational structure of the Congress was so deep-rooted and entrenched that it reached to the grassroot level, to the last man, as a part of Gandhian idealism.
However, Congress could not uphold these ideals of working on the ground for as long as the people of India hoped it would. Much of Congress’ dominance at the centre as well as the state level was due to the fact that people voted in the name of the Congress, which had won freedom for the country.
People felt almost indebted to the party and continued to bring them back to power in the hope that Swarajya (self-rule) would actually be realised on the ground and the days of Ram Rajya (the idyllic rule of Rama), which Gandhi used to mention in his speeches and writings, would come. People waited for years, but neither Swarajya nor Ram Rajya came about.
Instead, the people realised, nepotism and corruption were increasing day by day in the political system. It was not Ram Rajya, but the Raaj of one family — the Gandhi family. The family alone accounts for three Prime Ministers, who ruled the country for around 37 years, while another 10 years of governance in the 21st century was also largely led by the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty.
Slowly, as disillusionment set in, the Congress System started to deteriorate. Still, it took around a decade for a non-Congress party to come into power in a state. In Kerala, the Left was voted to power in the 1957 legislative assembly elections. E. M. S. Namboodiripad became the first democratically elected communist leader, though the Congress was still a huge force to reckon with.
However, things were about to change tremendously, especially in the heartlands of India, where people were now looking for an alternative. They were angry with the false promises made by the Congress politicians in election after election.
The first jolt to the Congress came when Jawaharlal Nehru died in 1964. Everyone in the Congress was asking only one question: “Who comes after Nehru?” Nehru was the tallest national leader of the party and India itself; his death created a vacuum in the political space, which he had been acquiring for the last 17 years since the independence of the country. The Congress positioned Lal Bahadur Shastri as India’s second prime minister but not for long. He died suspiciously at Tashkent in 1966.
With the death of two Prime Ministers in quick succession, the Congress party, which had previously been able to win constituencies based solely on the charisma of its leaders, could no longer do so, at least at the regional level. The fight within the party was increasing. The tide finally turned in the 1967 elections, held from February 15 to 22. Out of the 16 states, only in eight, the Congress returned to power with absolute majorities in the state legislatures.
Equally bad was the rout of the Congress’ top leadership. The seven members of Indira Gandhi’s cabinet at the centre were defeated. The presidents of Congress party organisations in six states also lost, along with the Chief Ministers in four states.
Congress was clearly losing its touch, as the party started showing the first signs of a break. The party became divided into many factions like Indian National Congress (I), Indian National Congress (O), Bharatiya Kranti Dal, Utkal Congress, and Bangla Congress. Many of these factions later became defunct as they merged with the Janata Party during the emergency. The future of the Congress party lies in the hands of the people who are qualified to lead it.
(The final part will continue tomorrow.)
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Ayushman Bharat is a National Health Protection Scheme which has its origin from Aarogyasri Introduced by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments.
Aarogyasri (Rajiv Aarogyasri) was a flagship healthcare program of the Government of Andhra Pradesh before the AP Re-organisation in 2014. After the split of the state into Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Aarogyasri became flagship healthcare scheme of the Government of Telangana and is administered by Aarogyasri Health Care Trust. The new Government of Andhra Pradesh after the state split renamed the scheme in 2014 to Dr. NTR Vaidya Seva and is administered by Dr. NTR Vaidya Seva Trust. It covers those below the poverty line. The government issues an Aarogyasri Card and the beneficiary can use it at the government and private hospitals to obtain services free of cost.
The Programme Aarogyasri Scheme is the flagship scheme of all health initiatives of the State Government with a mission to provide quality healthcare for the poor. The aim of the Government is to achieve “Health for All”. In order to facilitate the effective implementation of the scheme, the State Government set up the Aarogyasri Health Care Trust under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister. A Chief Executive Officer, an IAS Officer, administers the trust. The trust runs the scheme, in consultation with specialists in the field of healthcare.
The beneficiaries of the scheme are the members of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families as enumerated and photographed in White Ration Card linked with Aadhaar card and available in Civil Supplies Department database. Financial coverage (Height of Universal Health coverage): The scheme shall provide coverage for the services to the beneficiaries up to Rs 2.50 lakh per family per annum on a floater basis. There shall be no co-payment under this scheme.
Enrollment
The beneficiaries of the scheme, the members of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, as enumerated and photographed in BPL Ration Card and available in Civil Supplies Department database.
Extent of Cover
The benefit to the family is on a floater basis i.e. the total reimbursement of Rs 1.50 lakhs can be availed individually or collectively by members of the family. An additional sum of Rs 50,000 is provided as a buffer to take care of expenses if it exceeds the original sum i.e. Rs 1.50 lakhs per family. Excepting cost for cochlear implant surgery with auditory-verbal therapy is reimbursed by the trust up to a maximum of Rs 6.50 lakhs per case.
All transactions are cashless for covered procedures. A BPL beneficiary can go to any hospital either public or private and come out without making any payment to the hospital for the procedures covered under the scheme. The same is the case for diagnostics if eventually, the patient does not end up in undergoing the surgery or therapy.
Hospitals are mandated to conduct free health camp, thereby taking advanced evaluation at the doorstep of the patient.
Point of Contact
All the Primary Health Centers (PHCs) which are the first contact point, area/district hospitals, and network hospitals, are provided with help desks manned by AAROGYA MITHRAs to facilitate the illiterate patients. The Aarogyamithras were selected by the Zilla Samakhyas and Mandal Samakhyas under Indira Kranti Patham (Self Help Groups).
Excluded Treatments
The diseases specifically excluded from the list are high-end diseases such as hip and knee replacement, bone marrow, cardiac and liver transplantations, gamma-knife procedures in neuro-surgery, assisted devices for cardiac failures etc; and diseases covered by national programmes viz., TB, HIV/AIDS, leprosy, infectious diseases,malaria, filaria, gastroenteritis, jaundice, etc.
To the extended RAS covers the treatments, it would no longer be permissible for the BPL holders to apply for relief for medical purposes under Chief Minister Relief Fund (CMRF).
The Ayushman Bharat is a National Health Protection Scheme which will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission — will subsume the on-going centrally sponsored schemes – Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS).
Salient Features
Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission will have a defined benefit cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year.
Benefits of the scheme are portable across the country and a beneficiary covered under the scheme will be allowed to take cashless benefits from any public/private impanelled hospitals across the country.
Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission will be an entitlement based scheme with entitlement decided on the basis of deprivation criteria in the SECC database.
The beneficiaries can avail benefits in both public and impanelled private facilities.
To control costs, the payments for treatment will be done on a package rate (to be defined by the Government in advance) basis.
One of the core principles of Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission is to co-operative federalism and flexibility to states.
For giving policy directions and fostering coordination between Centre and States, it is proposed to set up Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission Council (AB-NHPMC) at apex level Chaired by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister.
States would need to have the State Health Agency (SHA) to implement the scheme.
To ensure that the funds reach SHA on time, the transfer of funds from Central Government through Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission to State Health Agencies may be done through an escrow account directly.
In partnership with NITI Aayog, a robust, modular, scalable and interoperable IT platform will be made operational which will entail a paperless, cashless
Merits of Scheme
A Strong Network of 1.5 lakhs Health and Wellness Centers across the country would constitute the foundation of India’s new healthcare systems.
It will cover more than 10 crore Poor and Vulnerable families of the society.
The support from trained nurses and health workers increase the availability near home in rural areas.
Vulnerable sections of the society would have access to healthcare to almost all medical and surgical conditions that can occur in a lifetime.
Package rates decided by the government for private hospitals would help in keeping the cost low.
It will generate employment especially for women would help in the economic empowerment of women.
Challenges
Major Challenge would be Implementation and Governance of the Scheme.
The private hospitals are based on profitability motives and fixing rates of procedures would increase the chances of hospitals neglecting poor Patients. Healthcare is a goal under SDG 2030 Goal-3 of good health. The scheme would ensure proper healthcare facilities for most vulnerable sections of the society.
By preventive disease at an early stage can make a change. For example, early detection of diabetes at the age of 35 can avoid kidney failure at the age of 50. Also, schemes exclude outpatient health care that is responsible for 70 per cent of health expenditure.
Budget allocation of Rs 2,000 crore scheme doesn’t serve the purpose. The amount is meagre as compared to the scope of the scheme.
The schemes are far from universal health coverage as it excludes 80 crores (60 per cent) of the population.
-By Dr. A. Jagadeesh
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
After a long wait, finally it has started raining heavily and waterfalls, rivers, lakes, and beaches have started overflowing in some places, which are known as tourists’ spots. There are a lot of visitors crowding these places. Tourists get so carried away at these places and in their over-enthusiasm, they fail to gauge the depth of water and speed with which it flows, leading to accidents.
A few over-enthusiast young men and women, in their craze of taking ‘selfie’, fall in water; besides, the good swimmers also get in trouble when they enter the water under influence of liquor. Lifeguards are available at the places visited by tourists but their number is inadequate compared to the inflow of visitors. One should surely enjoy going and taking a dip in the water at such places during monsoon, but care should also be taken of own safety. They should not unnecessarily compete with the speed and depth of water; moreover, they should also warn their relatives and friends to be careful.
When we go for such trips, there is always somebody at home waiting for us and they want to listen to the things we did at such places and enjoy through our experiences. It is, therefore, our duty to take care of our near and dear ones that they don’t get any shock in the bargain?
Jagan Ghanekar
Be careful
This is a WhatsApp message received by me from a friend which I would like to share with readers:
“A mother killed her four children accidentally. Here is how she killed them:
The children refused to drink the cough syrup which she asked them to drink. So she mixed the cough syrup in milk. The children went to sleep after drinking the cough syrup mixed in milk and never woke up the next morning. The mixture of the cough syrup mixed with milk proved to be fatal for the children.”
So my dear readers avoid drinking medicine in milk. Not only cough syrup but do not drink any chemical additives in milk as it will become poisonous. Prevention is better than cure. So be careful.
Jubel D’Cruz
Team India must focus on getting quicker wickets
The recently concluded India-England WC match witnessed India’s struggle to outpace the top order batsmen in the initial 20 overs. Despite losing the toss, the favourites did not utilise much of the opportunity available on the steady pitch and thus the benefit of the doubt was in favour of English batsmen with the run rate exceeding 6 runs per over.
Team India should now focus on getting quicker wickets while bowling first, irrespective of the toss factor. English conditions are a challenge to new age bowlers who haven’t yet set a mark on its soil. Hence, the onus on getting good wickets depends on bowling squad only to reduce the opponent’s mammoth scorecard as witnessed in previous games.
The team has already suffered a major blow with the exit of Shikhar Dhawan owing to injury. As Indian team has already berthed in the semifinals, Indian team now should not be carried away by the mere successive win record in this tournament and should focus highly on strengthening the bowling department, especially when put to field first.
Varun Dambal
Yet other publicity-stunt
Fortunately, Indian film-industry has bold personalities like playback singer Abhijeet who without any hesitation openly speak the bitter reality as he commented on yet other publicity-stunt of a young film-actress Zaira Wasim of ‘Dangal’ fame leaving the film-industry in the name of Islam.
If it was so, why did her parents allow her to enter the film-industry which always had several Muslim film-actresses of fame? The film-industry is running even in purely Islamic nations also which evidently are dominated by the Muslim actresses and actors.
It seems Zaira Wasim became unpopular amongst masses because of her inhuman publicity-stunts like dragging an innocent business-executive travelling in a late-night flight in business-class levelling totally baseless allegations of touching her, for which media-trail made the innocent even facing torturing mindless police-case.
Unfortunately, our electronic media in the hunt for TRP-rating unnecessarily highlights such useless stories which at times cause big harassment for innocent persons like the one targeted by Zaira Wasim.
Madhu Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
A pet project of PM Modi in a Gandhian way, sanitation ministry’s Swachh Bharat Mission got wide public support, especially on social media after celebrities joined the Clean India challenge. Not just stopping with cleaning the locality, the government has taken initiatives such as building more toilets, waste management, and waste segregation. The real success will, however, happen when manual scavenging is completely eradicated.
India’s lobbying got success when the United Nations declared June 21 as the International Yoga Day. The mass yoga performance at Rajpath, which was led by PM Modi himself, set the record of most number of people participating in such an event.
Mann Ki Baat made a mark at the national level. A first such initiative in India where a top leader addresses millions that too periodically. The programme even featured former U.S. President Barack Obama during his visit to India.
Digital India saw significant progress. This flagship programme of Ravi Shankar Prasad’s Communications Ministry aims to create a knowledge economy and good governance is travelling on the right path. Every minister and every ministry is now on Twitter. A slew of e-governance measures like digital locker and feedbacks through mygov.in are some notable initiatives. Now, the public can air their views and the same reach Prime Minister for swift action.
Make In India got the much-needed momentum and the share market saw the first upheaval after a long time. Monsoon failure throughout the country gave some anxious moments and a setback for the ruling party but we hope rain Gods will open the skies early and we can see twilight in a Twitter and Facebook world and the Social media will shower more praise of the wholehearted efforts of a tireless leader. It is time to set right the goals.
A ‘smart city’ is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications, and market viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis for providing essential services to residents. There are many technological platforms involved, including but not limited to automated sensor networks and data centres. Though this may sound futuristic, it is now likely to become a reality as the ‘smart cities’ movement unfolds in India.
There are basic needs for achieving the yardstick and Citizens expect those basic amenities. The main and the major ones are commented upon here:-
We need to have a better public transport system to be on par with the world’s best cities. The growing urbanisation has increased the number of private vehicles thereby creating traffic congestion in almost all cities of India. In Mumbai, we look upon local trains as our lifeline and if it stops on day and everything goes awry.
Now it is time to make sure that the city is clean and green to give the much-needed ambiance required for setting up a smart city. The city will have to take up the additional responding of providing quality education, dependable power supply, health consciousness, e-governance, affordable housing for poor, water supply and several other sectors would be the centre of focus under the project. Smart city tag will bring cheers to the citizens of the country and we dream of becoming a place to behold in the world.
The task in hand is connecting the major rivers in India. In Assam, we get surplus rains but at the same time, down south Chennai is reeling under shortage of drinking water. It is high time we connect rivers in a well-planned manner and see that the water problem is solved in a five-year plan developmental programme.
Fulfilling its poll promise, the government has launched a new unified ‘Jal Shakti’ ministry that is aimed at providing clean drinking water as well as fight India’s water woes. The new ministry has been formed by merging the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. All water related works will be merged under one ministry. Both rail and surface transport are given an additional responsibility and we see the cities are connected with good quality roads all over the country. Thus, we see a new India and in the next five years, the renaissance of developments in this country with Sabka Vishwas going a long way in making Mann Ki Baat a spiritual journey.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
The Congress party is suffering from a “leadershipcrisis”. It seems that there is no competent leader in the country’s oldest party who can be a binding force for its unity and lead it to a new high. That is why over 120 Congress office bearers resigned in a mass to force Rahul Gandhi to give up the decision to quit as the party President. These Congress leaders have resigned in mass to support Rahul Gandhi and allow him a free hand to choose a new team. Gandhi family is believed to be the undisputed power centre of Congress which can keep the party workers and the leaders united while avoiding factionalism within the party. No one dares to challenge its supremacy.
Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe told Afternoon Voice, “Congress workers feel that Rahul Gandhi has worked hard for the sake of the party. It is our fault that we did not work so hard and failed up to his expectations. We want that he must continue as the Congress President. Taking the responsibility of the defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the party leaders have resigned in mass and we have given Rahul Gandhi a free hand to constitute a team of his choice. The President of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee Ashok Chavan was first to submit his resignation from Maharashtra. The Chairman of Kisan Khet Mazdoor Congress Nana Patole has also resigned.”
It is remarkable that after suffering severe drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on May 25 announced his decision to quit as party chief. Many senior party leaders requested him not to resign and reconsider his decision. His resignation offer was unanimously rejected by the Congress Working Committee. However, Rahul Gandhi remained unfazed. Rahul Gandhi became the party President in 2017. The Congress won only 52 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which is just eight more the lowest tally of 44 in 2014 polls. Rahul Gandhi himself lost elections from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh although he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad in Kerala.
According to party sources, all the Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states will meet Rahul Gandhi on Monday, urging him to take back his decision to resign from the post of party President. Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, and Punjab will meet Gandhi at the party headquarters in the national capital. Karnataka Deputy Chief Ministers G Parameshwara is also likely to come for the meet. The Chief Ministers are also likely to discuss the mass resignations taking place in the party. A meeting of CWC will be called to decide on a new party chief. Ahead of this meeting, more resignations are likely at the party.
Congress leader Karuna Shukla said, “Mass resignation is an expression of feelings of the Congress workers. They have taken the responsibility of debacle on the recent Lok Sabha elections. At the same, party workers will accept the final decision of Rahul Gandhi, whatsoever it may be.”
The resignation spree started on Thursday night when Vivek Tankha quit from the post of the party’s Chairman for Law and RTI cell. After this, many leaders from Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana also resigned from their posts.
In a series of tweets on Friday, Vivek Tankha said, “We all should submit our resignations from party positions and give Rahul a free hand to choose his team… Party cannot afford a stalemate for too long.” Earlier, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has said that he had offered to resign as the state Congress chief after the party’s debacle in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections. Prominent party leaders who resigned include Haryana Women Congress chief Sumitra Chouhan, General Secretary Netta P Sangma of Meghalaya, Secretary Virender Rathore, Chhattisgarh Secretary Anil Chaudhary, Madhya Pradesh Secretary Sudhir Chaudhary and Haryana Secretary Satyavir Yadav.
The Congress dissolved all district committees of its Uttar Pradesh unit and formed a three-member disciplinary committee to look into acts of gross indiscipline and anti-party activities during the Lok Sabha elections.
On the other hand, the BJP leader Tom Vadakkan said that mass resignation in the Congress is part of ‘scripted drama’. Tom Vadakkan was in the Congress and he was the party’s spokesperson. He joined the BJP in March this year, just ahead of 17th Lok Sabha election.
The Congress party’s spokesperson Pawan Khera said that the entire organisation, in one voice, wants its President Rahul Gandhi to continue in the post. Whatever be Rahul Gandhi’s final decision in this regard, mass resignation has created a scene that Congress is in crisis. In this difficult time, Rahul Gandhi should give up the idea of his resignation.
The Congress does not need mass resignation for its revival but the party leaders should ensure mass support so that the party can be a vital political force in India and lead the country. Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand are to be held later this year. The Congress party and its leaders should concentrate on these elections.
It was India’s “Grand Old Party.” The Congress Party ruled the country for 55 out of 71 years since independence. However, following the party’s crushing electoral debacle for a second time, there are questions about its future as the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty at its helm is unable to counter the most powerful leader India has produced in eras, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India’s oldest party is going through leadership crises. Over a month after Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that he wished to quit as the party chief, over 130 Congress office bearers resigned from their individual posts to show harmony with him. Some threatened to protest outside the homes of other senior party office bearers in the days to come if the latter did not follow their example of quitting their respective posts and give Gandhi a “free hand” to restructure the party.
The battle within Congress is gradually one between the party’s old guard and the young leadership. The sense among the younger leaders is that Gandhi’s hands need consolidation for him to purge several from the old guard to restructure the party. However, those in the old guard argue that Gandhi had led the party’s campaign from the front and most of the decisions were his.
Gandhi appointed Mohan Markam as the head of the party’s Chhattisgarh unit, replacing Bhupesh Baghel since he is now the Chief Minister of the state. The Congress statement announcing the appointment said that “Congress President has appointed” instead of the “AICC” that was being used in party statements affecting organisational changes since Gandhi’s decision to quit as party head.
At the first Congress Working Committee meeting after the poll results, Rahul Gandhi had announced his resignation but questioned the senior leaders Kamal Nath, Ashok Gehlot, and some others for not putting in their best effort to ensure the party’s success. The Congress currently has governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, and Puducherry and runs a coalition government in Karnataka. Many think this phase of Congress as rebooting the party and others question the existence of it in the near future.
If we look at the history of the Congress, after independence, the defeat of Indira Gandhi in 1977, the Congress party under Indira Gandhi rose like Phoenix, in 1980. Congress continued to rule till 1989. Though Rajiv Gandhi won in 1984 because of sympathy wave after the death of Indira Gandhi with a massive majority, he could not sustain it in 1989. Again in 1991, Congress came back to power and formed a minority government because of the sympathy factor. Though its performance was exemplary under Narasimha Rao, it could not come back to power, mainly because of the lack of a popular mass leader. Again in 2004, Congress came back to power because of the efforts of Sonia Gandhi.
The Congress lost elections in 1977, 1989, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2014, and 2019. All the elections it lost are due to major gaffes like the imposition of emergency or huge corruption scandals or for want of a charismatic leader. The Congress could win the first four elections till 1967 because of the participation of Congress leaders in the freedom movement and the goodwill people had for the Congress. The 1971 election was won because of the charismatic leadership of Indira Gandhi. The spectacular victories of 1984 and that of 1991 are because of sympathy votes.
In 2004, Congress did not increase its seats. In fact, it reduced from 158 to 145. It still formed the government because BJP performed badly winning only 138 seats. Though the Congress could win 207 seats in 2009, could not get a majority. The Congress got divided in 1969 and many leading Congress leaders who were part of freedom movement left the party. It was at this period the nationalism of the Congress, which was its prerogative, started moving away from the party. Also the Congress, by its nationalisation of Banks, the abolition of privy purses to erstwhile rulers, and its socialism, pushed themselves towards the left. An emergency was the culmination of all these and the party had to pay a heavy price. Hitherto till 2009, Congress maintained some responsibilities both in the number of seats as well as vote percentages.
However, in 2014, securing only 44 seats, the party looked more like a regional party rather than a national one. Ideologically too the Congress is confused about where it stands. While in power followed liberalisation and open market but now projecting itself as left of centre.
This ideological moorings and the confusion that emanates from the same, is hurting the party. At present, Indian people are at home with the liberalisation of economy and privatisation. It is in the fitness of time, that Congress changes itself to suit the aspirations of the people. Congress may not completely be eliminated. However, it will slowly fade away unless its leaders take corrective steps.
The Congress may argue that it was able to capture power in 2004 but “the Congress of 2004” and “the Congress of 2019” are two different entities. The Congress of 2004 was not dubbed a corrupt party at that time. Sonia being new to politics, no negativity got attached to her. The public did not know her son-in-law’s corruption yet. Her son just entered the politics and his inefficiency was not yet public.
The Congress was in power in quite a few states but in 2019, the ball game is completely different. The Congress is in power in six states constituting 6 per cent of the country. In many big states, it has been pushed to margins or lost relevancy. Above all, the Congress has to confront Modi–Shah duo who are formidable opposition. The electoral politics also have changed remarkably putting the onus more on leadership and its strategy. The demanding scenario requiring the leadership to be proactive is too much for the party. How it faces the situation will be clear only in the upcoming state elections. However, it is reducing and it is apparent.
(The later part will continue tomorrow.)
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As a messenger of news, a Journalist’s role is neither easy nor comfortable. Defining the parameters of the profession, world-renowned Bangladeshi Photojournalist Shahidul Alam, speaking as the guest of honour at the RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism at the Jamshed Bhaba Hall on Friday night, said, “Journalists belong on the edge, a dangerous place to be. You get burnt if you go too deep, but you cease to be relevant if you move back too far.”
Illustrating what he meant by the ‘edge’, Alam said that it is a constantly changing position based on ever-changing circumstances; and the journalist’s job is to keep redefining where the ‘edge’ lies.
He also highlighted that the profession was always under pressure from inducements and threats by those in power, and the challenge of journalism was to find a way around it. Giving an example of the Bangladesh Press that had been waging a battle for changes in media laws, Shahidul Alam said the situation changed after the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed decided to present Rs 20 crore to the Dacca Press Club. “Slowly the agitation died away, and then finally we saw a huge banner hanging from the Press Club’s walls with Sheikh Hasina’s full-size image on it.”
Magsaysay Award-winning social reformer Prakash Baba Amte, also speaking as the guest of honour at the event, emphasized the role of the news media to bring to the public eye social initiatives like his work of the Lok Biradari Prakalp in tribal-dominated Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. He said he and his wife Mandakini had worked for the health and education of one of the most backward tribes in India, the Madia Gonds. “We realized we have a lot to learn from them. We never lock our homes. There is no concept of theft among them, even though they very often have nothing to eat. There are also no sexual crimes, and we never hear of rapes,” Amte said.
At the glittering ceremony in the newly built, chandeliered hall, as many as 32 journalists from all over the country received their RedInk Awards for categories ranging from Political writing and environment to the newly- introduced category ‘The Arts’. Chairman of the NCPA, Mr. K N Suntook, in a message to journalists, emphasized the importance of ‘Arts’ to civil society and urged editors to dedicate more space for writing on the subject.
Award recipients included Rachna Khaira of The Tribune who bagged the prestigious ‘Journalist of the Year’ Award for her far-reaching expose on the functioning of the Unique Identification Authority of Indian (UIDAI). The coveted Lifetime Achievement Award this year went to – Dinu Ranadive, 94, who retired from the Maharashtra Times, and Photojournalist Sebastian D’Souza, who served as Photo Editor of Mumbai Mirror.
In a short message by Dinu Randive, when he came on stage on a wheelchair, the veteran gave an example of how good journalism can have a transforming role.
When covering the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in the 1970s, Ranadive said that he once came across a weeping Dalit man who said his child had died and he could not bury the boy because the Dalit cremation ground was full of water, and he did not want him to catch a cold! Those days the BMC had separate burial grounds for upper caste children and Dalit kids. Moved by the tragedy, he wrote a series of articles on the discriminatory practice. The Maharashtra Legislature which was in session then took cognizance of these reports and abolished segregation of burial grounds on caste basis.
In his introduction to the awards, Gurbir Singh, President of the Mumbai Press Club, said two major issues were haunting news media today: One, identification with jingoistic and one-sided campaigns of various political parties or government by many sections of the press had made it lose its credibility among the masses; and two, the level of intolerance and hate being generated against an independent media had led to many journalists being arrested and assaulted. This had made the functioning of a free press more difficult by the day.
The Chairman of the Mumbai Press Club, Dharmendra Jore, and Secretary Lata Mishra also spoke. Office Bearers and Members of the Managing Committee participated in congratulating the winners of the various categories on stage. The RedInk Awards have been instituted by the Mumbai Press Club since 2010.
An interesting feature of the evening was a panel discussing the topic: “Journalism is dead, long live journalism!”
Speaking about the media’s credibility crisis, Barkha Dutt said that today, anything deviation from the dominant narrative is punished. “While some of us have the privilege of not being arrested for merely speaking our mind, journalism is structurally dying. Journalists have been left craving for ministerial access, news reporting has been put on the backburner,” she asserted.
Echoing Barkha Dutt’s sentiment, Editor of Mumbai Mirror Meenal Baghel said, “There is inherent laziness in reporting today. We have forgotten the art of storytelling and how to stitch a news report. The need of the hour is good story-telling for the reader.”
Kishore Chandra Wangkhemcha, a Manipuri journalist who was arrested last year under the stringent National Security Act for his criticism of the government, shared his story of the time he spent behind bars. “I thought it was my duty to bring out the truth. Once I was jailed under the NSA Act, nobody from civil society came forward to defend my case,” he said.
Abhishek Sharma, Resident Editor of NDTV India, who moderated the discussion, said stories don’t hold much merit if they don’t make people uncomfortable.
The Awards Ceremony also treated the hundreds of journalists and media persons to a soothing session of music in the form of 4 scores by NCPA’s Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI), and it had the guests tapping their feet to the finale – a classical rendering of the Bollywood number ‘Jay Ho’!
The RedInk Awards were presented in association with lead partner Star India, along with Award Partners Zee Entertainment, Aditya Birla Group, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Diageo India, Jaslok Hospital, Global Health Strategies, IIFL and the National Centre of Performing Arts (NCPA). The Hindu and Facebook were the print and digital partners.
The RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism were set up 9 years ago to encourage good quality reporting and analysis, fair play and high ethical standards in Indian journalism. It stands as a reminder of the larger purpose of journalism, and its responsibility to society. It is the only set of awards for individual journalists instituted by a professional body in India and is considered valuable as it bestows peer recognition.
Winners of Mumbai Press Club Redink Awards – 2019
Business & Economy
Print/Digital: Alia Allana, Fountain Ink
TV/Video: Archana Shukla, CNBC TV/VIDEO 18
Environment
Print/Digita: Adrija Bose, News 18.Com
TV/Video: Shikha, India Today
Sports
Print/Digital: Mihir Satyen Vasavda, The Indian Express
TV/Video: Smitha Ramachandran Nair, Scroll.in
Human Rights
Print/Digital: Rahul Kotiyal, Newslaundry
TV/ Video: Tridip Kanti Mandal, The Quint
Politics
Print/Digital: Sagar, The Caravan, Delhi Press
TV/ Video: Arfa Khanum, The Wire
TV/ Video: Sreenivasan Jain, NDTV/VIDEO 24X7
Big Picture
Winner: Ajay Kumar, The Times Of India
Runner-up: R S Gopakumar, Malayala Manorama
Runner-up: Josekutty Panackal, Malayala Manorama
Science & Innovation
Print/Digital: Lhendup Gyatso Bhutia, Open Media Magazine
Lifestyle & Entertainment
Print/Digital: R Rajeshwaran, The News Minute
Print/Digital: Bibek Bhattacharya, Mint
TV/ Video: Vatsala Singh, The Quint
Women Empowerment & Gender Equality
Print/Digital: Jyoti Shinoli, People’s Archive Of Rural India
TV/ Video: Sonali Jain, Firstpost
Crime
Print/Digital: Santosh Singh, The Indian Express
TV/ Video: Arun Kumar K, Asianet News Network
The Arts
Print/Digital: Vaishna Roy, The Hindu
TV/ Video: Faiyaz Ahmad, The Wire
Health & Wellness
Print/Digital: Ritu Sarin, Kaunain Sheriff M & Jay Mazoomdaar, The Indian Express
TV/ Video: Anil K Emmanuel, Manorama News Channel
Mumbai Star Reporter: Ranjeet Jadhav, Mid-Day
Journalist of the year: Rachna Khaira, The Tribune
Lifetime Achievement: Sebastian D’souza, Former Photo Editor, Mumbai Mirror & Dinu Randive, former Maharashtra Times journalist.
Groundwater level in 16 per cent of the taluka, mandal, block-level units in the country fall under the “over-exploited” category, while 4 per cent falls under the “critical” category, government data shows.
Groundwater level of the 6,584 block, mandal, tehsil level units assessed by the Central Groundwater Board reveal that 4,520 units fall under the “safe category”, according to the data shared by the government in Lok Sabha last week.
As many as 1,034 units have been categorised as “over-exploited”, the data states.
Nearly 681 blocks, mandal, taluka level units in the country, constituting 10 per cent of the total figure, fall under the “semi-critical” category, while 253 fall under the “critical” category. Nearly 1 per cent of the blocks, mandals, and talukas had saline water.
The figure is based on the government’s 2013 assessment.
“As per the 2013 assessment, out of total 6,584 assessment units (blocks, talukas, mandals, watersheds, firkas) in the country, 1,034 units in 17 states and Union territories have been categorised as over-exploited where groundwater extraction is more than the net groundwater availability and there is a significant long-term decline in water levels.
“Two hundred and fifty-three units have been categorised as critical, 681 units as semi-critical and 4,520 units as safe,” the minister of state in the Jal Shakti Ministry shared the information in Parliament last week.
The overexploitation of the groundwater was highest in the states of Punjab (76 per cent) and Rajasthan (66 per cent), followed by Delhi (56 per cent) and Haryana (54 per cent).
There was no over-exploitation of groundwater reported in the states of West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Tripura, Odisha, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Goa.
Groundwater levels in all the block, taluka, mandal level units from 12 states and Union territories Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra, and Nagar Haveli were reported to be in the safe category.
World Doctor’s Day that falls on July 1 is an opportunity to raise awareness about the doctor’s role in our daily lives – a day when people across the country acknowledge the commitment and dedication of the medical and health care fraternity towards society. Doctor’s Day is the time to pay tribute to the entire medical profession.
Ayushman Bharat
Take care while enjoying in water!
A pet project of PM Modi in a Gandhian way, sanitation ministry’s 
The 
Groundwater level in 16 per cent of the taluka, mandal, block-level units in the country fall under the “over-exploited” category, while 4 per cent falls under the “critical” category, government data shows.