Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity. The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.

If you don't create change, change will create you. Change starts when someone sees the next step and the first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance. Many fine things can be done in a day if you don't always make that day tomorrow. You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.

Sometimes it's the smallest decisions with larger aims that can change the lives of many. If our attempts can at least become a spark. We are really grateful and the TEAM can proudly proclaim ‘MISSION ACCOMPLISHED’.

If you can LEND A HELPING HAND for the advancement of our country and its people be part of our ENDEAVOR.


Wednesday, August 31, 2011

ANNA rings the bell--- INDIA AWAKENS



ANNA-- THE NEW AUDACIOUS PHENOMENON OF INDIA
By : Arjun.R.Shankar
The parliament of India has unanimously approved the key elements of Jan Lokpal Bill. The anti graft crusader, the new sensational Anna Hazare has finally ended his 288 hours fast. His travails have spread across the world and in many countries he has been christened as the ‘New Gandhi’. The western media says that the New Gandhi has shaken India. The Daily Telegraph refers him as the ‘Born again Gandhian’. 
According to the resolution a Lokpal Bill shall be passed by parliament in the ongoing session of parliament which will set up an independent Lokpal at the centre and independent Lokayukta on same model in each state.  Lokpal shall have jurisdiction over all government servants (barring judicial officers) at the centre and Lokayukta shall have jurisdiction over all public servants in the state. All govt. departments are required to make ‘Citizens Charter' and the inclusion of Lower Bureaucracy under the Lokpal through an appropriate mechanism. 

The victory was very hard fought and it’s the real triumph of Indian Democracy. The parliament has gracefully accepted and acknowledged the aspirations of the people. By this, the parliament of India has displayed its sagacity and maturity in handling complicated issues with utmost precision and integrity. The Anna Hazare phenomenon has transcended boundaries of the country and brought innumerable people from different walks of life to organize and agitate for a common cause. This phenomenal attraction of the people and the support rendered in such magnitude must have been last witnessed during the time of Gandhiji. This is the real reflection of unity in diversity. Modern India represents the largest democracy in the world within a seamless picture of unity in diversity unparalleled anywhere else. According to Anna Hazare this is only a break and he will continuously fight till they achieve a change in the system that has disparity between the rich and the poor. He declared that Electoral Reforms, issues of decentralization of power, educational reforms, labour and farmers issue his next agendas. 

It’s heartening to see that the whole issue of framing a strong Lokpal was not used by the opposition to score brownie points and dilute the real and genuine causes. Even though the govt. has agreed to form an effective Lokpal, one wonders in spite of the public outrage against corruption how could the govt. prepare a fractured bill and table it in the parliament? People always demanded stern and robust action against corruption and not a glorified smokescreen. And the victory gained is also the victory of the civil society and reveals their influence on the law making process. 
Even in the present system there are microscopic minorities who are against the sentiments of the people and see the political arena and official power as their prerogative to extract money and accelerate their personal mileage. It’s crystal clear that the interests of the people are overshadowed by many other vested interests and the govt. is trying to protect that and the previous governments also had to protect this. There are strong interests that have become a super structured bloc over the time that makes the govt. kneel and succumb to pressure every time. Prime Minister willingness to put the position under the purview of the will was finally overruled due to many reasons. This bears the testimony to this strong super structure bloc that wants impropriety to rule in the name of established procedures and laws. 

Every system has such a super structure and it’s a true fact that such blocs have grown in epic proportions and  enjoy a superior and tremendous clout. This super structure should be broken and even they know that a strong Lokpal will be the end of them.  Such vested interest leads to corruption which in turn leads to failing governance which in turns leads to underdevelopment, chronic poverty and unemployment. An effective Lokpal should be able to tackle corruption and break this super structured bloc and rejuvenate the governance mechanisms. 

The whole episode is the reminder that Gandhian thoughts and methods can still efficiently work in today’s complicated world and parallels in other parts of the world proves that violence only creates discords and chaos. The mettle and merits of one of the strongest weapons of the world, Satyagraha and non violence has been proved beyond doubts. Satyagraha as an ideal and as a great weapon will always continue to invigorate and inspire the generations to come to achieve goals for the human welfare. Another remarkable feature is the participation of the youth of the country who generally were only united by cricket and world cups. Usually sports was one of the strong binding forces of our country. The ANNA phenomenon has suddenly replaced that.  


But this time a national cause has overshadowed it and the youth of our country has awakened and took pride in thronging the streets with the sole aim of creating a corrupt free society. Common people like never before are aware of the corruption in the country and they had carried the rage inside their heart to the streets. It seems that a good activist culture has developed in our country with strict adherence to non violence.
        
Even after 64 years of independence, the country has not achieved the desired sets of rights and freedom and the real independence. The whole country in this Independence day like every other year acknowledged and remembered the great leaders and people who valiantly fought against the oppression of British yoke and yet years after that, is there are an end to oppression and indifference?  Please ask this question to yourselves. Now one of the biggest hurdles for the country is massive corruption that has deeply penetrated into every rungs of the society. The real challenge is to get rid of it.

The people cannot expect that the whole corruption will vanish over a night on its own. It’s not natural phenomena it’s purely a created one and the people are not demanding magic from the govt. They should acknowledge the hard situations which the common people face every day and end their blatant support to this indifference and corruption. Let this victory become a great beginning and a first step to end corruption. 

Saturday, August 13, 2011

HUMANITY knows no Defined Boundaries..

The Unparalleled Humanitarian Gesture Transcending Boundaries


By: Arjun.R.Shankar




QAIZ HUSSAIN 
The backdrop of the whole issue that is now praised entirely in our country is the 1965 Indo-Pak war. Both the countries were meticulously engineering their strategies and were at the heightened stage of intense trepidation and consternation. The war was the focal point of both the countries and the policies dictated as per its craving.


Mr. Qais Hussain was a Pakistani Air Force pilot and was in the line of duty checking his countries boundaries with precision and acting in accordance with the orders of the top brass.
 Very soon the Pak radars detected an Indian presence and that was none other than the Indian Air Force pilot Jahangir ‘Jangoo’ Engineer flying the beech aircraft with the then Gujarat Chief Minister Balwant Rai Mehta and some other civilians. Qais was interrupted by Jangoo Engineer and as per the versions of Qais Hussain, he thought that it was an Indian aircraft on reconnaissance mission and reported the enemy presence immediately to the base to unerringly tackle the situation. The order received from the base was to shoot down the aircraft.

Hussain as a responsible officer of the armed forces was in the line of duty and to accept and execute orders even at the peril of his life was his moral obligation and duty. He perfectly executed the orders and duteously shot down the Indian aircraft despite pleas for mercy by Jangoo Engineer ultimately resulting in the death of Engineer, Balwant Rai Mehta and others on board. As a responsible and dutiful officer he was elated for accomplishing his mission and only after reaching the base camp he realized that the plane had been a civilian aircraft with eight people on board.  

Years have rolled away and in 2011 after 46 years Mr. Qais Hussain has tendered his apologies for the loss and grief he has caused to the families by shooting Jahangir Engineer’s aircraft. The most important and the glaring part of the issue is that the daughter of Mr. Jangoo Engineer, Mrs. Farida Singh has very graciously accepted the apologies and even wrote back to Mr. Hussain.
She said “Most of all, my father would have liked that it goes towards bringing spark of forgiveness between our two peoples, who after all were one”


This is indeed an unparalleled humanitarian gesture transcending boundaries and no wonder it was reported in the Pakistan Dailies as ‘Aman ki Asha’(Hope for peace). One should definitely salute these gestures from the core of our heart as it needs a lot of courage and immense fortitude to undertake such an initiative. 
Jahangir 'JANGOO' Engineer

Mrs. Farida had said “though the incident defined her family’s life, in all the struggles that followed, we never, not for one moment, bore bitterness or hatred for the person who actually pulled the trigger caused my father’s death. The fact that this all happened in the confusion of a tragic war was never lost to us. We are all pawns in this terrible game of war and peace. This incident is indeed a prime example of what damage strife and mindless battles can drive even good men to do”

Ever since the partition of the subcontinent years ago, the British dismantled their Indian Empire, India and Pakistan had been arch rivals. Their animosity has its roots in religion and history and has now escalated into dangerous arms race. 

Now both the countries are vigorously striving to have an uninterrupted and uninterruptible dialogue process. It’s a very true fact that whenever the talk between the two countries gets a momentum, untoward incidents interrupts the whole process. Apart from resolving the contentious issues, ultimately the scope of people to people contacts and relationship should be redefined.

The trust and confidence among the people should get greater and broader dimensions for the overall development of the region.

Let this novel gesture inspire the people of both the lands and let them aspire for peace and amity in their minds and not the seeds of war and destruction. In the future we need cooperation. Continuing hostility will only spark intense conflagrations and nothing else. We need cooperation in all senses to achieve the full potential of the region for the benefit and harmony of both the nations. After all we were all one who were once one bound by the same aspirations and culture and shared the same land.  

Monday, August 1, 2011

SINGLE PARENTING



By: Devi Priya P.G

“The family is both the fundamental unit of society as well as the root of culture. It is a perpetual source of encouragement, advocacy, assurance and emotional refueling that empowers a child to venture with confidence into the greater world and become all that he can be”    
                       
 In this context a not so discussed but an important issue is being thought about – Single Parenting.
                        
       Single parents are known to all of us; every day we come across quite a few-struggling for themselves and their children. But hardly do we realize that, may be because we feel we have bigger problems to worry about. But in reality how hard is to be a single parent, that too in a scenario  
When even parents who live together find it difficult to take care of their children, to do all that is possible for their better future and bring out the best in them. Across the globe there are numerous single parents – either because of death of one parent, divorce or abandonment by the other. Whatever be the underlying causes, the problems faced by them are really huge irrespective of their socio-political-economic backgrounds and ethnicity.
                    
                One of the major issues faced by the single parents apart from a minority of the economically affluent and legally separated is to make both the ends meet financially. Even the basic requirements like food, shelter and education of children are real challenges faced by them. Parental and family supports are not extended beyond certain minimum requirements and to a few such solaces are distant dreams.
                 
                 The society’s attitude towards them and the kind of social isolation is in fact disheartening. Being a single parent need not always be a matter of choice, it can also be due to circumstances beyond one’s control. But in reality the society fails to understand this and treats them disrespectfully-especially if the family is devoid of a male member. In fact every single day is a struggle for them-discharging the responsibilities at home and work and looking after the needs of children are extremely difficult. This becomes even tougher for those with differently abled kids.

                  As a matter of fact majority of the single parent families are female headed. A mother who lives separately with her children is viewed entirely different from a father with his children. This happens irrespective of the class structure and educational qualifications of the female counterpart. The kind of ill-treatment against such women even at workplace both in terms of sexual violence and emotional torture is really a shame. The fact is that many of these cases remain unreported. The so called social activists and women welfare organizations have done little in this regard to curb the menace. Even the religious norms and institutions which intervene very actively when two individuals decide to be together for the rest of their life hardly bothers to address the issues and settle them thereafter once they are separated.

                  The suicidal rates among single parents along with their only hope – their children also stems out from the kind of agony and pressure imposed upon them from the society and even their own family members. Very often the sentiments of the children are so badly hurt and the extent of pain inflicted upon them in their childhood adversely affects their future prospects too. Especially in developing and under developed countries where the social security measures are given least priority such unaddressed issues are numerous. Even though giving a proper legal framework ensuring adequate financial assistance along with timely counseling for the parent and child aren’t the only solution they might solve the problem to a greater extent.

                The potentials of single parents are numerous. They become more self reliant and less co-dependent. They learn to accept the harsh realities of their life and strive to bring out the best in themselves and their children in spite of this their self respect and dignity are being questioned many a times. Their credentials are hardly acknowledged.

Never forget, they need recognition and needs to be treated respectfully for what they are; because they are neither aliens nor superheroes/heroines but are ordinary people like you and me.