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Prices come down
The Maldivian crisis |
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Venomous high
Uncertainties in Afghanistan
Honour lies in playing one's role well
Students who experience examination anxiety score less than their non-anxious peers.
But with patience and support of parents and teachers, most of these children can be taught to overcome their fear
Lessons for parents, teachers
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Prices come down
Inflation
touching a 26-month low in January at 6.55 per cent has further spread the New Year cheer for India. While food inflation has turned negative due to increased supplies in winter, the prices of manufactured items too have started moderating at a sharper-than-expected pace. The Reserve Bank of India had expected inflation to plummet to 7 per cent only by the end of the fiscal year in March. The falling prices may drive the RBI to abandon its cautious approach of cutting the cash-reserve ratio (adopted during the January review) to start the process of lowering interest rates (possibly in March). The prospects of cheaper money in 2012 along with a sharp increase in foreign investment inflows have triggered an unexpected stocks rally. The BSE Sensex jumped by 353 points on Wednesday as shares of interest rate-sensitive banking, realty and automobile companies vaulted to new highs despite most of them announcing disappointing results in the third quarter. The rupee-dollar imbalance stands almost corrected. Of course, global factors like the Greek parliament paving the way for a fresh rescue package by passing austerity measures, positive economic data from the US, extremely low interest rates in the developed world and the easing of oil prices have also contributed to the optimistic economic mood in India. However, global uncertainties persist like protests in Greece, trouble in Italy and a fresh buildup of Israel-Iran confrontation post-terror attacks. Two domestic developments in March will influence the business confidence in India. The outcome of the state assembly elections will have a positive impact if the Congress performs well in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The UPA government did not raise the oil prices in the run-up to the assembly elections. This came handy in the fight against inflation. The coming Union Budget in mid-March will also determine the shape of things to come. It would cheer foreign investors if serious efforts are made to contain fiscal deficit and no harsh tax burden is imposed. Thereafter the RBI may relax monetary policy, which would then spur growth. The glass at this moment certainly looks half full.
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The Maldivian crisis
Former Maldivian President Mohammed Nasheed may have a point in asserting that his refusal to accord approval to a defence agreement with China led to his ouster from power following a revolt by his country’s security forces, including the army and the police. The pact that he claims he resisted was the brainchild of the Maldives’ senior defence officers, who were not prepared to hear “No” from Mr Nasheed and hence their ultimatum — “You have to sign the agreement or else ….” Chinese efforts to expand their presence in the strategically located archipelago in the Indian Ocean are quite understandable. What Mr Nasheed has said fits in with the known Chinese scheme of things in the region — the String of Pearls strategy. There is the possibility that the Chinese might have infiltrated the Maldivian National Defence Force to influence that country’s affairs. However, one fails to understand why, in such a situation, India did not come to Mr Nasheed’s rescue. The ousted President of the Maldives has always been maintaining a pro-India stance in his foreign policy. A democrat to the core, he admired India’s achievements as the world’s largest democracy. However, the fact that India saw wisdom in sticking to its policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries may not be without reason. That Mr Nasheed was on a sticky wicket because of his growing unpopularity in the Maldives could not be a hidden reality for India. It shows lack of maturity on the part of Mr Nasheed to expect India to risk its own interests by siding with a person who had little chance of surviving in power. The way India reacted is understandable. Due to the Maldives’ strategic value, India has to maintain friendly relations with the present political dispensation headed by President Mohammed Waheed. The new Maldivian government draws inspiration from former ruler Maumoon Abdul Ghayum, who maintained cordial relations with India. But India has to be on guard so far as the China factor is concerned. Mr Nasheed’s statement cannot be brushed aside. It needs to be studied closely. |
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Venomous high
Novelty and rarity have long fuelled the party set, but it seems that newer and more dangerous ways are being found to live life on the edge. The recent seizure of a half-a-litre of cobra poison, along with the allegation that the venom is a party drug, is shocking. Just to think of poison as a recreational drug is bizarre, but then, isn’t it the case that all those who are indulging in drugs are poisoning themselves in one way or the other? Drugs, besides being illegal, cause strains in the social fabric, and in the interpersonal relationships of the people who indulge in them. They fuel an underworld that has a powerful negative influence on society as a whole, and feed on the very people who pay through their nose to buy them. While still esoteric, the use of snake venom as a drug has been documented, and it reportedly causes feelings of “happiness and grandiosity”. The snakes, from whom the venom is extracted, die soon after this is done. On the other hand, the drug users are so firmly fixated on the present that they do not bother about the future. They don’t pause to think of the cost of the act that causes them this “happiness and grandiosity”, of the anxiety their loved ones would feel, and, of course, of the problems that to an accidental overdose could result in. Drugs, especially psychotropic ones, can play havoc with the neurotically system On the one hand, a certain section of society has, of late, become more tolerant towards activities like rave parties and drug abuse; while on the other hand, there is increasing intolerance towards them. This has resulted in some ugly confrontations. Surely, everyone across the board will agree that when poison ceases to be a metaphor and becomes a real drug, the problem is as genuine as it can ever be. |
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Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out. — Stephen Covey |
Uncertainties in Afghanistan
The
moves of all major players in Afghanistan seem to be proceeding in different directions. The Americans are now sending mixed signals about their withdrawal strategy and their "dialogue" with the Taliban. Their NATO allies would like to pack up and leave Afghanistan immediately. The Russians appear concerned about the American bases in Central Asia even while keeping their northern supply route open for the US forces in Afghanistan. Iran accuses the Americans of espionage and destabilisation from Afghan soil. It is now backing elements of the Taliban that it had confronted earlier. Pakistan, America's "major non-NATO ally" in the "war on terror," now belatedly labelled a supporter of global terrorism, would love to see the Americans pack up and leave, never to return again to Afghanistan. India appears busy working on a gas pipeline through the Af-Pak corridor for gas from Turkmenistan. It is ready to invest billions of dollars in Afghanistan's coal, iron ore, copper and gold deposits. With Vice-President Biden proclaiming that the Taliban should not be regarded as a global terrorist group like Al-Qaeda, the Americans have commenced a "dialogue" with the Taliban, which has left President Karzai and his Northern Alliance partners dumbfounded and the Pakistanis mystified. The Obama Administration has let it be known that Mullah Omar sent a message last summer indicating a readiness for dialogue. The earlier American conditions that the Taliban should renounce violence and accept the Afghan constitution have been dropped. The Americans insist that they will not give up the conditions they had laid down. But eyebrows have been raised at their readiness to remove hardcore Taliban leaders from the list of international terrorists. The Taliban's conditions for participating in a dialogue with the Americans have been revealed by highly respected and well-informed Pakistani analyst Khalid Aziz. The Taliban has reportedly insisted that the talks will not be held in any country neighbouring Afghanistan, or in any country that has troops in Afghanistan. The talks have to be in a country that has not been hostile to the Taliban over the past decade. The Taliban has also insisted that they will not accept any condition contrary to the Sharia and will pull out from the talks when considered necessary. American Defence Secretary Leon Panetta announced on February 1 that 2013 would be a "critical year" as the Americans would "make a critical transition from a combat role to a training, advise and assist role" by the middle or latter part of 2013 — one year ahead of what President Obama had earlier announced. He added that 2014 would become a year of consolidating the transition and "moving towards a more enduring presence beyond 2014". Panetta envisaged that the period beyond 2014 would be the one focused on "counter-terrorism operations", combined with training and equipping the Afghan National Army (ANA) and continuing a large-scale aid programme. American officials have, in private, also indicated that they intend to retain a massive CIA presence beyond 2014. It is, however, evident that in the US there is a measure of weariness of bank-rolling Afghanistan for a long period and an expectation that with many of their NATO allies facing bankruptcy, the oil-rich Arab Gulf countries, Japan and South Korea will step in with funds. Past experience suggests that this may not be a realistic expectation. Bruce Reidel, a former CIA operative, who has shaped the Obama Administration's approach to Afghanistan, recently acknowledged that success in the peace talks with the Taliban "are a long shot at best," and that "The Taliban regard the Karzai government is illegitimate and a stooge of the West." He added that the Taliban has always believed that time is on its side and talk of a withdrawal schedule (by Mr Obama) has only reinforced this belief. President Karzai, in turn, regards negotiations with the Taliban in Qatar "with unease and uncertainty" Reidel adds that while Republican candidate Mitt Romney is strongly opposed to talks with the Taliban, Afghanistan is not an issue of great significance in the upcoming Presidential elections. It is evident that given President Obama's political compulsions, his commanders in Afghanistan will avoid operations which could result in casualties, even as their troop levels come down significantly this year. In these circumstances, it is evident that there is going to be considerable uncertainty on the developments in Afghanistan in the coming years. This is especially so as the Afghan National Army has not shown the necessary cohesion to take on the Taliban in the areas of southern Afghanistan bordering Pakistan's tribal areas. One possible and indeed plausible scenario is that even with an American presence, the Taliban will take over vast tracts of southern Afghanistan while operating from safe havens across the Durand Line. The Americans will have the choice of either repeating the Vietnam scenario of leaving those who backed them to their fate, or putting the squeeze on Pakistan with an effective counter-insurgency strategy. In the meantime, India and others with vital stakes in Afghanistan will have to carefully weigh and formulate their strategies to ensure that Afghanistan does not once again become a haven for jihadi terrorism. New Delhi is evidently keeping its options open to face varying outcomes of the developments in Afghanistan. An agreement has recently been reached with Pakistan on royalties payable for the delivery of gas through the 1680-kilometre Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline. The TAPI pipeline will traverse through Herat, Lashkar Gah and Kandahar in Afghanistan. While it is expected to be commissioned in 2017-2018, much will depend on the then prevailing security situation in southern Afghanistan and the border regions of Pakistan. A consortium of India companies was recently awarded a contract for iron ore extraction at Hajikak, in north-western Afghanistan, where the country's largest iron ore deposits, estimated at 1.8 billion tones, are located. Negotiations are also underway to build Afghanistan's first steel mill, together with a power plant in the same region. India is committed to building a 900-kilometre rail line for the transhipment of iron ore to Zabul, and thereafter to the Iranian port of Chabahar. Iran will play a crucial role in our access to Afghanistan and Central Asia. It would only be prudent to associate Iran and even Japan and Russia with the projects we undertake for minerals, coal, gold, steel and rare earth materials in Afghanistan. But all this will depend on whether Pakistan is prepared to give up jihadi terrorism as an instrument of state policies in Afghanistan and India. Sadly, such a change in the Pakistani military mindset appears unlikely at
present.
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Honour lies in playing one's role well
The Central Police Training College (CPTC) in Mount Abu was the training institution for officers of the Indian Police Service in the 1950s and the 1960s.Training was tough and backbreaking, and there was an overwhelming emphasis on drill, parade, horse riding and physical exercises. To many raw young IPS probationers, training in the CPTC was a harrowing and agonising experience. Coming out of the cloisters of colleges and universities, they were shaken by the abrupt and dramatic change of the environment and at a loss to adjust themselves to the tough and toilsome rigours of police training. They were constantly reminded that police service was not for the weak and faint-hearted. Some even thought of throwing in the towel and resigning. The chief drill inspector in our days was Mr S. Spadigam. He was from the Malabar Special Police and came on promotion to the CPTC in the rank of the Deputy Superintendent of Police. Short, well-built, swarthy with curly hair, he was a terror in the parade ground and used to roar at us whenever any lapses came to his notice. He had eagle eyes and could detect mistakes and even minor lapses of the probationers in the parade ground even from a far distance. He had a repertoire of stinging words and phrases and made lavish use of them without discrimination while reproving us in the parade ground. He was cut to the quick when he felt that IPS officers were not seriously trying to overcome their inadequacies, and feared that they would become butts of disparaging comments of the subordinates when they go out of the portals of the Training College and step in the field. He would take serious umbrage at any sign of indiscipline or sloppiness of the trainees because he genuinely felt that poorly trained, ill-equipped and indisciplined officers would not be able to command men under them. While upbraiding some of us, once he said that the young IPS officers were the police leaders of tomorrow; they were destined to command large bodies of men but their subordinates would not listen to them if they lacked in the qualities of leadership. They must carry themselves with becoming dignity. But the dreaded martinet would totally change outside the parade ground. He would be genial, extremely affable and civilised, and would treat us with unfailing courtesy and consideration. It was like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. Spadigam was just not a rough-hewn police officer. He was well-read, and particularly well-versed in English literature. He could quote "appropriate lines from Coleridge's 'Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner' or 'Gray's Elegy'. He once quoted lines from Tennyson's immortal poem "charge of the Light Brigade" to highlight the need for defiance in defeat. He carried himself with dignity. Though a fairly junior officer in police hierarchy, he was never sychopantic before senior officers. During discussions also, he would put across his point of view without equivocation. Probationers as well as other outdoor trainers feared, but respected him and this respect he had earned by his total commitment to his job and compelling personality. He showed us that honour lay in acting one's part well. Even now when I recollect our days in the Police Training College, Mount Abu, the well-built swarthy figure of Spadigam strutting across the parade ground and fuming at the awe-struck probationers flashes before my mind's eyes. Generations of IPS officers of our times will remember this human volcano with an
ice-cap.
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Students who experience examination anxiety score less than their non-anxious peers.
But with patience and support of parents and teachers, most of these children can be taught to overcome their fear
Unfortunately, this dramatic scenario is not an exception. The fact is that 80 per cent of students today suffer from exam-related anxiety. There are, in fact, studies that have found that students, who experience examination anxiety, score 12 percentile ranks below their non-anxious peers. Examinations are not a monster that children must confront once in their lives. For children who experience examination anxiety, it’s not just a one-off thing; it’s not merely about Class X or XII Board examinations. Instead, this monster hounds them every few weeks or months for at least the first 20 years of their life. Even a simple class test can trigger these anxiety reactions. Recognising anxiety Examination stress shows itself not just as a psychological feeling of nervousness but can also manifest as bodily symptoms. The term “exam fever” is not an exaggeration. It is not uncommon for students, overwhelmed with stress, to experience headaches, indigestion, fever and blackouts before and during exams. Other physical symptoms include excessive sweating, stomachache, nausea, shortness of breath, palpitations and dry mouth. Poor concentration, “blanking out”, confusions and poor organisation are also warning signs of examination stress. Students suffering from anxiety think negatively, fear failure, experience feelings of inadequacy and compare themselves unfavourably to others. The spontaneous reaction of anyone suffering from examination stress is to fear the worst-possible outcome. Causes of stress We all assume that if a child is nervous before an examination, it’s because he hasn’t studied hard enough. If that was the case, however, we could safely assume that students scoring 90 per cent or more would never be troubled by examination stress. This, of course, is not true. Therefore, examination pressure has got nothing to do with the level of preparedness. Many other factors influence how children look at and cope with examinations. Along with one’s own expectations, a student entering an examination hall also has to carry the hopes and dreams of his parents. If you ask a child what he fears the most, the fear of letting down one’s parents would probably rank very high. A student’s prior experiences with tests also influence how he will react in such situations in future. That is why often students, who may do poorly in maths examination one day, will probably experience a greater anxiety for an English paper the very next day even though he may be good in the subject. There are factors beyond students’ control that also contribute to the pressure. Cut-off marks are shooting through the roof and competitiveness in all academic branches has increased. It has become increasingly difficult to get through one’s course of choice, and with that, students perceive an increasing amount at stake with every examination. Media vans outside examination centres and the hype surrounding results hasn’t helped either. How pressure affects students Stress in moderate amounts is necessary if one wants to succeed. It serves as a motivation, driving us towards our target. But when stress exceeds its optimal level, it creates a sense of disorganisation and interferes with the healthy functioning of mind. A decline in the academic performance is perhaps the most obvious outcome of examination stress. Students begin to fear the worst. A child suffering from exam-related anxiety will not be able to concentrate despite his best efforts. Silly mistakes become all too common and students tend to blank out even while trying to answer questions they are well prepared for. Some even start avoiding the subjects they may have initially been interested in. Insomnia and a loss of appetite often accompany the pressure of examinations. Exam stress gets particularly dangerous when it starts affecting the health and well-being of the students. The pressure to perform in exams can often lead to a loss of confidence, low self- esteem, social withdrawal, self-blame and depression. Startling statistics reveal that suicide rates in adolescents have gone up many times since the 1950s. Coping tactics Taking an examination is a life skill, and like any other skill, it can be improved with practice. Students must remember that while their efforts and performance are under their control, the final outcome – the result – isn’t. Effective preparation is the first step to counter examination stress. Use study skills such as highlighting, note making, and memory aids. A student’s attention span is about 45 minutes; take short regular breaks to maintain a high-level of attention and concentration. Organise your schedule effectively and avoid last-minute preparation. Regular self-tests are also a good idea. Don’t make any drastic changes in your lifestyle. Do not skip meals or compromise on your sleep. Keep sufficient time for exercise and recreational activities; take out time for the things you enjoy doing. Continue to communicate with your friends, and meet them regularly. Most of all, remember that there is nothing abnormal about feeling anxious. Eight out of the 10 students in the examination hall are experiencing the same thing. (The writer is Chief Psychiatrist, Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Max Healthcare, New Delhi) |
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For parents Do not nag your child: Your child is already facing enough pressure from school and peers, along with his own anxieties regarding performance. Your nagging the child might get him to open his book and stare at it, but whether he actually concentrates and studies is not in your control. What it will do, for sure, is make him resent you. Instead, strive to provide a supportive atmosphere at home. Encourage your child’s efforts. Be the same: Taking days off from work to sit and watch your child while he studies or cutting off the cable and internet connections is probably not a good idea. Be normal, be the same. Do not make drastic changes in your home environment during examination time. Children need to understand that examinations are but a part of life and learn to take them in their stride. Talk to them about their feelings: It is a well-known fact that any child will experience some amount of anxiety before examinations. However, for each child the source of this anxiety may be different. Talk to your child about his feelings, his expectations, hopes and fears. Let it be known that he is not alone and that his feelings are understood. Don’t let them overwork and help them learn to balance activities: In their own anxiety, children often tend to overwork themselves, and may, at times, compromise on meals, sleep or recreation. Do not let your child overwork; encourage him to take breaks at regular intervals. Stress the importance of meeting and speaking with his friends regularly. In fact, it is often a good idea to take breaks, along with your child. Talk to him about things other than examinations. Go out for a walk, a cup of coffee or a movie with your child. For teachers Impart study skills: Revise and rehearse effective study skills. Help students to organise their time and material, so as to avoid feeling overwhelmed at the last minute. Provide life-skills training: Encourage students to maintain healthy habits and routines during preparation and examination time. Stress the importance of leisure time, regular breaks, good diet, adequate sleep and exercise. Talk to students and dispel myths around memory pills, smoking, caffeine etc. Emphasise the role of family and friends: Students often tend to hole themselves up in their room and withdraw from their friends and family. Maintain open channels of communication to help students express themselves at all times. Assess for coping skills and screen for vulnerable students: It is critical for teachers to identify students, who are prone to high-anxiety responses during examinations. Screen students for blackouts and decrease in performance due to anxiety. Also look out for students prone to too many last-minute revisions, careless mistakes and behavioural changes. |
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