|
|
|
|
|
A barbaric
act |
|
|
Context-books Bibipur
rewarded
Rights
activists & death penalty
The
good, the bad and the ugly
Nutri
farms can yield cash and health
|
|
Context-books
Textbook
— the very word is enough to put off any child who looks at life as anything more than academics. Education is the most crucial part of a child’s development, but the keyword in that is learning, and not information gathering and storage. The Punjab School Education Board has resolved to make its books more ‘colourful and presentable’, a very welcome move as long as it doesn’t mean some chaotic overnight innovations that confuse more than bring clarity. Often boards have reasonable syllabi, but books that many private schools prescribe are ones pushed by fly-by-night publishers who get indifferent authors to write on the cheap. The total knowledge that we seek to drum into students in the first 10 years of schooling is not something that can be done with the luxury of practical exposure to every aspect, demonstrations and travel. If possible, that would be ideal. The next best is to write and design the text such that it presents information in real-life contexts. For junior classes, pictures help to embed knowledge deeper. The language and examples used have to factor in the age of the child. And, of course, the author has to be a master of the subject, for only someone who comprehends a topic thoroughly can explain it in a simple and lucid manner. Certain subjects such as history and literature — despite being arguably the richest — have been given a bad name in junior classes and condemned as subjects to be dropped at the earliest. These are subjects that deal with human life the most directly, and deserve to have life put in them. The hoary past has to be brought alive with the sound of hooves when a battle is discussed, not dates. A particular date in itself has no meaning, unless it is placed — and understood — as a link in a continued story. That is when it graduates from a textbook to a movie, and learning begins!
|
|
|
Bibipur rewarded
It’s a sad saga of corruption all the way down to the grassroots level. On paper, there is a well-coordinated approach by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, gram panchayats and social bodies like khaps to stop female foeticide, yet all these well-meaning agencies with their well-pocketed budgets fail to decode the mystery behind the missing girls of Haryana. In Bibipur village, initiatives like establishing a female mahapanchayat in July 2012 were taken to check gender ratio. It was a great political show; sceptics knew the purpose of this well-orchestrated eye -wash was to get media attention to facilitate political ascending of its ambitious sarpanch. Financial rewards were announced by the ruling party even before his initiatives could show some results on ground. But as a study by a team of Kurukshetra University researchers has shown, the gender ratio in Bibipur is even lower than the state gender ratio. Well, the same Ministry of Panchayati Raj that had conducted an inquiry into the claimed improvement in the gender- ratio of Rabra and Joli villages of Sonepat district last year had given a cash reward to the panchayat of Bibipur for taking the initiative in reducing female foeticide. Everyone knew the improvement in sex ratio was shown on registers by registering pregnancies in the third month, by which time the gender of the foetues had been detected through clandestine tests and unwanted foetuses were removed. Thus maintaining the numbers unchanged between the registered pregnancies and the delivered babies. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is supposed to give cash incentives to panchayats that show the initiative in handling issues like malnutrition and female foeticide. Strangely, the state government had recommended names of some female sarpanches for the award, Bibipur got recommendation from the Union government, overriding many panchayats like Jhajjar, where grassroot representatives have done good work to show results. By offering awards, meant for committed grassroot workers, to the candidates with political connection, a wrong message is sent which can be disheartening for this great institution.
|
|
|
A guilty conscience needs to confess. A work of art is a confession. — Albert Camus
|
Rights activists & death penalty
The
morality of the death penalty has again come to the forefront by the latest Supreme Court judgment rejecting Bhullar’s plea for mercy. I am against the death penalty as such for anyone. But politicians like Parkash Singh Badal, Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa only invoke mercy to suit their political exigencies. Badal obviously is feeling pressure from the SGPC and extremist elements in the Akali Dal – if not, why does he not also ask for mercy for all prisoners on death row. If he is genuine and his plea to the Centre is not a political ploy why does he not amend the Penal Code and abolish the death penalty in Punjab by invoking Article 254(2) of the Constitution. The result will be no more hangings in Punjab, including that of Bhullar. The same course could be followed in Tamil Nadu, where for a change Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi, sworn political enemies, are asking for mercy for the same set of the accused. This legislative initiative alone will show the genuine concern of Punjab and Tamil Nadu legislators against hangings. Bhullar’s plea was rejected first in 2005. But the file was sent to President Abdul Kalam, who sent it back to the Home Ministry seeking some clarifications. The matter, however, remained smugly in the Home Ministry till the Home Minister, P. Chidambram, sent it to the President in 2011 – this long gap did not, however, result in presidential mercy. The Supreme Court has affirmed the President’s decision though many feel that because of some earlier judgments and the number of cases which may be affected by this judgment, it would have helped in better clarification of the law if the matter had been heard by a Constitution Bench. The court, while accepting that long delay in hanging may be one of the grounds for commutation of the death sentence to life imprisonment, has held the same cannot be invoked for an offence under TADA or similar statutes because these persons “do not show any respect for human lives --- the terrorists do not think even for a second about parents and dear ones of the victims … the families of those killed suffer the agony for their entire life.” The court has rightly condemned the beastly and dastardly acts of terrorists, which must evoke anger and condemnation in every person. But then the court went on to make observations against human rights activists by ignoring the self-imposed rule of restraint wisely imposed by courts on themselves in “not making any remarks or observations with regard to those who are not before them” and further cautioning that “sweeping generalisations defeat their own purpose”. The judgment went on to say, “Many others join the bandwagon to espouse the cause of terrorists involved in gruesome killing and mass murder of innocent civilians and raise the bogey of human rights.” (emphasis added) The judgment, unfortunately, seems to have ignored the concern of human rights defenders and possibly did not have the relevant material before it when it repeated the usual bazar gossip that those who advocate abolition of the capital punishment by observing that they were doing it in the name of the “the bogey of human rights.” With due respect, one must say that these observations ignored that established human rights bodies like the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) have unequivocally condemned the killing and taking of hostages by terrorists whether in Jammu and Kashmir or by the Army under the Armed Forces Special powers Act in the Northeast. Every activist feels the pain and anguish of the family, friends or the victims of terrorists – all will agree in calling terrorists the worst specimen of humanity. But then State, which is ultimate repository of law, cannot deviate from the path of civilised and humane conduct. Certain principles of humanism and legality even in the cases of worst excesses by terrorists have still to be dealt with under the law. It may be relevant to note that notwithstanding that in the US, which is also the target of terrorists, there is no move to restore the death penalty in various states which had abolished it a long time back. The judgment also ignored the previous decisions of the Supreme Court which expressed its anguish even while upholding TADA against the violation of human rights thus: “It is heart-rending to note that day in and day out we come across news of blood-curdling incidents of police brutality and atrocities alleged to have been committed in utter disregard and in all breaches of humanitarian law and universal human rights as well as in total negation of the constitutional guarantees and human decency…..” Similarly, the court reiterated its concern even when upholding POTA, “The protection and promotion of human rights under the rule of law is essential in the prevention of terrorism. If human rights are violated in the process of combating terrorism, it will be self-defeating — the lack of hope for justice provides breeding grounds for terrorism. In all cases, the fight against terrorism must be respectful to the human rights. Our Constitution laid down clear limitations on state actions within the context of the fight against terrorism.” It needs to be emphasised that when human rights activists oppose the death penalty it is on the larger principle of human rights, which must be applicable to all cases. In support of the human right activist plea against the death penalty let me remind everyone what some of our greatest leaders of the country have said. Gandhiji said, “I cannot in all conscience agree to anyone being sent to the gallows; God alone can take life because he alone gives it”. Similarly, Dr Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution, said, “I think that having regard to this fact, the proper thing for this country to do is to abolish the death sentence altogether.” Similarly, the late socialist leader, Jayaprakash Narayan, said that “… death sentence is no remedy for such crimes.” All that is suggested is that instead of the death penalty, let all such killers be sentenced to whole life and even without parole – many discerning persons would consider such life-term to be more severe than even the death
penalty. The writer is a former Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi.
|
||||||||
The good, the bad and the ugly A
few
days back, I went to see a cricket match. Oh, the kind of chaos a cricket match creates in this cricket-crazy nation. Life in the city that hosts the match comes to a standstill. Traffic diversions worsening the already existent traffic jams, police deployment, barricaded roads resulting in bottleneck stretches and traffic moving at a snail’s pace are the salient features of the day. It is a commuter’s nightmare. Reaching the stadium to witness the match is another herculean task which demands great intuitiveness. As the situation required, I broke a few rules that day to reach the venue of all the action — took a prohibited U-turn, entered a link road closed to traffic that day escaping the policemen’s gaze and later jumped over a few barricades to finally enter the hallowed grounds. After quite a few security frisking at various points (and we complain about security frisking abroad) and ticket checking many more times than even at an airport, we got comfortably settled in our seats, finally. But where was the cricket? It was more of music, dance and “masti”. And, of course, skimpily clad cheerleaders gyrating to suggestive “desi” numbers. I had gone to watch an IPL match! Actually this extravaganza looks more like cricket when watched on TV than it actually is. Compare this to another experience I had. A visit to Shimla, sometime ago and I had the opportunity to go to Annandale grounds, which were in the news recently after being caught up in some unsavoury controversy. It’s a picturesque place, located in a deep wide valley in the suburban village of Kaithu, Shimla West. We visited a small Army museum narrating the tales of valour of the locals in the army during the British regime. One could go through the exhibits sipping hot tea or coffee served at a counter there. A short flight of stairs up and a small but beautiful greenhouse awaits you. Cacti, big and small, round and long, and bonsais in strange shapes greet you. It was a treasure trove for me, an ardent fan of these succulent plants. I took my time taking in the visual treat right in front of me. As we leisurely moved around the greenhouse, a golf course stretched just below us. The view of the golf greens from above, where we stood with the mountains in the background, was breathtaking. A few golfers could be seen practising in the lazy wintry sun. We lounged around for a long time in that secluded place away from the city. It was a nice unhurried experience away from the maddening crowd, quite a contrast to the cricketing event I had gone to. Just imagine that efforts were on to convert this scenic place into a cricket
ground!
|
||||||||
Nutri farms can yield cash and health Punjab
Agricultural University initiated efforts to popularise nutrition gardens in 2005. Now with the recognition of this model at the Central Government level in the form of Nutri Farms, a budget of Rs 200 crore has been earmarked for its popularisation (The Tribune, March 2, 2013). In Punjab 38 per cent women, 14 per cent men and 66 per cent children (below five) are anaemic, says a report by the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai. According to the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad (NIN 2010), an adult person should consume 60 gms of pulses, 100 gms of green vegetables, 200 gms of roots & tubers, 200 gms of other vegetables and 100 gms of fruits to lead a healthy life. But it was found that particularly in rural areas an adult person consumes only 30 gms of pulses, 80 gms green vegetables, 100 gms other vegetables, while consumption of fruits is negligible. The skewed consumption pattern is attributed to two main reasons: the low cultivation of pulses, vegetables and fruits by farming families and the low purchasing power of common people. A model of a nutrition garden designed on three kanals of land -- where two kanals are meant for pulses and one kanal is for fruits & vegetables -- may act as a catalyst to solve the problems of nutritional deficiency of the rural population. From an economic point of view, an average farming family having seven members -- aged parents (2), husband-wife (2), children (2) and a labourer -- needs 420 gms pulses, 700 gms green leafy vegetables, 1,400 gms roots & tubers and the same amount of other vegetables, and 700 gms fruits. The annual food requirement and expenditure of this family is shown in the table given below: To meet the annual food requirements, the family has to spend Rs 46,860. While calculating the gross income from the existing cropping pattern, from three kanals of land, it was found that paddy produced from this land gives an income of Rs.6, 200 approximately, whereas wheat worth Rs. 9,000 can be produced on this piece of land in the rabi season. So in all an income worth Rs.15,200 is obtained from three kanals of land. On the other hand, Rs.46,860 has to be spent on the purchase of pulses, vegetables and fruits to provide a healthy life to family members. If a farming family produces these food items at its own fields, it can save Rs.31,660 annually, besides improving the health status of its members. In the long run the saving of expenditure on medicines and health supplements will be an added advantage. The adoption of a nutrition garden contributes to the diversification of crops also. Crop diversification is the on the top of the agenda of the Centre as well as the state government. The Central Government has allocated Rs.500 crore for crop diversification (The Tribune, March 2, 2013). Punjab has 10,58,000 farming families in all. If every farming family produces pulses, fruits and vegetables at its own fields, three kanals of each family’s land will be withdrawn from the cropping pattern of paddy and wheat. As a result, a total of 1,58,700 hectares of land comes under the cultivation of pulses, vegetables and fruits. Besides, achieving nutritional self-sufficiency of farming families, the adoption of this model can give an impetus to the diversification of crops also and thereby preserving precious soil and water resources. Experts suggest that the shifting of at least one million hectare from paddy to other crops is necessary to save the depleting underground water. The adoption of nutrition farms by farming families can achieve about 16 per cent target without any impediment of market forces. Agricultural experts recommend one kanal land to meet the vegetable and fruits requirements of a seven-member family. One kanal of land properly planned can produce five kilograms vegetables daily. The following tips can help produce vegetables and fruits around the year: The vegetables growing area or plot should be near the tubewell and fenced with a wire Twenty plots, each measuring 24 square metre area, may be developed leaving the rest of the area for passage and water channels Short-root vegetables like onion, garlic etc. should be followed by deep-root vegetables like brinjal, chillies etc. Keep more area under radish, carrot, cucumber, cabbage, turnip etc. because these vegetables can be used for salad also. Climbers like bitter gourd, gourd etc. should be planted near a tree or a wire so that they can climb over them For proper sunlight to the nutritional garden sow small plants in the southern side and full/long plants in the northern side. Evergreen vegetables should be sown in one corner so that the rest of the area can be easily prepared for different seasons Vegetables which can be harvested at the same time can be sown together so that early and late sowing varieties can be used to get maximum production. Spinach, mint, coriander, methi, carrot, raddish etc. should be sown fortnightly. Some medicinal plants like tulsi, pudina (mint), aloe vera should also be planted. Fruit trees like papaya, lemon, guava, kinnow pear etc. should be planted around the plot in such a way that they do not block sunlight. In the rabi season peas, gram and masar can be produced from two kanals of land and in the kharif season, green gram (moongi), soybean, black gram (mah) etc. can be produced from the same area in the rabi season. If vegetables, fruits and pulses produced at the farm are in abundance, these can be processed in the form of pickles, jams, squashes, preserves, sauces, besan (gram powder), varrian, pappad, etc. The adoption of nutrition gardens, advocated by experts of Punjab Agricultural University, may combat nutritional deficiencies of the rural population particularly. The university has focussed its efforts in this direction by selecting this as the Kisan Mela theme “Ghar di sabazi-dal ugao, sehat banao, paise bachao”. It is hoped that as in the case of ushering in the Green Revolution, the dynamic farmers of Punjab will repeat the history by adopting nutrition gardens to improve their health, income and bring about crop diversification. The writer is the Professor & Head, Department of Home Science Extension & Communication Management, PAU, Ludhiana
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
