This OneVorld video informs us about the implementation of Ayushman Bharat Scheme by NHPMC which aims to provide secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to poor and vulnerable families. NHPMC was launched in 2018. Ayushman Bharat is National Health Protection Scheme, which will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage up to 5 lakh rupees per family per year. The scheme is based on the entitlement decided on the basis of deprivation criteria in the SECC. This scheme provides cooperative federalism and flexibility to states. The major impacts of the scheme will be providing, quality health, quality medication, timely treatments, improvements in health outcomes, patient satisfaction, improvement in the quality of life. In addition, the unmet needs of the population which remained hidden due to lack of financial resources will be catered to.
NHPMC implements Ayushman Bharat Scheme which aims to provide secondary and tertiary care hospitalization to poor and vulnerable families. It was launched in 2018. The scheme is advised to be implemented by State Health Agencies. They can decide to implement this scheme through insurance companies or trusts.
The major impacts of this scheme is as follows –
Providing healthcare and monetary coverage of 5 lakhs for each family
Timely treatments and high patient satisfaction
Improvement in quality of life
Increase in employment opportunities
Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. A healthy nation is a prosperous nation.
This OneVorld Video explains some steps we can take to minimize plastic on our planet which is an ever-increasing problem nowadays. All of us can contribute a little towards our fight against plastic and opt for plastic alternatives to not just minimize plastic but to reuse it so that more addition of plastic in our environment can be stopped.
Plastic, a horrible yet extremely useful invention for mankind has now become a significant part of our lives. We are all aware of it’s ill-effects and can do our part to protect the environment from it.
So what should we do ?
Well, there are some small things we can do or should I say small things everyone SHOULD do?
One of the first things we do after waking up is brushing our teeth, which we usually do with our plastic toothbrushes. After some time they become useless and we have to throw them away. It creates a lot of non-biodegradable waste. In this case, we can use bamboo toothbrushes which are usually made up of natural materials like bamboo and charcoal. So they are far more accessible to dispose of than regular toothbrushes.
EXTRA TIP: We can also learn how to make toothpaste at home so that toothpaste tube waste can also be decreased.
Coming up next are the food containers. It’s harmful to store food in plastic containers because a lot of them release harmful chemicals like BPA and phthalates. But a lot of people still use them because they are cheap and easy to use. But life is more valuable than anything else. That’s why we should use better alternatives than plastic containers. Stainless steel glass and silicon containers are very reliable in this case and they are easy to dispose of too.
EXTRA TIP: For dry food like bread and chapatis, cloth food containers are very useful
Moving on, the one form in which plastic is used the most is carry bags and waste produced by them is enormous. But the good thing is they have a lot of alternatives too. Paper, cotton and canvas bags are good alternatives of such bags. They are extremely reusable too.
EXTRA TIP: We should try to reuse the polybags we already have.
Our earth is a beautiful planet and it’s really sad that we are the ones destroying it. It is our responsibility to protect it. Everyone should do their part even if it’s too small!
Mahavir Jayanti in the Times of Corona-ed World / Neelam Jain
Lord Mahavir – Live and Let Live
It is Mahavir Jayanti today, one of the most important days in the Jain religious calendar. As the Jain community celebrates the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Mahavir by exchanging greetings on email or whatsApp messages, it seems Nature has taken upon itself to celebrate this auspicious day on a grand scale, Universal in nature. The Universe knows no geographical boundaries, hence the divine celebrations are playing out on the entire planet.
The Corona virus has mandated we rethink how we live, consume, and treat others. I will briefly mention only two principles that Lord Mahavir gave to the world that seem like a balm on the Corona-ed human soul.
The current state of the world is very appropriately reflected by the opening lines of Charles Dickens famous novel A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, …” It tells about a time of chaos, conflicts, and despair, as well as happiness. It, in fact, tells us about the time of extreme opposites without any in-betweens.
Something similar is unfolding on planet earth today.
As I sit pondering over the birth celebrations of Lord Mahavir since when I was a child, the images of community events where school-children performed plays and songs depicting the life of the Teerthankara, the liberated One, flash before my eyes. It was a time of community gathering, celebrations, much fun and socializing, followed by lots of sumptuous food eaten together. I recall with much nostalgia the annual speech I was asked to deliver, in English (at age 7 onwards, because I studied in a convent school!), on his life and principles. I knew by rote the main tenets of Jainism and Lord Mahavir’s three-fold path of Right Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct. For many years it continued thus, and I could have rattled off the entire Four-fold or Eight-fold Path (they are different for ascetics and householders) without pausing for a breath. Yet there was no deeper thought, no time for reflection on the teachings of this noble, liberated soul. Posters and banners proclaiming the lofty tenets of the world’s most non-violent religion were put up all over town, but how much was followed by people is anyone’s guess. As indeed it often happens in most religions.
However, today, as I sit locked up in my house – Coronavirus indeed has locked up indoors practically all humanity, I am having some Eureka moments! Yes, the wisdom of all my Mahavir-Jayanti speeches, scripted by people more learned than a 7-year-old, is gradually dawning on me. I feel the lessons humans have failed to learn by volition are being taught by Nature, à la science experiments demonstrated in a lab. Humans are perforce made to sit back while Nature takes over and teaches. The coping stone of Mahavir’s teaching has been “Live and Let Live,” kindness to all beings and cruelty towards none. He even went to tell humanity that plants too have a life, and therefore deserving mindfulness from humans.
The fact that the deadly Corona virus most probably originated from wet animal markets in China has forced mankind to rethink cruelty towards animals. In India most slaughter houses are shut, people are shunning animal flesh, eating healthy and vowing to continue with their kindness towards other living creatures. Humans are not the only inheritors of this beautiful planet. We have encroached in most downright manner, the habitat of birds and animals, cocking a snook at the principle of “Live and Let Live”. Now when the world, locked up behind closed doors, sees animals hitherto unseen on the roads roam freely, does it realize that in our race “to live” we forgot to “let others live”. We need to let the animals and birds, the air and water, sky and earth breathe and own their space in the universe. Our rapacious ways and the choices we make will not only kill them, but spell our own doom. In fact, we can live only if we let others live. The choice we had in “Live and Let Live” is long gone.
Another important tenet that Mahavir gave to humanity, and my most favorite one, is the beautiful precept of Aparigraha, or, in simplistic terms non-attachment to material things. Aparigraha is one of the virtues in Jainism, and one that was uncannily prescient when Mahavir expounded it more than 2,500 years ago. It is also one of the five vows that both householders and ascetics must observe. Non-Violence, Non-Stealing, and Truthfulness we all believe are necessary virtues, but when it comes to Aparigraha we are neither aware nor believe the same is very important virtue in higher pursuit of life.
Aparigraha is the virtue of non-possessiveness, non-grasping or non-greediness. Aparigraha is the opposite of parigrah, and refers to keeping the desire for possessions to what is necessary or important, depending on one’s life-stage and context.
In my current ruminative mood, I was wondering that the end of winter is usually the time for big-ticket sales in all shopping malls as well as online commerce sites. At this time of the year, one would have seen teeming crowds stocking up on “discounted goods,” unmindful of their need. But forced lock-downs the world over have seen people managing with what they have and no one is any the worse for it. When man‘s avarice could not be checked by any wise person’s advice, Nature had to step in and teach mankind a lesson it is not likely to forget any time soon. Instead of hoarding unwanted stuff, most people are decluttering their homes and spring-cleaning wardrobes. The world is seeing the benefit of minimalist life. This minimalist lifestyle, or Aparigraha was preached by Lord Mahavir at a time when the world probably was still unspoilt by abundance of material possessions. While excess consumption leads to bigger houses, faster cars, fancier technology, and cluttered homes, it never brings happiness. This, the world is being forced to see in the times of Corona virus. “A tomb now suffices him for whom the whole world was not sufficient,” said Alexander, the great Greek conqueror about himself just before he died.
We don’t need a full house, we need a full life. This is going to be a life-changing resolution. Lord Mahavir’s other teachings of Forgiveness, Compassion and Sacrifice are as pertinent in the new world order when there seems to be a tectonic shift in human consciousness. Of that later!
UN Resolutions on Kashmir are Null & Void / Krishan Tyagi
Jammu & Kashmir – Ladakh Union Territories
Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions. Some aspects of Article 370 got diluted over the decades in the fields of judicial system and public administration.
As mentioned, Article 35A did not have any parliamentary sanction and was supposed to be temporary too.
However, there has been no response from the world leaders to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s SOS calls. Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Britain, France, Canada and other countries either ignored Pakistan’s requests for intervention or told Pak leaders that they were “watching the situation”! The European Union in response actually slammed Pakistan for exporting terror to India and Europe. Thinking that Pakistan might be useful to Americans in Afghanistan, US President Donald Trump flip-flopped between ‘being happy to mediate between India and Pakistan’ and ‘leaving it up to PM Modi to handle the situation’, that excited Pak leadership one minute and depressed the next.
Apart from that small achievement, whereafter Pak foreign minister bragged that “Kashmir issue has been internationalised”, Pakistan drew blank in the international diplomacy. Even the members of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) and other Muslim countries did not support Pakistan on the issue. Actually as a slap in the face for Imran Khan, the UAE made its stand loud and clear that the removal of Article 370 from its Constitution was India’s internal matter.
Let us look at the UNSC Resolutions in detail and their brief background –
At the UN Security Council, in relation to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, Resolutions 38, 39, 47, and 51 were passed in 1948, Resolution 80 was passed in 1950, Resolution 91 was passed in 1951 and Resolution 122 in 1957.
Among them, the main resolution was the UNSC Resolution 47, adopted on 21 April 1948, wherein the proposal to hold a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir was made, that we will be looking in more details in the coming paragraphs.
Before that the Resolution 38 of 17 January 1948 called upon both India and Pakistan to take immediate measures (including public appeals) to improve the situation on the ground, and to refrain from doing anything which might aggravate the situation. Under the Resolution 39 of 20 January 1948, the UNSC constituted a Commission, called UN Commission for India and Pakistan, to resolve the dispute between them over the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Resolution 51 of 03 June 1948 was just a follow up of Resolution 47 directing the UN Commission to visit the areas of dispute. However, as detailed below, for years no progress took place on Resolution 47 and the story of further Resolutions is that of disagreements over the withdrawal of troops.
its nationals from Kashmir, ie the parts of the state that it occupied through, as seen by the UNSC, an unlawful invasion. To quote the original text, the Resolution said: “The Government of Pakistan should undertake to use its best endeavours to secure the withdrawal from the state of Jammu and Kashmir of tribesmen and Pakistani nationals not normally resident therein who have entered the state for the purpose of fighting, and to prevent any intrusion into the State of such elements and any furnishing of material aid to those fighting in the State.”
In the second step, India was asked to progressively reduce its forces to the minimum level required for law and order. The Resolution said, “when it is established to the satisfaction of the Commission (UN Commission for India and Pakistan) set up in accordance with the Council’s resolution 39 (1948) that the tribesmen are withdrawing and that arrangements for the cessation of the fighting have become effective, the Government of India should put into operation in consultation with the Commission a plan for withdrawing their own forces from Jammu and Kashmir and reducing them progressively to the minimum strength required for the support of the civil power in the maintenance of law and order.”
In the third step, India was asked to appoint a Plebiscite Administrator nominated by the United Nations who would conduct a free and impartial plebiscite. “When the Indian forces have been reduced to the minimum strength”, outlining the conditions such as equitable representation of both India and Pakistan in the administrative bodies for a fair plebiscite the Resolution laid out the third step, “The Government of India should undertake that there will be established in Jammu and Kashmir a Plebiscite Administration to hold plebiscite as soon as possible on the question of the accession of the State to India or Pakistan.”
As can be seen from the original text of the Resolution, the proposed three steps to resolve the Kashmir dispute were to be taken in sequence, meaning the second step was to be taken up on the completion of the first one, and the third step was to be taken up on the completion of the second one.
Pakistan never withdrew its nationals from Kashmir, the territory internationally called ‘Pak Occupied Kashmir’. And, because Pakistan did not take the first step that it was asked to, and thus even the first condition for conducting the plebiscite did not get fulfilled, things did not move further.
So, the reality of the UNSC Resolutions on Kashmir is that it was Pakistan that defied the UNSC directions and did not leave the parts of Kashmir that it occupied through an unlawful invasion, rendering the UNSC Resolution ineffective.
In fact, the founder and first Governor General of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah did not believe in a plebiscite. On 1 November 1947 Jinnah rejected Indian Governor General Lord Mountbatten’s proposal to decide the accession of Junagarh, Hyderabad and Kashmir by an ‘impartial reference to the will of the people’. His reply to Lord Mountbatten was that a plebiscite was unnecessary and states should accede according to their majority population. Jinnah was willing to urge Junagarh to accede to India in return for Kashmir. When Mountbatten suggested that the plebiscite could be conducted by the United Nations, Jinnah again rejected the proposal, hoping that the invasion would succeed and Pakistan might lose a plebiscite. According to constitutional expert AG Noorani, Jinnah ended up squandering his leverage.
Later for the plebiscite, Jinnah demanded simultaneous troop withdrawal, but it was not accepted as the UNSC accepted the legitimacy of Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir because of the Instrument of Accession, while Pakistani forces invading the state was seen as an hostile and unlawful act. And thus Pakistan did not withdraw its nationals as directed by the UNSC. In fact, in a complete violation of the UNSC Resolution, in May 1948 the Pakistani army officially entered the conflict.
that State of Pakistan transformed itself into another State called Bangladesh in 1971, a fully-fledged Member State of the United Nations in its own right since. So, a smaller part of the erstwhile State of Pakistan cannot claim itself to be the inheritor of that State of Pakistan which was the party to the dispute with India, even if it calls itself Pakistan, as the present day India cannot make claims on behalf of the India of Ashoka’s or even British times. In the concerned UNSC Resolution, present day Bangladesh, the then East Pakistan, was a joint claimant as a part of Pakistan. The present day Pakistan can only pursue that claim if Bangladesh joins it in pursuing that claim.
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The Oil Pots on the Head / Vanisha Uppal
My grandfather was a self-made and successful businessman. He was also the backbone of our big joint family. Every day after the dinner, he used to go for a long walk, really long…. and I accompanied him sometimes for the ice-cream on the way back.
to retire, why did he not do so?
Narad was a celestial sage. For many years he meditated on mountains and in the jungle. One day after great penance he boastfully said to Lord Vishnu, “I am your greatest devotee in the three worlds because I never lose focus on you, not even for a minute”. Lord Vishnu put him to a test. He asked him to take a full circle around the mountain carrying a pot of oil over his head. The condition was not to drop the pot and spill the oil.
Narad took the challenge, and after much difficulty, he managed. He happily returned to lord Vishnu, again bragging about his success. God congratulated him and then asked, “How many times did you remember me in the middle of this job?” Narad realized not even once.
I loved this story, and read it again and again. The daily struggle involves us in such a way that we don’t realize when the day started and when it got an end. There was no doubt left in me that this simple thing is not so simple “To relax in the middle of our daily responsibilities”. And relationship worries steal away the remaining peace of our mind. It got crystal clear in my head that it demands efforts to be effortless.
the butter.
The retreat was so relaxing. I forgot everything. There was no tension of past and future. I muted the phone and checked it once at night for any urgent messages. We had four times meditation in a day, simple food, resting, being by myself, nature walk. I came back home with new life energy and missed being at the retreat.
Unnecessary talking and resisting the need for talking steals the energy. Too much phone, television and gadgets multiply the restlessness. The challenge is something like walking on the edge of the razor. Kriya practice makes one more aware, observant and balanced.
Tale of a Courageous Single Mother / Vanisha Uppal
In order to earn respect and to prove herself perfect to her own family, she gives up her own natural expression, her individuality and physical health.
How will she take charge of her life after 10 to 20 years of working as housewife and a full time mother, whereas she has nearly lost her self-confidence?
While waiting for our turn she asked me “Is it very difficult to get separated from the husband? My life is a mess, after 15 years of our marriage, my husband is still possessive and controlling. I feel I am done, but who will support me? My parents are so innocent. Where will I go? What will I do? From where will I get the money?
She shared all this with me because she knew I had separated from my husband four years back. It was a long and tough, yet a magical journey to find happiness, to be more confident, to face the challenges and to let it go.
Since my daughter was born, my life completely changed like most of the females in India. I gained much weight yet I was weak from inside. I did my best for my child and family. In the middle of it, it was usual disagreement with my husband, no closeness, and difficult to communicate, that made the life bad to worse.
There was no love and respect left in the relationship. We tried to adjust for eight years in the name of the child, family and social pressure, but the loneliness and sadness was eating me up.
I decided to go to Rishikesh alone to spend some time with myself. That was my first big step. I came back, armed with mediation techniques. They were powerful. I was eager to know more about myself with the help of them. By practicing intensely for two years, I got more clarity. Gradually I became more calm and peaceful yet happiness was missing.
One day mom asked me to leave her place. I was unofficially thrown out. I found a decent apartment at an even better place in no time. The required furniture was provided by the landlord.
After sending my daughter to the school, sitting at home, I was thinking how to manage the rent of Rs.20,000/- and daily expenses. I had some savings, which were fast flowing out from my bank account. My prioriies were, first to stabilize my health, second to occupy myself especially in morning and third some regular income was needed. This all was worrying me at back of my head all the time.
In the middle of struggles, two things supported me, first my daily meditation practice and second my dance classes in the evening, which I never discontinued even during the financial crisis.
Soon the meditation trust which I was working with started paying me the salary of Rs.15000/- per month. In additional I took up a part time job, teaching dance to the small children twice in a week. The money was exactly covering my needs.
Seeing my efforts, mom realized that she had been hard on me and offered me to take care of papa’s books and stationary shop, which was in a bad condition.
I found it challenging and creatively. Mom also started paying me some salary and I left the part time job and stopped taking money from the trust. Life became comfortable.
I am happy doing my writing, working at papa’s shop, learning dance, conducting retreat once in three months. I realized everything is temporary, for short time but my sincerity, totality and the joy is real.
The life continues bringing me more and tougher challenges. In the process of finding the best way out, I feel growth in all the aspects of my being.
We are so much in the habit of calculating our life as a profit and loss account, that fears have settled in us, that prevent us to truly follow our heart. Sometimes we keep waiting for others or God to take the first step and the whole life is gone. It is not easy but when one has no choice and ready to take the flight then life supports us
Poem
I had never been persistent in my life
Changing the jobs number of times,
No relationship to hold tight,
No material achievements to feel pride,
“Have I been so restless?” it came to my mind
Then why do I feel peace when I close my eyes,
Yes, I was persistent following my heart throughout my life.
Stubble Burning Fact and Fiction
Now that the harvesting season is around the corner it’s important to examine the issue of stubble burning. There’s a tremendous amount of misconception and misinformation floating around on Stubble Burning. Common people and Media squarely blame the farmers. But gleaning through Wikipedia as a proof of what one has been saying, is that it’s a world wide phenomenon. The pollution due to Stubble Burning is not as acute as is made out to be. Also, hold your breath, there are some beneficial effects. This is not to recommend Stubble Burning at all, but to introspect as well, think. Can one month of this activity cause pollution all the year round? Who are the other culprits hiding behind the farmers backs. What are the solutions?
According to Wikipedia:
that remains after grains, like paddy, wheat, etc., have been harvested. The practice was widespread until the 1990s, when governments increasingly restricted its use.
The burning of stubble, contrasted with alternatives such as ploughing the stubble back into the ground or collecting it for industrial uses, has a number of consequences and effects on the environment.
Generally helpful effects
Kills slugs and other pests.
Can reduce nitrogen tie-up.
Generally harmful effects
Loss of nutrients
Pollution from smoke
Damage to electrical and electronic equipment from floating threads of conducting waste
Risk of fires spreading out of control
There is a perception that stubble burning contributes to atmospheric CO2. However carbon dioxide releases are only slightly greater than those from natural decomposition.
Attitudes to stubble burning
Stubble burning has been effectively prohibited since 1993 in England and Wales. A perceived increase in blackgrass, and particularly herbicide resistant blackgrass, has led to a campaign by some arable farmers for its return.
In Australia stubble burning is “not the preferred option for the majority of farmers” but is permitted and recommended in some circumstances. Farmers are advised to rake and burn windrows, and leave a fire break of 3 metres around any burn off.
In the The burning of stubble, contrasted with alternatives such as ploughing the stubble back into the ground or collecting it for industrial uses, has a number of consequences and effects on the environment.[1]
Generally helpful effects Edit
Kills slugs and other pests.
Can reduce nitrogen tie-up.
Generally harmful effects Edit
Loss of nutrients
Pollution from smoke
Damage to electrical and electronic equipment from floating threads of conducting waste
Risk of fires spreading out of control
There is a perception that stubble burning contributes to atmospheric CO2. However carbon dioxide releases are only slightly greater than those from natural decomposition.
Attitudes to stubble burning Edit
Stubble burning has been effectively prohibited since 1993 in England and Wales. A perceived increase in blackgrass, and particularly herbicide resistant blackgrass, has led to a campaign by some arable farmers for its return.
In Australia stubble burning is “not the preferred option for the majority of farmers” but is permitted and recommended in some circumstances. Farmers are advised to rake and burn windrows, and leave a fire break of 3 metres around any burn off.
In the United States, fires are fairly common in mid-western states, but some states regulate the practice, e.g.
In the European Union, the Common Agricultural Policy strongly discourages stubble burning.
In China, there is a government ban on stubble burning; however the practice remains fairly common.
In northern India, despite a ban by the Punjab Pollution Control Board, stubble burning is still practiced. Authorities are starting to enforce this ban more proactively.
Stubble burning is allowed by permit in some Canadian provinces, including Manitoba where 5% of farmers were estimated to do it in 2007.
Stubble burning in India
Burning of rice residues after harvest, to quickly prepare the land for wheat planting, around Sangrur, Punjab, India
Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana in northwest India has been cited as a major cause of air pollution in Delhi. In late September and October each year, farmers mainly in those two states burn an estimated 35 million tons of crop waste from their paddy fields after harvesting, as a low-cost straw-disposal practice to reduce the turnaround time between harvesting and sowing for the second (winter) crop. Smoke from this burning produces a cloud of particulates visible from space, and has produced a “toxic cloud” in New Delhi, resulting in declarations of an air-pollution emergency.[16] For this, the NGT (National Green Tribunal) slapped a fine of Rs. 2,00,000 on the Delhi Government for not filing an action plan providing incentives and infrastructural assistance to farmers to stop them from burning crop residue to prevent air pollution.
Although harvesters are available such as the Indian-manufactured “Happy Seeder” that shred the crop residues into small pieces and uniformly spread them across the field, as an alternative to burning the crops, farmers complain that the cost of these machines is prohibitive compared to burning the fields, fires are fairly common in mid-western states, but some states regulate the practice, e.g..
In the European Union, the Common Agricultural Policy strongly discourages stubble burning.
In China, there is a government ban on stubble burning; however the practice remains fairly common.
In northern India, despite a ban by the Punjab Pollution Control Board, stubble burning is still practiced. Authorities are starting to enforce this ban more proactively.
Stubble burning is allowed by permit in some Canadian provinces, including Manitoba where 5% of farmers were estimated to do it in 2007.
Stubble burning in India
Burning of rice residues after harvest, to quickly prepare the land for wheat planting, around Sangrur, Punjab, India
Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana in northwest India has been cited as a major cause of air pollution in Delhi. In late September and October each year, farmers mainly in those two states burn an estimated 35 million tons of crop waste from their paddy fields after harvesting, as a low-cost straw-disposal practice to reduce the turnaround time between harvesting and sowing for the second (winter) crop. Smoke from this burning produces a cloud of particulates visible from space, and has produced a “toxic cloud” in New Delhi, resulting in declarations of an air-pollution emergency. For this, the NGT (National Green Tribunal) slapped a fine of Rs. 2,00,000on the Delhi Government for not filing an action plan providing incentives and infrastructural assistance to farmers to stop them from burning crop residue to prevent air pollution.
Although harvesters are available such as the Indian-manufactured “Happy Seeder” that shred the crop residues into small pieces and uniformly spread them across the field, as an alternative to burning the crops, farmers complain that the cost of these machines is prohibitive compared to burning the fields
How Many More Sons will be lost to Save the Ganga asks Manohar Khushalani
Guru Das Agrawal also known as Sant Swami Sanand, Sant Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand (20 July 1932 – 11 October 2018) was an Indian environmental engineer, religious leader, monk, environmental activist, professor, and he was the Patron of Ganga Mahasabha founded by Madan Mohan Malviya in 1905.
Agrawal died on 11 October 2018, after fasting since 22 June 2018, demanding the government act on its promises to clean and save the Ganga.
Prof. Manohar Khushalani from IIIT-Delhi appeared live on 12th October 2018, on News 24 at 4.55 pm on a program on Ganga – Panch ki Panchayat. IIT Professor, Dr G. D. Agarwal’s departure from this planet after a fast unto death has refocused on the significant issue of Pollution of our Rivers. The program was shot in an Interesting format of a Panel Discussion in the open studio in Connaught Place. The format brought back Khushalani’s Street Theatre memories, spiced with pangs of Nostalgia, as he is one of the pioneers of street theatre movement in Delhi
A look under Indus Basin in Pakistan
India has been providing unhindered access to Pakistan of 79% of Indus Basin waters as per the Indus water treaty
Over 400 million acre feet of fresh water exists in Pakistan’s riverine aquifers and may help manage its water scarcity if ever India pulls the plug.
According to Dawn, the groundwater system underneath Pakistan’s flowing rivers in the Indus plains has at least 400 million acre feet (MAF) of pristine water. This storage is so large that it is equivalent to more than three years of the mean annual flow of the Indus (or 1,000 days of storage, after excluding polluted areas) So even if India blocks Indus water to Pakistan, it can still survive, for three years.
One day during a conversation with my 12 year old daughter Vrinda, she told me that “Aannya, my friend, is just an average student of my class”
“And how can you say that?” I asked
Vrinda: “She scored 80% marks in the exams, and most of my classmate gets more than 90% marks”
I made fun of the situation and said “In that case you must be considered a below average student as you scored 75%”
We ended up laughing.
All the concept of right and wrong has mostly been taught by our parents and teachers, then why the children are held responsible for their attitude?
While I was writing this article, coincidentally, Neha a friend, called up and said, “I am so pissed off with this system of education. My son’s teacher gave him less marks on writing the answers in his own words. The school just gives students marks for reproducing answers through rote learning. How to make them understand that bookish language is not as important as the understanding of the subject?”
I asked “But why are you bothered about him getting less marks?”
When Vrinda, my daughter was in the primary class, one day she came to me and said “mom, how to learn the text book answers? It is difficult to memorize word by word from the notes”
I said “It is very simple, just read it once carefully and write what you understood in your own words, like a story”
She did exactly that and she found it easy. After her school test she told me that her teacher did not give full marks on her answers.
I said, “But I am very happy that you understood the concept”
We hugged each other and celebrated her performance. She did the same for another few academic years. She was more relaxed during her exams and gradually not only did she scored better marks, but also became more creative and independent.
We cannot change the world by telling others not to pressurize our child; but it is in our hand not to pressurize them. As a parent the balance is missing in us; either we over pamper our child or send them to the boarding school to disciple them.
One day I thought it will be nice to give surprise to my friend by making a sudden visit. I rang the doorbell of her house. Her son opened the door. He is 12 years old and told me that mom was not at home. I asked him “how are your studies and school?”
He said “mom has sent me to the boarding school. And now I am on vacation”
I said, “Oh, how do you find the new place?”
He said, “Aunty,first year was very difficult but now I have adjusted”
The way he said that, something touched me. When we are at the job, we work as per norms. We make adjustments according to others, but what comforts us at the back of our mind is, when will the day will be over and we can go back home and relax in the way we want.
The net situation would be like this; we send kids daily to the school for some hours. At home they are free to sit, sleep, play and talk; to demand their favorite food and attention; to get a hug whenever they want. The power of hug is often underestimated. The simplest thing can change a child to a happy child. A hug means acceptance, it is a need like air, water and food.
No one can handle and love our child better than us. There always will be some challenges dealing with our children, their tantrums, anger, frustration and other negative emotions. Nectar cannot be attained without holding the poison in throat.
I still remember, when I used to annoy papa or misbehave. He never shouted or made face or said any harsh words to us. What I saw in his eyes was rather amazing; infinite Ocean of love and patience. It was so very beautiful; how his anger used to transform into love every time. No theory, no psychology; only pure love that he had inside him. Surprisingly my anger vanished by seeing those loving eyes. Sometimes I intentionally pushed him to be angry at me to see those eyes again. I was deeply in love with those eyes and wanted the same for myself. He is no more, but, whenever I close my eyes, I can feel his love.