Narayan Rane who recently joined NDA is now kept on hold. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis officially declared that the decision on Rane’s entry into BJP will be taken only after Shiv Sena’s consent. Such thing never happened in Maharashtra’s political history. Now, he is pressurised to bow down to Uddhav and that is not going well with Rane. There are speculations that Rane might leave BJP, if no decision is taken.
On the other hand, Narayan Rane said on Thursday that he would be joining the ruling BJP on September 1. “I will join the BJP on September 1 in Solapur where the party’s national president Amit Shah will address a rally,” Narayan Rane said.
Ashish Jaiswal, Shiv Sena leadertold Afternoon Voice’s reporter Surbhi Mugdia “Narayan Rane cannot stay loyal to anybody. A person who is not loyal to anyone then he becomes a mere liability. He is an opportunist. He backstabbed to the person who made him minister. Such a person should not be even considered to be taken into party. That is why Shiv Sena is not in favour of Narayan Rane’s entry into BJP and will never give its consent to this.”
BJP spokesperson Prof. Suhas Farande said, “No decision is taken yet by the Bharatiya Janata Party and nothing much can be said as of now but the ultimate decision will be taken approximately by the time of election.”
In his political career spanning nearly four decades, Rane had worked in the Shiv Sena and then in Congress before floating his own political outfit in 2017. He had joined the Congress in 2005 after being expelled from the Shiv Sena. Rane was expelled by Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray after he voiced displeasure over Uddhav Thackeray gaining prominence in the party.
Rane, who has pockets of influence in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, left the Congress in 2017 after differences with the leadership and factionalism in Maharashtra. He then founded his own outfit Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksh, and was later elected to the Rajya Sabha from the BJP quota.
Pakistan has ordered a probe into reports of a Sikh girl being kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam after the incident sparked outrage in India. Pakistan took this step after this incident sparked outrage in India. The victim Jagjit Kaur was found after a video surfaced showing her forcible conversion and being renamed as ‘Ayesha’.
As per reports, A Pakistan-based Sikh girl, missing for several days, was allegedly abducted, forced to convert to Islam and marry a Muslim man in Nankana Sahib area of Lahore. Punjab (Pakistan) Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar ordered an investigation into the incident. The inquiry was ordered after reports emerged that a Sikh girl had been forcibly converted to Islam and made to marry a Muslim man in Nankana Sahib of Lahore.
Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday called upon Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to take “firm and immediate action” in the case where a Sikh priest’s daughter forcibly converted to Islam in Lahore’s Nankana Sahib. The Chief Minister has also requested External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to take up the issue with his Pakistani counterpart at the earliest.
“Shocking incident of a Sikh girl being kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan. Call upon Imran Khan to take firm and immediate action against the perpetrators. Request S Jaishankar to strongly take up the issue with his counterpart at the earliest,” Amarinder Singh tweeted.
Shocking incident of a Sikh girl being kidnapped & forced to convert to Islam in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan. Call upon @ImranKhanPTI to take firm and immediate action against the perpetrators. Request @DrSJaishankar to strongly take up the issue with his counterpart at the earliest. pic.twitter.com/hpHvD9kkEJ
According to reports, the Sikh girl, who was missing for a number of days, surfaced on Thursday after she was forcibly converted to Islam and made to marry a Muslim man in Nankana Sahib area of Lahore. Jagjit Kaur, 19, is the daughter of Bhagwan Singh, a ‘granthi’ (priest) of Gurudwara Tambu Sahib and was converted to Islam at gunpoint.
Family of Jagjit Kaur said they will self immolate in-front of the Governor house in Pakistan’s Punjab if their daughter was not released. Surinder Singh, brother of Jagjit Kaur said, “Our family has faced a tragic incident as some goons forcibly entered our house and abducted my younger daughter. They tortured her and forcibly converted her to Islam.” He added, “We went to a police station to register a complaint. We met many senior officials but they have not listened to our complaint. The goons again came to our house and forced us to withdraw our complaint and threatened that they will also force us to convert to Islam if we persisted with the complaint.” The family also appealed to Imran Khan and Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa for the safe return of Jagjit Kaur. The members of the Sikh community in Pakistan have condemned the horrific incident and conducted a meeting at Gurudwara Nankana Sahib. They have decided to organise a protest on Friday at Governor House while an international conference related to Kartarpur Corridor is scheduled to be held there.
A video of Jagjit Kaur has also surfaced where she was forcibly converted to Islam and renamed as Ayesha. The ‘maulvi’ also arranged her marriage with a Muslim man. In Pakistan, many such incidents are regularly reported where Hindu, Sikh and Christian girls are forcibly converted to Islam and married to Muslim men.
It was only after revelation through RTI application that Department of Posts discontinued postal-orders in outdated denominations like Rs 1, 2, 5 and 7 because of extremely low sale-figure and high handling cost. According to an RTI response, handling cost of a postal-order was Rs 37.45 to Department of Posts alone in the year 2011-12. Handling cost for clearing-operation of banks is even extra. It is highly illogical that public-exchequer may bear such extra-ordinary loss in handling postal-orders in denominations like Rs 10 and 20. Rather it is time that higher denominations like of Rs 100, 200 and 500 may be added to avoid purchase of demand-drafts in submitting various types of fees.
Government-fees below Rs 50 may either be increased or totally abolished. Or Department of Posts may issue special stamps like there used to be for licences of radio and TV sets for services requiring heavy use of postal-orders in lower denominations of Rs 10 and 20. Beginning can be done with introducing RTI stamps where presently heavy use of postal-orders in denominations rupees 10 is there. RTI stamps can be issued in denominations of Rs 2, 10 and 50. Presently copying-charges under RTI Act in amounts lower than rupees 10 is not feasible because of discontinuance of postal-orders in denominations of Rs 2. Even Central Information Commission CIC in its repeated verdicts has recommended issue of RTI stamps. CIC has also taken up the issue of RTI stamps with Department of Post administratively.
Madhu Agrawal
Free transaction through credit and debit cards
It refers to RBI report released on 29.08.2019 revealing that there has been a shocking 18-percent rise in currency-circulation from that at time of demonetisation of cold currency-notes of rupees 500 and 1000 on 08.11.2016. Thus, it kills the very purpose of demonetisation. This is because stress was given on small digital payments where there are regular cases of frauds affecting ordinary lower and middle income people. Currency-circulation can only be curbed by targeting bigger transactions. Rather than spending so much like Rs 4811 crore on currency-printing in the year 2017-18, study should be made if government and banks can bear complete transaction-charges on use of credit and debit cards. Presently traders having low profit-margins charge two-percent extra from consumers on payments made through credit and debit cards. Amount so spent on bearing transaction-charges partly by government can be further compensated by withdrawing needless cash-incentive of .75 per cent on purchase of petrol and diesel through card-payment. Banks can be directed to reduce transaction-charges on card-payment considerably in case government is ready to bear balance nominal transaction-charges.
Cash-withdrawal limit from banks by an individual should be restored to that at time of demonetisation i.e. Rs 96000 per month by an individual per month, which may gradually be further reduced to Rs 48000 per month. However, for tackling economy-slowdown, on-line sale should be banned or restricted so that retail-wholesale trade contributing maximum 28 per cent to Indian economy may flourish with transaction-less card-payments thus preventing generation of unemployment.
Currency-circulation can further be curbed by asking all Rs 2000 notes to be deposited in banks without being further issued. Step will not affect common people because Rs 2000 notes are mainly used for unaccounted big transactions. Government can generate huge revenue by simultaneously introducing permanent Voluntary Disclosure Scheme whereby 50-percent of unaccounted money can be invested in long-term Infrastructural Bonds with nominal interest to generate new projects creating huge employment in public-sector rather than imposing surcharges on higher incomes paving towards evasion of Income Tax.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Dramatic arrest of senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the INX Media case the other day has taken everyone by surprise. After all what were the reasons that made Chidambaram play hide and seek for 27 hours with the CBI when the investigating agency went to arrest him following rejection of his anticipatory bail plea by Delhi High Court. After he was sent to CBI remand for five days, Chidambaram moved a petition in the Supreme Court seeking relief asking for cancellation of the arrest warrant. But the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal since the petition became ‘infructuous’ once he was arrested. The CBI court has accepted CBI plea for extending Chidambaram’s remand by another four days.
The way Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI is being viewed as a big achievement of the government. Till now no leader holding the post of Union Home Minister and Finance Minister was arrested for any crime. This has sent a message across the country that the government will not hesitate in bringing to book any leader howsoever he or she may be big if he or she is found prima facie guilty of offence irrespective of Party affiliation.
After Chidambaram, the CBI has expedited the case involving Robert Vadra and other big wigs of the Congress Party in the National Herald case. The accused may be arrested one day.
At the moment it is to be seen if the Congress will go on back foot or stand behind Chidambaram with full force. The Congress has termed the arrest of Chidambaram as part of ‘political conspiracy’ of the government to silence critics of the government by framing false cases against Opposition leaders. According to Congress leaders the government has deliberately stage managed the arrest of Chidambaram to divert attention of the country from deteriorating economy, loss of jobs and falling rupee in currency market. This is baseless charge; just rhetoric.
Can any officer of investigating agency dare arrest a former Home Minister without any solid evidence?
In run up to 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP had released a CD of “Damad Sree” as part of its campaign against Congress highlighting charges of corruption against Robert Vadra who happens to be son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi. After Vadra, the BJP levelled charges of corruption against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, P Chidambaram, Karti Chidambaram and some other Congress leaders. However, when no action was taken against Vadra during the five year rule of Modi Government, the Congress took it that nothing will happen and took aggressive position against the BJP and the Modi Government.
As a matter of fact during the election campaign in 2019 Lok Sabha poll the Congress defended its leaders by saying if Congress leaders have committed any offence why no action was being taken against them; why they are not being arrested.
Congress took a tough posture and gave Party ticket to Karti Chidambaram to contest Lok Sabha election to tease the government. Despite Robert Vadra facing charges, the Congress appointed his wife Priyanka Vadra as General Secretary and made her to look after campaign in Uttar Pradesh in Lok Sabha poll.
The case of P Chidambaram is different from others. Howsoever grave charges are against Chidambaram it is not an ordinary case. It involves former Home and Finance Minster of the country. And charges are of corruption while being Union Minister. Is that Chidambaram who is a senior advocate of Supreme Court does not trust the judiciary of the land. No doubt, nobody will object to legal course being taken by Chidambaram to defend himself which his legal and fundamental right as a citizen of India. But can one expect such conduct from a man who spent log years in public life.
Here one more question arises. Does it give any person in public life for long years to indulge in corrupt practice and to defend corruption in public life? Not only Chidambaram but his whole family is involved in some or the other case of corruption whether it involves his son or his wife. Chidambaram has been arrested in the INX Media case. But he and his son are also facing charges in Aircel-Maxis case that involves money laundering. CBI has already filed charge- sheet in the case in July last. The case involves Chidambaram facilitating investment in Aircel through Global Communications Holding Services by getting approval of FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board). The charge against Chidambaram is that he had got investment made in the firm to the tune of rupees 3650 crores in 2006 when he was Finance Minister. Beside this he managed to benefit to some other accused in the case to the tune of Rs. 1.16 crore as illegal income.
CBI has filed charge sheet in Sharda Chit Fund scam against Nalini Chidambaram wife of P Chidambaram. Calcutta High Court gave interim relief to Nalini from being arrested in February last.
It would have been better for Chidambaram to have surrendered before the investigating agencies and cooperated with them in investigation like any other accused. Why Chidambaram is so scared if he thinks there is no case against him and that the charges levelled against him have no substance.
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.
India is the land of festivals and celebrations. Just as in the case of several other Hindu festivals, many traditions and rituals are associated with Teej celebrations. Rooted deep in Indian religious and cultural ethos – Teej plays a significant role in defining the true nature of relationship between a married- couple. According to traditional Hindu lunar calendar, festival of Hartalika Teej falls on the third day of the fortnight in the Bhadrapad month. This year, it falls on September 1. If considered from Gregorian calendar, Hindu month Bhado falls between August and September. Hartalika Teej is the generally celebrated in North India. People from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar celebrate this festival with great zeal and gusto. Festival of Hartalika Teej is dedicated to Maa Hartalika, who is none other than Goddess Parvati. Hartalika Teej is celebrated to commemorate the day when Lord Shiva accepted the love of Parvati. Teej coincides with monsoon season and thus, create a greater impact for its celebration. Taking full advantage of the beautiful climate at this time, women enjoy themselves by swinging, singing and dancing in rain.
Legend behind Hartalika Teej
According to the Hindu mythology, Maa Parvati was in love with Lord Shiva. However, he was an ascetic and had no interest in worldly stuff. Goddess Parvati decided to put all her efforts to make Shiva know about her love for him. She did a tough penance of thousands of years in Himalayas. Finally, Lord Shiva noticed the Goddess and realising her love, he married her. Since then, Goddess Parvati is being worshipped as Hartalika and Teej Mata. On the 3rd day (teej) after the new moon in the month of Bhadrapad Goddess Parvati went to the house of lord Shiva, her husband and was united with him. Mostly women celebrate this festival to get a husband like Lord Shiva and if they are already married then they pray for the long life of their husband.
This day is celebrated as Teej all over India and especially so in Maharashtra. Both married and unmarried Hindu women observe the three-day-long festival seeking blissful married life and happiness for their husband. Teej is the most important day amongst all. On this day, women observe a tough fast that excludes even water. In Sanskrit, it is known as Nirjala Vrat, also known as Hartalika Vrat. In the evening, all women worship Goddess Parvati and only have food and water on the next day.
At the time of Hartalika Teej, women go back to their husbands. Hence, they adorn themselves with beautiful clothes, shimmering jewellery and eye-catchy make-up. On this day, women decorate themselves like a new bride. In Indian tradition, women do ‘Solah Shringar’ to adorn themselves. Literal meaning of Solah Shringar is the adornment using 16 elements. Some of them are Henna tattoo on hands, Kohl in eyes, Bindi on forehead and Mahawar design on feet. Along with themselves, women also decorate the idols of Maa Parvati in the similar way. Beautifully decorated swings are hung from trees in the garden and gaily dressed up women swing and sing traditional Teej songs. Some women also dance while singing the holy songs.
Woman celebrating the first Teej receives a lot of gifts from their parents, parents-in-law and loved ones. Husbands especially make sure that they gift something beautiful and memorable to their sweet wife. Some even pamper their wife with a gift of diamond or gold jewellery.
Parents-in-law gift their daughter-in-law ‘Shrinjhara’ or ‘Sindhare’ which is a part of auspicious Teej rituals. The word ‘shrinjhara’ has a very literal meaning that is adornment. Parents-in-law gift it to their daughter-in-law so that they can adorn themselves the way they want to. It consists of traditional laheria dress, lac bangles, henna, sindhur and sweets like ghewar. Some daughters-in-law observing fast also receive money from their father-in-law to buy anything of their choice. Sometimes, mother-in-law create an everlasting impression on their bahu(daughter -in-law) by gifting the most special and dear thing of hers.
Parents and relatives usually present clothes, jewellery, dry fruits and other Teej special gifts to the newly wed bride. For the onlookers, major attraction for Teej includes Teej Fair, colourful dances, folk songs, and Teej Puja process. In recent years, Teej festival has started attracting of a large number of foreign tourists. It is also about strengthening the bond between a couple, family and women. Apart from this, Hartalika Teej gives you another reason to party. Fetch the immense blessings of Goddess Parvati by performing Hartalika Puja in a proper way. May Teej Mata or Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva bless all of you and Spread into your life Peace, Prosperity, Happiness and Good Health.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
One of the biggest fears about plastic bags is that they threaten and endanger the environment. Plastic bags pollute the land and water, plus since they are lightweight, plastic materials can travel long distances by wind and water. Besides, these material bags are made from non-renewable resources. The majority of plastic bags are made of polypropylene, a material derived from petroleum and natural gas. Both of them are non-renewable fossil fuel-based resources, which contribute to global climate change. Most of these plastics are not recyclable. Though some kinds of plastic bags can be recyclable, many don’t possess the technology or the plants to recycle them. According to various estimates, the actual recycling rate for plastic bags is about 5-6 per cent.
Since plastic bags are not recyclable, being so lightweight they can travel long distances by wind and water. They litter our landscapes, get caught in fences and trees, float around in waterways, and can eventually make their way into the world’s oceans. While they reach, they break up into tiny little pieces and are consumed by wildlife both on land and water. It is estimated that 46,000-1,000,000 plastic fragments floating within every square mile of the world’s oceans. Due to their size, they are often mistaken for food by animals, birds, and marine life like fish, whales and sea turtles. Thereby congesting their digestive system, it causes health issues such as infections or even death by suffocation. Many animals also get entangled or trapped.
Due to increase in the use of plastic bags and disposing problems, plastics are creating garbage in the environment. Plastic constitutes about 35% of garbage in India. As well as whole production of plastic factories emits their chemical waste in air, water or soil. Indian Government has already banned plastic bags or polythene bags, which are below 50 microns which means very low in weight. Polythene bags are widely used all over the world. The consumption of plastic bags is heavy and it is being circulated in all classes of people from higher to lower.
Still there is no alternative for polythene bags. Oils, flours, watery items and many other things are wrapped with plastic bags since there is no perfect alternative. Plastics are heavily used in packaging industry. In other hand Paper bags will tear fast and cannot be used with oil and watery items. And also it cannot be roughly used when dealing with transportation, goods packaging, etc. Moreover, polythene industry is hugely business oriented.
Plastic carry bags are the most affordable one compared to any other bags. Most of the people are not carrying any bags when going for shopping, so consequently they are demanding plastic carry bags for every purchase even for a single product. Hence, merchandiser are forced to buy plastic bags (60 paise/bag) as they can’t afford cloth or paper bags which comes at a price of 3–4 rupees per bag.
Paper bags are environment friendly, but it can’t withstand more load. In stark contrast to that, even the thickness is less, plastic bags can sustain more load compared to paper bags. We can also use jute bags, as it has better load bearing capacity but again cost is the prime factor as it comes with 5–10 rupees per bag, ultimately seller won’t prefers these bags.
In food packaging, plastic bags are more preferred option because of its unparalleled benefits. It is lightweight, won’t easily degrade in hot and cold temperatures, provides resistance against external influences and its design flexibility facilitates better adaptability to every product.
Apart from commercial purpose, people use plastic carry bags in everyday life. This doesn’t mean that common people are purchasing plastic bags in large quantity, but they are getting by buying their daily necessities in local shops. Because of all the points, I mentioned in the content, commoners also using plastic bags to keep things away from external influences and carry things. Thus, this has become a lifestyle factor at a very root level.
To conclude, necessity is the key for creation. Plastic bags replaced bio-degradable cloth and jute bags. May be in the future plastic bags will be replaced by some other product. Hope for the best to reduce ever growing plastic pollution.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
Asserting that the newly launched ‘Fit India‘ is not a campaign but a movement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged the masses must follow it in order to make the country fit and healthy.
Addressing a gathering at Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex during the launch of ‘Fit India Movement’, the Prime Minister said, “This is an important step towards making India fit and healthy. The event has been presented so well that I feel my speech is not even needed. The conceptualisation of the event was brilliant. This must become a mass movement. Videos from the event must be shown to students across India.”
Remembering the “magician of hockey”, Major Dhyan Chand, on his 115th birth anniversary, Modi said, “Many congratulations to all on the occasion of National Sports Day. We got a great sportsperson in the form of Major Dhyan Chand today. He left the world spellbound with his fitness, stamina, and a hockey stick and I pay my tribute to him today.”
The Prime Minister also congratulated the Ministry of Sports and Youth Department for taking an important step towards a healthy nation, for launching Fit India Movement. He opined that talking about diet has become “fashionable” while technology and development have reduced physical activity.
Lecturing about how the emergence of technology has led to the laxity in terms of fitness in the society, he said, “There used to be some physical activity and then came technological change. Our physical activity has gone down. The cases of diabetes and hypertension have gone up. The situation today is that we walk less and the technology tells us how many steps we have walked. People download fitness apps on their phones and don’t even check them later.”
He continued, “Lifestyle diseases are taking place due to lifestyle disorder. We can get rid of these diseases simply by making minor changes in our lifestyle. We can save our lives. Every family must debate about fitness when they sit together.”
“Our athletes and sportspersons make us proud world over and ensure that the Indian flag flies high wherever they go. They bring prestige to the nation and to all us citizens.,” Modi said.
Concluding his speech on fitness, the Prime Minister said, “There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs. It is true that success and fitness have an intangible bond. You cannot be successful unless you are mentally and physically fit.” The Prime Minister also administered a fitness pledge on the occasion.
‘Fit India Movement‘, was launched on the occasion of the National Sports Day, with an aim to encourage people to instill physical activity and sports in their everyday lives.
Abolition of foreclosure-charges on pre-payment of loans
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has once again issued circular dated 02.08.2019 clarifying that banks shall not charge foreclosure charges or pre-payment penalties on any floating-rate term-loan sanctioned for purposes other than business to individual borrowers with or without co-obligant(s). Earlier about a decade back, RBI in an RTI response dated 03.09.2009 had clearly stated that RBI does not approve policy of charging penalty or foreclosure charges.
In this period of ten years, RBI had waived concept of foreclosure-charges in a phased manner rather than totally like starting from such waiver only for home-loans. But even the latest circular dated 02.08.2019 has not completely met with RBI policy of not approving foreclosure-charges as revealed in ten-years old RTI response dated 03.09.2009. Latest circular dated 02.08.2019 is applicable only in respect of banks that too not in respect of business-loans. In continuation of RBI policy of giving undue favours to Non-Banking-Financial-Companies NBFC, latest circular dated 02.08.2019 is not applicable on NBFCs.
RBI must stick to its ten-year old stand of not approving basic concept of foreclosure charges since such an anti-public concept deprives people of getting rid of being loan-burdened. RBI should issue a fresh unconditional circular abolishing basic concept of foreclosure-charges even for business-loans and NBFCs for all types of loans.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
Practical step to strip security of ex-PM Dr Manmohan Singh
Central government has moved practically to downgrade security of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh from highest SPG-protected to Z-plus thus leaving SPG cover only to four persons including present Prime Minister, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi her two children namely Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. All these SPG-protection did deserve super-high SPG security-cover because of serious life-threats to these family-members of late Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi from supporters of Khalistani movement and erstwhile LTTE. Thus it is totally unfair of Congress to criticise cut in security-cover of Dr Manmohan Singh to that of Z-plus category from earlier SPG-protected that too when it is not traditional to provide SPG security-cover to former Prime Ministers.
It is time to study Sweden model where luxury and privileges like official cars, private drivers, private secretaries, parliamentary immunities etc are not provided to politicians including ministers and Parliamentarians. Only Prime Minister of Sweden is provided such necessities due to security and other practical reasons. Even salaries of Parliamentarians is only double of that of a an ordinary school-teacher. Even richest and biggest democracy of the world USA provides only half of last drawn salary to a former President as the only post-retirement benefit.
Madhu Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Indian sports fraternity celebrates National Sports Day on August 29 in the memory of hockey wizard and magician Major Dhyan Chand every year. Sports teaches us character, it teaches us to play by the rules, it teaches us to know what it feels like to win and lose, it teaches us about life.
Khelo India movement is gaining momentum as we come across more and funds are allotted to this cause to give importance to sports in this country. Thanks to the initiative taken by our Prime Minister and sports minister and the care taken by sports associations, all see our country’s flag is flying high in the world of sport. Even though we are not able to gain much in Olympics medals in recent times, our overall performance in other sports is creditable.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project Khelo India has been the main gainer by getting additional Rs.170 crore in the Union Budget proposal presented by the Finance Minister. Khelo India school games showed much promise. It is encouraging to note that shot putter Khelo India movement is taking shape in sports circle, thanks to the initiative taken by PM in encouraging sports from the grass root level. It was an excellent show by the Maharashtra men and women and we feel proud to be number one on medals tally in the first Khelo India School Games. Kudos to Team Maharashtra.
Young Kiren Rijiju appointment as sports minister in Modi’s government is a right step in the right direction. The Target Olympic Podium Scheme is one of the many steps the Centre has implemented in nurturing young sporting talent more so for budding athletes. This scheme is not just about giving them exposure but taking care of them in all walks of life.
The Under 19 World cup win in separating them from boys to men in an inspired game of cricket. The goal of making sports a sustainable career is the main aim of the government. However, the game of cricket is given undue importance.
Indian sports is full of stories of champions triumphing despite the system and not because of it. These are individuals, who defy tremendous odds and don’t let the apathy and nepotism of administrators and the absence of even basic infrastructure hamper them. In the 10 metre air pistol, Sourabh Chaudhry, 15, from a farmer’s family in UP became the youngest Indian ever to win an Asian Games gold. Catch them young is true for sportsmen in India.
Indian badminton team is in high spirits as PV Sindhu is winning medals in Super Series and she is the shinning star in the Indian sports horizon. Now she made history by winning the badminton World Championship. Pullela Gopichand deserves all praise for picking the right choice in an individual game. Khelo India movement is going on in high spirits as more and more medals are pocketed by our sportsmen and sportswomen and Indian flag is flying in the field of World sports. Apart from cricket, other games are also getting much needed boost in the recent times. Our enthusiastic sports minister Kiren Rijiju wants India’s youth to gun for the bulls eye through the Khelo India programme and reap a rich harvest of medals and accolades for the Indian sports contingent. Many sports personalities are getting the honour Arjuna Award and other civilian awards up to Bharat Ratna to Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.
Jeev Milkha Singh is an Indian professional golfer who became the first player from India to join the European Tour in 1998. He has won four events on the European Tour becoming the most successful Indian on tour. Mary Kom is an Indian boxer who has the distinction of being a five-time World Amateur Boxing champion. This biography of Mary Kom provides detailed information about her childhood, life, achievements, works and timeline in a big way. Likewise many more biopic came to Bollywood about Indian sports personalities and that includes MS Dhoni and Milkha Singh. ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ was an inspiration for young sports talent in India.
In the field of hockey, we are lagging behind much after showing early promise in Olympics and other World sports events. But of late, the performance is not good enough to cheer about. The training methods in India should match that of European countries in the field hockey. Youngsters should be tried out Astro Turf to gain maximum experience and the much needed exposure. Both Snooker and Billiards are getting the feel India with many champions in the making. Chess, Carrom and Table Tennis are the best indoor games. Shiva Keshavan is knocking Winter Olympics for 5 seasons and lasting for 22 years with a flourish. All in all, Indian sports in true spirits thanks to the Khelo India initiative. Hockey is a national sport and we must encourage the sport from grassroot level.
Nothing succeeds like success and the recent success in Asian Games with over 50 medals in our kitty is an encouraging performance and we wish to continue the good work of our athletes in the days to come and bring more laurels to the country. India’s sportspersons are not only wanting to excel but also showing deep desire to win. Today is National Sports Day. Our sincere hope and appeal for today and every tomorrow, is free and easy access to sports, across every city, town, gully and field. All this, so that we become healthier at home awards and accolades in the years to come.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
In one hand, we are talking about over growing population and on the other hand, India’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is declining. It is now 2.2 per woman, nearing the replacement rate of 2.1, according to the latest government data. The total fertility rate has more than halved in both urban and rural areas, falling even below the replacement level in the former where it is 1.7, down from 4.1 in 1971. In rural areas, TFR has fallen from 5.4 to 2.4 during the same period. For rural areas, it varies from 1.6 in Delhi and Tamil Nadu to 3.3 in Bihar. For urban areas, the variation is from 1.1 in Himachal Pradesh to 2.4 in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Of the 22 states, only six have a TFR of 2 or more in urban areas. There are 10 states where TFR is below 2 in rural regions.
Whereas other reports maintain that India may have successfully curbed its high fertility rate, but it still has a long way to go in overcoming the population crisis.
The number of children born per woman in the country still lies in the range of 2.1-4, according to a United Nations (UN) report. This puts India in the intermediate-fertility group of countries in which around 40% of the world population lives.
Thinking about main reason/s for India’s population explosion, we should first consider demographic transition theory. According to these theory, demographics of any society is related to economic development of society. Any society passes through 3 stages of demographics. Societies, which are underdeveloped and technologically backward experience, low population growth rate (PGR). These societies show high birth as well as death rates (BR & DR) due low literacy, health and family planning facilities. But as gap between BR and DR is very low and hence PGR is low. Third stage of demographics is experienced in highly developed societies. This stage is also characterised by low PGR . But the reason for this low PGR is low BR & DR owing to high literacy and availability of health facilities. The societies, which are developing show, decline in death rate owing to good medical facilities, nutrition, communication and transport (patients or doctors reaching on time) and overall development. But BR being a socio-cultural phenomenon requires more time to change its pattern (here decline). Owing to low DR but high BR such societies show high PGR what we later call as population explosion.
There is no point in blaming one particular community for population growth. Indian mindset is still that ‘WE MUST HAVE A SON’. And, in order to get a Son, sometimes, some families keep having babies. 3–4–5–6 until they get SON. Some religious leaders ask followers to have more kids. They brainwash the mind that if you have more kids, they will multiply your income when they grow.
Even if they do not get proper education, they will multiply income by doing odd jobs. The poor soul became a victim of such religious leaders. Polygamy and ban of contraceptive due to religious belief also play an important role here.
Illiteracy is a major problem in India. As the literacy rate is low, people don’t know the side effects of having more children neither they thought of huge impact on economy and agriculture on India. Lack of Sex Education in youth is another serious issue in India, almost every individual (90%) who feels ashamed of talking about this. They hesitate to buy condom from medical store, and pills have some side effects.
Today, we have ten people in one family, tomorrow, they are bound to grow in double. Why call it explosion? It is just an increase. It is the inability of the government, to optimise the usage of manpower, which makes us to say, explosion. Our inability passes the blame on the increasing numbers. Every person is blessed with two hands, one hand to serve the person concerned, and the other to work for others. The productivity of an individual will always be more than he can consume. It is the duty of the government to provide suitable environment for every person, so that he can produce more. Without improving the job opportunity, we simply blame the population increase. Many are leaving the country and settle elsewhere. The countries, which are accommodating these people, realise, that the increases in their numbers are beneficial to them. They give importance to productivity, and not for numbers. Make use of the manpower, scientifically and profitably, instead blaming the increasing numbers. Overpopulation is an undesirable condition where the number of existing human population exceeds the carrying capacity of earth. Overpopulation is caused by number of factors. Reduced mortality rate, better medical facilities, depletion of precious resources are few of the causes that results in overpopulation. It is possible for a sparsely populated area to become densely populated if it is not able to sustain life. At the root of overpopulation is the difference between the overall birth rate and death rate in populations. If the number of children born each year equals the number of adults that die, then the population will stabilise. Talking about overpopulation shows that while there are many factors that can increase the death rate for short periods of time, the ones that increase the birth rate do so over a long period of time. The discovery of agriculture by our ancestors was one factor that provided them with the ability to sustain their nutrition without hunting. This created the first imbalance between the two rates.
The conclusion is that, having large population is a problem for India but it cannot be termed as the root cause of all problems because if managed properly it is a valuable resource too whereas corruption is like a virus which doesn’t help in anyway and rather corrodes our country.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
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