CHANGE... THERE'S TOO MUCH TO CHANGE!

President Barack Obama speaking about the Change
in the year 2008 in an election rally.

Is this the ‘Time to Change’ for us? India got its independence in the year 1947. From that time till today, what has changed? In the year 1947 we were 0.35 billion (35 crore), but today, we are 1.21 billion (121 crore). We were one of the best managed countries in the world in the last couple of decades under the British rule, but today, we are amongst the worst managed countries. Today, India is considered a dangerous country to live in. The scams galore in the last 3-4 years have badly hurt the exchequer. So, one cannot say that India has remained stagnant all these years. But, these changes are not healthy signs for our country, I repeat, for our country! American President Barack Obama once said, "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

We are the people who have to bring this change, we are the youth, and we are the Generation Next and being the future, we have to rectify the system. Now, what this system means? The system signifies all of us (the 1.21 billion Indians). From the people residing in their bungalows to the people living in slums, from the people earning thousands of rupees per month to those earning below Rs.27 in the urban areas and those earning below Rs.23 in the rural areas, from those studying in the convents to those who have a zeal to see how a school looks from inside, from those eating hamburgers, pizzas to those not able to earn the livelihood; all are the part of the system! So, what should change and what role the youth has to play for those changes to take place is the real question.

Today, more than half of the population of our country is composed of the youth.  The system, which I mentioned above, involves the ‘Political System’, the ‘Education System’ and the ‘Bureaucratic System’.

POLITICAL SYSTEM

Results of the Census-2011 which shows the Population,
the Literacy level and the sex ration in India.

Politics is the most annoying part of our present system. We, the common people, pay taxes with the thought in mind that the money we will pay will serve us back and much more. But, the Government finds that money insufficient for the developmental works and knocks the door of the World Bank for borrowings. It seems weird that even after paying huge amount in taxes we are still not being able to contribute fully for our development. The common man is the basic building block of our democratic system. He has the power to vote, but unfortunately, he can use that power only after 5 years and in these 5 years, he has to live on his own (without the power). He pays the taxes and when doesn’t find the clue where the money went murmurs famous poet Tennyson’s lines (slightly changed by me):

Mine is not to question ‘why?’,

Mine is but to pay (the taxes) and die!

The scams galore in the past 4 years have attenuated the image of our country internationally. However, we made the progress, but unfortunately, in the list of the most corrupt nations. Today, when the people talk of politics, they talk about the corruption, they talk about their links with the politicians, they talk about the bribe they paid to the so and so leader to get their work done and they talk about their approaches. Today, when the Politicians solicit the votes of the voters during the Election season, they promises the free laptops, the higher percentage of quota for so and so cast under the menace called reservation, the television sets etc. They have forgotten the basic agendas: food for the poor, education for the children, roads, water supply and, unfortunately, ‘etc’. Either they think that these problems have been sorted out or they want to change their oration matter. When the leaders discuss a topic in the parliament or on national news channels, they talk in such a manner as if they are the small children and their teacher (Hon’ble Speaker in Parliament and anchor in a news channel) is shouting on them to keep silence. When ‘Party A’ leader says, “Your leader did this”, the ‘Party B’ leader immediately retaliates, “Yours did that!” So, where the common man stands? The Politicians, by definition, are the representatives of the Common Man and these 'Common People' have given them the right to be called as the Politicians by exercising their vote.

The Political System needs urgent changes, or rather, I should say, improvements and the rectifications. Many of the leaders sitting in the parliament are having the Criminal charges on them and, still, their parties are interested in them and give them the party ticket. The Education norms for the people stepping in to politics should be a necessary criterion in the years to come, because, the education is the only characteristic trait of human beings that differentiates us from animals. Strict action should be initiated against those who found guilty and close eye should be kept on the Million dollar deals, which unfortunately had never been the case earlier.

EDUCATION SYSTEM

Talk about the hygiene, the services and the Govt schemes,
all these are alien to these children.

As I said earlier, the education is the only characteristic trait of ours that differentiates us from animals. Indian Education System is one of its kind and, probably, amongst the best ones in the world. Many countries have appreciated it and have shown their desire to implement the same in their own countries. When our country got its independence in the year 1947, out of the total population of 35 crore 83% were illiterate and a mere 25 lakhs were employed at that time. Today, the population is 121 crore and 74% are literate, that is, we have made a progress in the literacy level. But still, the unemployment is there. Why? The basic point is that school drop-out rate in India is quite high and the children do not complete their schooling. The country’s primary school enrollment is nearly 100 % which is remarkable. However, this good news overshadows a bad news too, which is that only half the kids who enrolled in Class 1^st make it to Class 8^th. This is reported by the National University of Education Planning and Administration (NUEPA) in a report released in the month of January, 2012. Most of these children dropping out of school ended up with practically no education at all. Another matter that has compounded the problem is the fact that even the school-going children are not learning enough. A recent report on the level of learning in rural schools shows that half of all children in Class 5^th cannot read texts meant for Class 2^nd students: two-third cannot solve a division sum.

The Government of India has invested a lot of money in Education. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the Uthan Saksharta Samiti have been established at the National level to educate the children as well as the adult living in the rural areas. The mid-day meals, free books, school dresses, satchels, shoes and bicycle, literally, everything is provided by the  Government, but still, it is not showing up the results. The reason for this is the implementation of these schemes. Another reason can be that the Mid-Day meal is provided to the students till the 8^th standard, so, after that they have no reason to come to the school. This is our misfortune that the money which the  Government allots for the poor gets depreciated to a great extent in the process of its movement from top (Govt.) to bottom (Schools). The EDUSAT which was a very giant step forward by the Indian  Government is lying in the locked stores in almost all the Government schools.

In 2010, the government brought into force the landmark Right To Education (RTE) Act, making it a child’s right to free and compulsory education in the Constitution. But the point is, the implementation of it is to be seen, because, all in vein if after the end of it all, the children are not benefited.

BUREAUCRATIC SYSTEM

India is among the most corrupt nations of the World.

The most corrupted system today in India is the Bureaucratic System. Bureaucracy is like a cancer to the Indian Democratic System which is clawing the country in its hold and, unfortunately, we are neither having a provision of the prevention against it nor do we have the cure for it. The workers working under the Government are accountable to no one, practically speaking. They will do your work on their table, if you pay them a decent bribe under-the-table! This is the truth and certainly, a bitter truth.

The Bureaucratic System can only be improved if some pressure is created on the employs and strict provisions are made for handling the Corruption cases. There must be some accountability for these workers, so that, if they do not do their work correctly, the sufferers can complaint about them to those higher ranks. The Citizen’s Charter Bill can heal this system (Bureaucratic System) and, will surely; make its immune system better as well. The Bill makes it mandatory for every public department to publish a Citizens' Charter and address grievances within 30 days, failing which the official concerned would face action, including a fine of up to Rs.50,000 (to be recovered from his salary) and disciplinary proceedings. The charter seeks to make it mandatory for government officials to acknowledge complaints from people within two days of receipt. 

We talk about the problem, we talk about the solution, what then? The system needs the healing and need it urgently. OK, healing done! What then? We, the common people, have to change as well. We have the Right to Vote and if we use this privilege of ours to pick up the best leader for us, most of the problem will get solved. We must remember that 'Prevention is Better than Cure' and these changes fall under the category of 'Cure'. If we change ourselves, we will 'Prevent' our system from these social infections and probably, or rather, surely, it will make our future better.

Amen! 

This post is submitted for the 'Time To Change' Contest at 'Indiblogger' sponsored by 'Stayfree'. 

SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES: MODERN SCAPEGOATS OF CONGRESS!

There is a popular phrase in Hindi which says, ”JAB GEEDAD KI MAUT AATI HAI TO WHO SHAHAR KI AUR BHAGTA HAI,” which means that everything starts going wrong for a person when his bad time starts and he starts taking self-destructing decisions. This is what happening with the ‘Manmohan Singh & Co.’ or rather ‘Sonia Gandhi & Sons’ i.e. the Congress Party. First, Anna Hazare’s campaign proved fatal to the reputation of the Government. Second, the price hike. The recent price hike in the petrol price which proved to be heavy on the pocket of the Common Man, but, the Common Man of India has adapted himself to these blows by the Govt; he is a strong fellow, mind you! Third, the act of passing the Cabinet’s recommendation of implementation of the FDI(Foreign Direct Investment), for which the Government got wide criticism and ultimately, changed their decision. Four, the recent action of the Govt. to ban 6 twitter accounts and to force social networking sites to sensor their matter.

See, on the social networking sites, it is in your hand whom to make a friend, what you want to see and from whom you want to see. If you are not fond of ideas of a person, you can simply hide him. The Freedom of Speech is our right. But, this is a clear case of constraining our right of speech.

I heard an eminent cartoonist (Sudhir Tailang) on a news channel (NDTV India) saying that the social networking sites help the people get relieved of all their frustration on the Government by expressing their views on their network. He also referred a story in which a person employed in a company after his job hours goes to a graveyard and remains there for half an hour and then goes to his house. One day his office mates follow him to see what he does there. What they found was amazing! He has kept a photo of his ‘BOSS’ there and goes there to give the photo a beat. This is what helped him get relieved of his frustration.

The stubborn attitudes of the Government on the Lokpal Bill, which was supported by millions of people, the time and again hikes in the petrol prices, the never ending unveiling of corruption cases are all frustrating the common man. The social networking websites provide a platform for the common man to get relieved from the anguish by making a laugh of it. So, in a way, it helps the Government!

There are various other grounds on which we can compete with China which are very much feasible for us, then why are we trying to follow the unfeasible changes, that is censoring the social networking sites, the FDI (which is going to haunt us in long term). India does not have the capabilities which China has. They banned Google and launched their very own search engine. They have banned many social networking sites and replaced them with their own substitutes for them. In India, the democracy of ours disables the Government even thinking about it. 

Yes, Assam incident was unfortunate; but it doesn't mean that the people of the country forgot to live in communal harmony. Our neighboring country, Pakistan, is the root cause of the migration of the North-East students from the Southern part of the country feeling insecurity living there anymore. Pakistan can never become our reliable neighbor, for sure! But, still we agree on playing Cricket with them. What's the need? Why India is so flexible on the demand of investigation on the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. 

Think over it and give your 'frank' comments on this 'spot'...:)

Social Networking sites today are connecting old mates and  making them find each other and talk.

'LOVE' BUT 'ARRANGED' OR 'ARRANGED' BUT 'LOVE'!

Love Marriage Ya Arranged Marriage?

Love Marriage or Arranged Marriage? Love Marriage is one in which a couple first falls in love and then, they get married. In Arranged Marriage, the parents of the two arranges their marriage and that is why the name Arranged Marriage.

Let me explain what I think with the help of two cricket scenes.

Scene 1: Last ball of the match, four runs to win, batsmen discussing something, bowler ready to bowl. All in readiness! The bowler balls, the batsman swings the bat and the ball goes over the long-on boundary for a huge SIX!

Scene 2: Last ball of the match, four runs to win, batsmen discussing something, bowler ready to bowl. All in readiness! The bowler balls, the batsman swings the bat and the ball goes high in the air. Keeper getting under it and he takes it!

Batsman in the two cases batsman was the same, bowler was the same, the match situation was the same, but, the difference was of that one moment, of the last ball! No one can say with surety that he/she will not love anybody or they will go for love marriage or arranged. It’s all a matter of chance.

Well, in my opinion, marriage is a relation that makes two lives a team for the rest of their lives and if understanding is there between the couple, then the nature of marriage does not matter at all. It is good if you know your partner for longer but, for this, love marriage is not the only option. The time is changing and the parents too are feeling that their children should marry the person they like and this is why the middle class mentality, today, is changing. Today, the love marriages are also getting the nodding of parents to go ahead.

Well, I said time is changing, but, there are many people, many families who haven’t changed or I should say, don’t want to be changed. Especially in the northern part of the country this can be clearly seen. The couples in love are brutally killed by their own parents just because they went against their acceptance. The Khap Panchayats in Haryana, UP, Rajasthan had been in the news for wrong reasons in the last couple of years.

There are two faces of a coin and both are different. But, the end result they make is a coin! I do believe it is the surprise that life gives to us when ‘one’ comes across ‘someone’ made for him/her, and the rest is all we have seen in the Bollywood movies. I do believe, if you love someone, tell your parents about it; convince them, make them know your love closely and if they give assent to you, alright then! But, if they are not fond of your opinion, then you have to make a decision, to take a step ahead or take one back. It’s on to you completely. If your love is clean, if it is pure, your love will win. Amen!

'Love' But 'Arranged' or 'Arranged But 'Love' Marriage! In my opinion, this is the question which needs answer and the answerer is none other than you yourself. What you say?

This post is writen for the 'Love Marriage ya Arranged Marriage!' contest at Indiblogger. If you are an Indiblogger, do give your your 'hearts'(likes) to this post. Please respond your reactions after reading the post under the Comments tab!

INDEPENDENCE DAY SPECIAL- KARAMVEER MANAV!

THE DARK NIGHT RISES IN INDIA!

Source:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Have you seen the movie ‘The Dark Knight Rises?’ If you haven’t, no problem! I’m not going to talk about this movie here. There’s lot more to talk about in India apart from Cricket, Bollywood and Team Anna.
After my second year of Engineering Degree, I did the summer internship from a thermal power station of 600MW capacity (having two units of 300MW each). It is a coal fired thermal power plant. I was in the Boiler Maintenance Division (BMD) there. It will look a bit technical to many, so, let me explain it in some non-technical terms. The Plant hardly produced the Power which the same is capable of producing. And the reasons for this are many: the shortage of coal (which has a very small influence on low power production), the breakdown of the machinery, the planned shutdown for maintenance and many more. The Tripping of the plant is also a major reason for the less production than the full capacity.
Why am I talking about Thermal Power Plant? Why am I explaining all this? Last week, in the early morning at around 3 o’clock, electricity cut off in my town. The inverter backed up and all looked normal. In the morning news, I saw the shocking story. What I was conceiving a normal power cut in my town was actually a grid-failure of more than 2/3rd of India. The Northern, North-Eastern, Eastern Grid failed and near about 80 crore people were affected by this huge power breakdown.
It was shocking to hear that the people in the mines under the earth got stuck there, the operations stopped amidst, the trains stopped and the country looked motionless. In the news, I got to know the first time that we are purchasing electricity (in the peak hours) from a country like Bhutan! And for getting out of the trouble of Grid failure, excess of electricity was purchased from Bhutan for that day.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

On one side, more than half of the country was suffering from unprecedented Power crisis and on the other side the Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde got promoted as Home Minister of the country. And the worst, no clear reasons for the Grid failure are given by the Power Ministry and said that U.P, Punjab and Haryana are consuming more electricity than their allotted part. Mr. Shinde even appreciated his men for restoring power so quickly. This clearly authenticates what my guide for the project at the Thermal Power Station said. He was in the maintenance department and I asked him once what your work in the maintenance is? He said that there are two kinds of maintenance: Pre-maintenance and Post-maintenance. In the plant, the post maintenance work is so much that they do not get time to look after the post maintenance. And then, we had a good laugh about it.

I think we Indians laugh a lot. On our failures, on our mistakes, on our dispossessions and on our system!

May God bless our system! May God bless our country!

Source: http://im.rediff.com

HOMOSEXUALITY DECRIMINALIZED IN INDIA..:)..!

Written by Vivek Ranjan, resident of Gurugram. An unknown entity for some, but, a person with strong hold on the mother tongue, Hindi. Not many people today have this excellence in Hindi. He worked in Akashwani, Delhi in the early days of his career as a News writer.

Leave your comment as a token of appreciation for Ranjan sir!

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