Thursday 30 May 2013

THE WORLD AS '100' : CHRISTIANS DOMINATE THE GLOBE-MUSLIMS COME SECOND !


The World as '100' ! An unique concept has been developed as "World as 100 people' in respect of almost parameters including population, health , education, community, religion, poverty, richness etc. That is 'if the world were 100 people"! Such concept has been developed by the website www.100people.org. The website  beautifully illustrates each of statistics. These statistics are powerful learning tools, mainly on the ten areas of critical global concern that affect us all: water, food, transportation, health, economy, education, energy, shelter, war and waste. Currently the world population reached seven-billion mark. It is expected to cross nine billion by 2045. Can the Planet take the strain ? The methodology of determining all these statistics have been wonderfully depicted. The main representing factors are gender, age, geography, religion, first language, overall literacy, literacy by gender, level of education and many others. Data and figure seems to be based on solid, well grounded and are less prone to bias.


The rising population raises serious concern, specially for the marginalised sections living in poorer countries. The richer nations have their own type of problems linked to industrialisation and supersaturated markets while the emerging economies such as India, Brazil and South Africa have been unable or unwilling to spread wealth generated over the past two decades or so equitably. The poor in Asia and Africa lead miserable life. Various studies have suggested that hundreds of millions of population in these countries have absolutely no access to food, water and shelter, leave alone health care and education. Survival rates of women and children are way below the global average. Men have played havoc on the planet by plundering its resources and leaving vast swathes of land polluted and uncultivavable. Huge rush is for urbanisation. The consequences of global warming has become serious in almost all nook and corners of the world.. The world is marked with growing conflicts. Many countries spend their precious resources on weapons rather than food for hungry people. The wealth of the world continues to be in the few hands . And they are selling the false hopes that benefits of rapid growth will trickle down to the poor.

The details of 100 people concepts and statistics are mentioned herein:- Gepgraphical distribution is 15 would be from Africa, 11 would be from Europe, nine would be from Latin America and the Caribbean, five would be from North America and 60 would be from Asia. If the world were 100 people, the gender would be 50 percent women and 50 percent male. One thing in 100 people data and figure is very interesting and revealing:. Christians are majority population in the globe while Muslims are second to Christians in the world.That is followers of religion and their approximate populstion. Thirty-three percent in 100 concept are Christian and Christinity; 22 percent are Muslims and followers of Islam, 14 oercent Hindu; seven are Buddhist and 12 percent believe in other religions (Twelve percent would not be identified themselves as being aligned with a particular faith).

100 peopler concepts has also deliberated literacy and poverty in the globe. 83 would be able to read and write while 17 would nt be able to read and write. Seventy-nine percent females would be able to read and write while 88 males would be able to read and write; twenty-one females would not  be able to read and write and 12 percent males would not be able to read and write. In other aspect of education sector, 76 percent of eligible males would habve a primary school education and 72 percent of eligible females would have a primary school education; 66 percent of eligible nales would have secindary school education and 63 percent of eligible females would have secondary school education. Only seven would have college degreee. About first language, 12 would speak Chinese, five would speak Spanish, five would speak English, three would speak Arabic, three would speak Hindi, three would speak Bengali, three would speak Portuguese, two would speak Russian, two would speak Japanese and 62 would speak other languages.

With regards to poverty 48 percent would live on less that two dollars per day as well as one out of two children would live in poverty. Out of 100, fifteen would be undernourished. With regards to infectious disease one percent would have HIV\AIDS and another one percent would have tuberculosis.Eighty-seven would have access to safe drinking water and 13 would use unimproved water.

Now urban\rural divide:- 51 would be urban dwellers and 49 would be rural dwellers. On electricity front 78 would have electricity and 22 would not have such benefit.  ( In the meantime, the United Nations has launched ambitious programme to make sure that in the world, all will have electricity access by 2030.. A progress report from the International Energy Agency 1.2 billion people around the world are still struck in the dark. Some 1.7 billion people have acquired access to electricity in the world since 1990. while 1.6 billion have access to cleaner cooking fuels) On sanitation: 65 would have improved sanitation and 16 would have no toi;tes and 19 would have unimproved toilets. Regarding technology 75 percent would be cell phone users, 30 would be active internet users and 22 would own or share a computer.

In 2006, only one person out of 100 would have had a college education-today that number has jumped to seven thanks in part to advances in higher education in Asia. Significantly if the world were 100 people, only one would be health worker. That one person might be a doctor or nurse in a developed nation or a midwife or traditional healer in rural community in the developing world.

This 100 people: Through lenss, prepared wonderfully by www.100people.org has described almost all parameters of people of the world in an authentic manner !

Wednesday 29 May 2013

NGOs and foreign funding: Govt tightens noose !



In the early 1980s,people of the world's largest democracy -India-_had great hope of getting their condition improved with the entry of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the social arena in big way. Both the state and union governments opened avenues for developments at grass-root level by opening flood-gates for NGOs. In the process, a huge number of NGOs came up and many of them started their work at the right earnest by getting huge amount of funds from India and various state governments as well as huge foreign funding. Later, many NGOs, concentrated on  direct foreign funding as donations for developmental activities, specially at social and rural level. They got long rope in contacting various foreign governments and foreign social organisations for money to spend in India for the upliftment of the people, whom, they described , are in pitiable condition ! And foreign donations and funding started rolling..

According to figure , compiled by the Indian government; the United States and its private institutions ,is top donor nation to Indian NGOs, followed by Britain and German.In the year ending in March 2011, the most recent period for which data are available, about 22,000 NGOs received a total of more than $2 billion from abroad, of which $650 million came from the United States.

Curiously enough, in all these years, huge funds received specially from foreign funding by the NGOs, both the state and   union government have practically no information about the ground-level work being done by the NGOs. People of specially rural areas for whose development, the foreign funds came,also did not know about the utility of the foreign money. No social or government auditing was done about the utility of fund by the major NGOs.

In the meantime, founder-activists of the NGOs, reportedly spent huge chunk of  foreign fundings in the 'political activities, anti-government agitations'. In many cases rag to riches story also came out. Many NGOs owners became millionaires and started leading luxurious life. Many of them became vocal in political activities. Big NGOs holders including Ms Kiran Bedi, Arwind Kejariwal and his associates Shishodia have started participating in anti-government rallies and protest. No one knows their NGOs functioning and utility of foreign fund for development.Not only that these NGOs also started involving themselves in protest meetings for setting-up nuclear power plants. No doubts, installation of nuclear plants are not only harmful but detrimental to the interest of the people of the country. But for that ,the matter is being tackled at political and social level. What is the need of NGOs being involved in these issues ?

Trouble for NGOs started  when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blamed groups from the United States for fomenting anti-nuclear protests that have stalled the commissioning of India's biggest reactor, a Russian backed  project in Koodankulan  in power-starved Tamil Nadu state. NGOs also hobnobbed with protestors that delayed several important industrial projects. Officials including Peter Burkeigh, the American ambassador at that time, quickly moved to assure Indian officials that U S Government supports India's civil nuclear programme. Victoria Nuland, then the State Department spokeswoman, said the United States does not provide support for non-profit groups to protest nuclear plants." Our NGO support goes for development and it goes for democracy programme" Nuland said.


On the Indian government's moves against foreign -funded NGOs , a US  State Department spokesman said the department is not aware of any US government involvement in the cases. The Spokesman said such civil society groups around the world "are among the essential building blocks of any healthy democracy." Situation in India is different in comparison to Russia where where similar situation prevails. Russia has enacted a law last year, which requires foreign-funded NGOs that engage in loosely defined political activities to register as "foreign agent" Further, the government's action appears to have led its desired effect." NGOs are too scared to visit Koodankulam  or associate with us now," said anti-nuclear activist S P Udayakumar.

Because of all these developments, India government has tightened its noose on non-governmental organisations over the past two years, calling the NGOs engaging in activities that harm the public interest.The government stepped up its campaign recently, suspending the permission that the Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF), a network of over 700 NGOs across India,, had to receive foreign funds. Groups in the network campaign for indigenous peoples' rights over their mineral rich land against nuclear energy, human rights violations and religious fundamentalism; nearly 90 percent of the network's funding comes from overseas.In its letter to INSAF, the Home Ministry said the group's bank accounts had been  frozen and foreign fundings approval suspended because it was likely to "prejudicial affect public interest." INSAF (in URDU its meaning is justice), has seen its portion of foreign funding increase significantly during the last 15 years. Now it receives funds from many international groups including the American Jewish World Service and Global Greengrants Fund in United States and groups in Germany, Switzerland and Netherlands. The top American donors to Indian NGOs include Clombo-based Compassion International, District-based  Population Service International and the Bill and Milinda Gates

A government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said the government is not against criticism. But when  an NGO uses foreign donations to criticise Indian policies, "things get complicated and you never know what the plot is", the official said adding that NGOs should use foreign donations to do development work instead.

On the other hand, Anil Chaudhary, who heads an NGO that trains activists and is a part of INSAF network, said "the government's action is aimed at curbing our democratic right to dissent and disagree. We dared to challenge the government's new foreign donation rules in the court. We opposed nuclear energy, we campaigned against genetically modified food and we have spoil ed the sleep of our prime minister."

Indian officials say NGOs are free to use Indian money for their protests. But activists say Indian money is hard to find, with many Indians preferring to donate to charities A recent report by Bains &Co, said that about two-thirds of Indian donors surveyed said that NGOs have room to improve the impact they are making in the lives of beneficiaries. It said that a quarter of donors are holding back on increased donations until they perceive evidence that their donations are having an effect.

Meenakshi Ganguly, South- Asia Director of Human Rights Watch,  said many NGOs are afraid to speak up about the suspension of their foreign funding approval, which "is being used to intimidate organisations and activists."

Saturday 25 May 2013

DALAI LAMA HAS FAILED BUDDHA'S TEACHINGS OF COMPASSION, PEACE, AND HAPPINESS BY ENCOURAGING SELF-IMMOLATION OF TIBETANS !



Before Mahatama Gandhi became apostle of peace and non-violence in the beginning of 19th century, Gautam Buddha was harbinger of compassion, happiness and peace ten to fifteen thousands years ago. And his message spread throughout the world. Today Buddha is considered the incarnation of "god" and has followers in the very nook and corner of the globe ! But Buddha's  ardent follower and spiritual leader Dalai  Lama, who is in exile in Dharmshala of the Himachal Pradesh of India,is running Tibet government from Dharmshala by 'proxy' against the so called  'illegal occupation of Tibet by China'.. And an ugly turn of events is going on in Tibet and other parts of the planet where, Buddha's followers are indulging in 'self-immolation' to protest the Chineses 'occupation' of Tibet.

Curiously enough, Dalai Lama is keeping mum over these killings and violence in his own home land Tibet. Dalai Lama is such powerful spiritual leader that if he says stop, the self-immolation will stop. No doubt certainly the rest of the world is appalled by treatment of Tibetans by the Chinese, Dalia Lama is not realising the kind of power he has to stop such ugly happenings in the line of the teachings of Lord Buddha on peace and compassion ! Most cultures are equally appalled by the suicidal self-destruction of protesting Tibetans. I strongly feel it does not look good for Dalai Lama. It does not look good for Dalai Lama. He  talks about peace, happiness and compassion as propounded by Lord Buddha.  Million dollar question arises-why has not the Dala Lama embraced the practice of 'Lhakar' rather than refusing to condemn self-immolation ? A new form of protest has arisen among Tibetans, who feel that self-immolation is too violent. It is called 'Lahkar', which means 'White Wednesday' in Tibet. One day a week is set aside to celebrate all things Tibetans, including music, food and goods. This is a cultural rather than a religious protest and one on which it is much more difficult for the Chinese to crack down !

Recently the Dalai Lama was in Maryland for delivering Anwar Sadat Lecture of peace at the University of Maryland before over 15000 persons. According to the university website; Dalai Lama spoke about how "peace in the world must come from  inner peace within individuals and the source of that inner peace is compassion for others". Compassion for others is at the root of the controversy over self-immolation of more than 100 Tibetans, who have taken their own lives since 2009 to protest China's occupation of Tibet. Those who burn themselves to death want to see the Dalai Lama return to Tibet. A Reuter report says why , people ask, would the Dalai Lama not put a stop to these violent acts of self-destruction in his name ? Is not self-immolation the very antithesis of What Buddhism is about ? How can it be moral or ethical to condone such behaviour ? Yet Dalai Lama refuses to condemn it !

In an interview to Times Now, a major Indian news channel, Dalai Lama spoke about this practice. "If  motivation (consists) too much of anger, hatred, then it is negative, (but) if the motivation (is) more compassionate.....then such acts can also be positive. That is strictly speaking from ( a Buddhist point of view). Any action, whether violence or non-violence, is ultimately (dependent) on motivation." Recently, while travelling in Japan, the Dalai Lama responded to the Chinese repression, saying, according to the Global Post that the incidents of self immolation are a "sign of deep frustration; Chinese leaders need to take a look into these incidents more seriously and not in isolation. Ruthlessness only will not be good for all." But still the Dalai Lama did not condemn such ugly incidents.

Moreover, as the number of self-immolation cases has risen, so too, have the mass protests. The Chinese government has cracked down on the protests, arresting and torturing many who speak out. Authorities are especially upset by the self-immolation, because they have caused a lot of bad publicity. Some Chinese police now travel with fire extinguishers on their back to head off the suicides.

According to a website report of Sally Quin, an e-mail writer; Matteo Pistono, the author of " In the Shadow of Buddha" and a Buddhist scholar, who lived and travelled in Tibet for a decade, says that in Buddhism, there is a way to look at self-immolation that is non-violent. It can be seen as a great offering one is making and trying to become, literally, a lamp to lilluminate the darkness of the world." Pistono further says it is an act inspired "philosophically and emotionally, but some where in between is political activism trying to bring about changes..The differences, he says, between this kind of violence an d other kinds is that it does not result in violence against others. You are not blowing up buildings."

Pistono says that Mahatma Gandhi made popular the doctrine of non-violence or "ahimsa", a Sanskrit word meaning to do no harm. " Yet what is motivation here ? To bring the Dalai Lama back to Tibet and to bring freedom to Tibet." Pistano says the position of some exiled Tibetan leaders on self-immolation is not that the world should ask why people are killing themselves but the world should ask China to desist from repression, which could stop the cause of the burning, Comparing the unsuccessful result self-immolation of Tibetans, Pistono points out that Arab Spring was started by a Tunisian fruit seller's self-immolation. So such action can produce results. Yet the Tibetans' self-immolation have not resonated with the rest of the world..It has been very frustrating to Dalai Lama that the United States has not taken a stronger position on the China-Tibet stand-off.

In "The Ethics of Self-Immolation"- from "into the Jaws of Yama, Lord pof Death: Buddhism, Bioethics and Death"- Tibetan writer Karma Lekshe Tsomo says that " there are cases of Buddhists, who have set their bodies afire as an act of generosity, renunciation, devotion or political protests" and that the MAHAYANA texts "extol the virtues of offering one's body to the Buddhas , often by burning " Later he says, "the spirit of a person who commits suicide out of despair or depression is believed to be intensely dissatisfied and therefore likely to wander as a hungry ghost, whereas self immolation is believed to be religious act committed with strong conviction and pure motivation."

Nevertheless spiritual leader Dalai Lama is drawing huge crowd for his spiritual sermons on Buddha through out the globe but his silence on Buddha's preachings of compassion, peace and happiness, related to barbaric practice of self-immolation by Tibetans, is drawing the facts that is Dalai Lama is fighting a losing  battle against Chinese ?

Sunday 19 May 2013

Now hate campaign against Christians: In Middle East Christians are being crushed by Muslims !



Christianity and Islamic religions are at loggerhead throughout the COSMOS nations. Both Christians and Islams are not eye-to-eye, mainly after 9\11 Al Qaeda attacks against United States in 2001. And both the religions and their followers are after their blood against each other ! Main reasons appear for supremacy in the globe. Muslims are being targeted by Christians by brandishing the formers being terrorists and they are being tortured and atrocity are being perpetrated in the areas of influences throughout the world led by the leadership in the United States of America. On the other hand, Christians are facing major threat in the areas of influences of Muslim countries , mainly in the Middle East countries where unnecessary military interventions by America have created problems. Apart from that, the natural resources like 'oil' is also one of the main factors of enmity because Gulf regions, dominated by Muslims, are the major oil producers, which once upon a time USA had harnessed and wanted its control by installing military bases in the region.

Nevertheless, the animosity between two-Christians and Muslims- has been taking definite shape since long despite contradictions in their own respective religions, While Christianity is marred by differences among Protestant and Catholic, Muslims are also poles apart from the divide between Shias and Sunnis throughout the globe. In my opinion , the secularism is gradually going down to the drains for co-existence on the earth.? My two blog-  www.kksingh1.blogspot.com -essays-"Why this hate campaign against Muslims of the world  (October 16, 2012) and Muslims in the Globe vis-a-vis in India ( July 17, 2012)- have depicted in detail the atrocity on Muslims and  their  Islam religion, by calling them 'terrorists'. In the current topic, Just I want to narrate the retaliatory instances and measures against Christianity and their followers mainly throughout Middle East , Gulf, Arab and part of Europe by Islamics followers. Richard L Russel, Professor of the National Security Affairs at the Near East and South Asia Centre of for Strategic Studies has authored of books-Sharpening Strategic Intelligence, Weapons Proliferation and War in the Greater Middle East and George F. Kennan's Strategic Thoughts, and has detailed the sorry state of affairs among Christian Community in different parts of the world, mainly in the Middle East ! The Washington Post and the New york Times have also carried various reports of atrocity on Christians in the globe.

Russel has said, " Americans of all political stripes have embraced the promotion of democracy as a centrepiece of U S foreign policy. But this American democracy crusade has caused huge and largely overlooked, collateral damage since 9\11 Al Qaeda attacks against United States in 2001. The fall of the authoritarian regimes throughout the  greater Middle East has fuelled growing persecution of minority Christian communities."

More over, the Pew Research Centre has charted extensive government restrictions on non-Muslim religions in number of countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran , Tunisia, Syria, Yemen and Algeria, The centre has found high social hostilities in Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen and Palestinian territories, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Government of all these countries have imposed restrictions and social hostilities directed against Christians. Huge number of  Christians  are fleeing the region. Interestingly, in the beginning of the early twentieth century, Christians account for about 20 percent of the Middle East  population, but  now the figure is down to only five percent. In the aftermath of 9\11 and the 'Arab Springs', the Christians communities throughout the greater Middle East find themselves increasing under threat. Sadly United States administration is silent spectators of such naked drama against Christians by Muslims ! Interestingly, the sieges against Christians community have increased in the so called 'liberated' regions by the American Military in the recent years.

Reports suggest that a democracy enthusiasts would anticipate that Christian community would be thriving now that a 'democratic' Afghan government was installed by the American Military power after the ouster in 2001 of the Taliban regime. Not only that Afghan Constitution, adopted in 2004, guarantees freedom of religion. But Afghan Christians are today  deprived of worship and compelled to worship in secret lest they be accused of apostasy for converting to Christianity from Islam, a charge  punishable by death, In neighbouring Pakistan, blasphemy laws are wielded more and more aggressively against Christians, who make up only about two percent of Pakistan's 180 million people. These Christians are living under tremendous mental agonies and economic discrimination. Barbarian attitude against Christian surpassed all cannons in Pakistan in March 2011 when only Christian minister in Pakistan, who bravely criticised harsh blasphemy laws that impose the death penalty for insulting Islam, was assassinated, exposing the so called secular and liberal Pakistan's approaches.

Iraq has, since starting open warfare from 2003 against Christian community, been forcing mass exodus of Christians although even the ousted Saddam Hussain was relatively hospitable to Christians. Iraqi Christians are severely embattled by Sunni extremists linked to Al Qaeda and are discriminated against by Iraq's Shiya majority, largely in control of the government. Incidents such as 2010 suicide bombing Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad, which killed fifty  Christians and two priests, have terrified Iraq's Christian population, which has dwindled to less than 5000,000 from 8000,000 and 1.4 million in the time of Saddam.

Situation in Egypt, dominated by Muslim Brotherhood, has posed far greater threat to large number of Coptic Christian community in comparison to its authoritarian predecessors under  Hosni Mubarak . A Coptic church in Cairo was set ablaze by Islamists in 2011 and many Copts-an estimated ten percent of Egypt's 85 million people-live in fear that Egypt is on the path to being governed by Islamic laws or Sharia. Egypt police sided with an angry crowd of young Muslims in April 2013 throwing rocks and firebombs in a siege of Egypt's major Coptic Cathedral.  Egyptian Copts, who have sought work in in neighbouring Libya, fared well in the chaos that has rained in that country since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. Not only that Christians were shocked in December 2012 by bombing of a church in Misrata, Libiya. That attack has stoked fears that Libyans Islamists are growing in power and more such attacks against Christians are in store. Islamists also emerged powerful in Syria, generating fear that in the case they get power, they would persecute Syrian's Christian community. Over three hundred thousand Christians in Syrians have already fled the country and are refugees. Thus fate of Christian community in Syria is threatened by Muslims with the infiltration of uncontrollable fanatic fundamentalists groups of Muslims.

Syria's violence against Christian community have spread into neighbouring Lebnan.The Shia Islamists group Hazbollah is flexing military strength and lending support to embattled Syrian forces. Hundreds of Lebanese Christians  have fled over the years due to civil wars and more recently, in fear that Hazbollah eventfully will control the country and turn it into an Islamic state. Christians were about 52  percent in 1932 in Lebanon and during the last  national census, but now by some estimates suggest only 34 percent of the Christian population. A similar trend has long been under way in the Christian Palestinian community, caught in the middle of the conflict between Israelis on one side and secular and Islamist Palestinian on the other. The Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem has lamented that the Holy Land is fast becoming a 'spiritual Disneyland' with holy sites as theme park attraction bereft of worshipping Christians.

In the rich Arab gulf states, Christian communities formed primarily by Asian immigrate workers, quietly practise their faith but that is now happening in the regions powerhouse Saudi Arabia. Qatar for example, has allowed the construction of a catholic church in Doha for one hundred and fifty thousands Catholics. Churches in Kuwait, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates are seen as a way to lure expatriate labour to those countries. These Gulf states have survived the political torrents of the Arab Springs but should they fall to street protests, successors regimes likely would resemble Saudi Arabia today, which forbids Christian worship by the estimated eight hundred thousand Catholics in the kingdom. The Saudi government publicly laud inter-faith dialogue , but Saudi-sponsored conferences take place outside the kingdom to avoid  domestic religious-political backlashes from Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi religious establishment.

The tightening of nooses around Christian community in the Arab Middle East is running parallel to sieges laid against Christians by non-Arab Muslims elsewhere in the region. The Assyrian Christian population in Iran has plummeted from about one hundred thousand in the mid-1970s to about fifteen thousand today. More than 300 Christians have been arrested by Islamic regime since mid-2010. Churches operate in fear. And Christian converts safe persecution. In the meantime, Turkey is praised in the west as a democratic success story in the Muslim world and the government in Ankara often characterised in the media as 'mildly Islamic'. But the steady erosion of free speech rights in Turkey, as evinced by the increasing imprisonment of journalists and the government's aggressive purging of the secular Turkish military, raises doubts about future prospects for Turkish political and religious tolerance. Attacks against Christians living in a country of 71 million Muslims. A Catholic bishop was stabbed to death in southern Turkey in 2010 and several years earlier a Catholic priests was murdered in a Turkish town along the Black Sea.

All these hate campaign against Christians Muslims against each other have been initially started by United States of America and the then Soviet Russia now Russia. Initially both these big powers used Muslims and later threw them in waste paper baskets in the globe nations, calling them (Muslims) terrorists. Both USA and Russia used Osama bin Laden as well 'Taliban 'for their enlightened self-interest of hegemony in the world.After 9\11, the USA administration started vigorous campaign against Muslims in the name of eliminating terrorists, the so called Muslims. In between Muslims, to great extend, supported 'jehadi movement' under bin Laden and created tremor in the world solely to save their prestige and honour g;globally . Now the Muslim-dominated Middle East and Arab world have also started retaliations and creating reign of terror against Christians  in their areas of dominance.

Will such action and reactions not destroy the secular fabrics in the democratic set-ups in the globe ? Good sense must prevail both sides, specially America to diplomatically lessen the tension in the world specially among  Christians and Muslims communities for everlasting peace globally by ending hate campaign !

Friday 10 May 2013

3,09,000 lakh children die every day in India on the first day of their birth !



It is sad and tragic ! We cannot save our children and mothers. In India, babies die on the first day of their birth more and more than in many under-developed  or developed countries on the globe. There are appalling condition of the Indian health care exists in India. Over three lakh children in India do not see the  light of the day and do not survive the first 24 hours. Thus India tops in children mortality rate in the world , thanks to our health care system, envisaged by the successive union and state governments !

Sadly India is far ahead of Nigeria, Pakistan, China on this score. According to a report " State of world mothers", released by the "Save  The Children" ;; India accounts for 29 percent of the deaths of the children on the first day they are born, globally. Each and every year 3,09,000 children die in India on the first day of their birth. Nearly, 4,20,000 babies die on the first day of their birth across South Asia. It indicates almost one in every one minute. It is all because chronic malnutrition among expectant mothers.One million children who die each year on the day they are born, almost 40 percent of these are from India, Pakistan and Bangaladesh.

In India  one out of every 170 mothers face risk of their life  while in Nepal the risk is one in 190. In Nigeria, 89,700 deaths take place every day  followed by Pakistan-59,800, China-50,600 Congo-48,400, Tanzania-17000. Loss of children in India is more rampant in rural areas. Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh top the list of children death on the first day of their birth.Expectant mothers' delivery is not done properly. Delivery of expectant mothers are done by untrained rural dais instead of trained midwives or nurses. It is only because there is no network of health system in rural region of India. However there is some solace in Tamil Nadu where health care system are under the hand of well trained nurses-hence Tamil Nadu has no such deaths because of safe delivery.

By and large the entire India, specially rural areas, are poverty -ridden where  persons do not have two-square of meals. Over 78 percent of population do not have access to proper food, drinking water and health care system, Such scarcity results into malnutrition. In many cases , it has been found that if the children or mothers are escaped deaths during pregnancy or delivery time, they subsequently die of many diseases or many of them never remain or lead life of abnormal human beings because of diseases,

Sunday 5 May 2013

INDIA IS PASSING THROUGH CRISIS AFTER CRISIS, Thanks to Manmohan Singh's silence !


What are happenings in India ? Everyday, one listens a new thing, worse from the earlier one ! Apart from deteriorating relations with our neighbouring countries like China,Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, the country is  sick of present political dis pension at home fronts. Scams, corruptions, failure of governance etc have become order of the day. Still the people of India are tolerating all these non-senses. It seems that we have entered  into a decadent society where nobody appears concerned about the ills in the country. Such deteriorating situation has camouflaged to camouflet the entire system in India by political classes of all hues ! Poverty is growing fast. Education and health have gone down to the drains despite huge expenditures since independence. Simmering discords in eastern states like Mizoram, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura etc are posing threat to the unity and integrity of the country. Southern states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Puduchery, Goa have altogether different ways in running the affairs. In Tamil Nadu, atrocity on dalits is rampantly on the higher sides ! With regards to central ,north and western states in India like Madhya Pradesh, Chhatishgarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh , Gujarat,  are working on altogether on different tunes as if all these above mentioned states do not appear parts of the Indian Union. Bihar and West Bengal are on different wave-length where politics is taking driver's seat instead of development.

India has one of  the weakest leadership as Manmohan Singh in the last nine years. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seldom speaks on the burning issues affecting adversely the country. An indecisive Prime Minister quitely watch uncertainty at almost every level.His ruling United Progressive (UPA-two)  led by Congress has become silent spectators of all these naked drama. Opposition political classes, specially the National Democatic Alliance (NDA), led by Hindu front BJP  are fishing in troubled waters. Instead of showing off and embracing the ruling UPA combine for messing up the situation, these opposition political classes appear more interested in grabbing power by any means. Fruitful discussions in Parliament never happen like earlier occasions. The current parliament has notoriety of minimum working days in the history of parliamentary democracy in India  because of walk-outs and boycott of the session by the opposition leaders. in the last four years. Of all countrymen are watching the melodrama with keen interest but helplessly.

Almost, all organs of the government-legislature, executive and judiciary  seem to have dithered away and crippled. These organs have no coordination among each other. Such signal is giving eminent threat of anarchy and chaos in India. Strangely, if any thing serious happens, only thereafter, a solution is found in jet-set speed on pressure from various quarters. There are many cancers in all the organs of the government.

Recent killing of the Indian RAW personnel in Pakistan jail Saranjit Singh is recent example of dithering approaches of the Manmohan Singh government. Except "jaan ka badal jaan", an Pakistani national Sanaullah Ranjay, languishing in Jammu  jail , was injured by irate inmates and Ranjay is in critical condition in the hospital. Is it not be called anarchy in India ? Eminent journalist M J Akbar has rightly said in the Times of India, " India has become a joke in Maldives , a foe in Sri Lanka ,, a doubt in Bangladesh, a shrug in Nepal, a snigger in Pakistan and a taunt in China. Every neighbour has tested India and discovered that this government walks on its knees, India has never seemed as helplessly weak as now Foreign Minister Salman Khursid  thinks China's incursions into Despang is acne which will disappear-perhaps after an application of a multinational creams."

Few ministerial colleagues of Manmohan Singh and their close relatives  are involved  in neck-deep corruption as well as misdemeanour. Every day there is one story of corruption. The latest one is involving the Railway Minister Pawan Bansal. Bansal's nephew and son have been raided by the CBI for giving favour in prize and moneyed postings in the Railway Board. Specific evidences have been found against Pawan Bansal for propping up such scandal in the railways ! It all started in UPA-2 of Manmohan Singh with TWO-G scams by the then telecommunication minister Raja, gobbeling up over Rs 1.75 lakh crore. Thereafter, Commonwealth game scam was surfaced. Subsequently AUDITOR and Comptroller General also examined various flagship programmes i like MANREGA and detected huge bungling of funds And finally selling off coal blocks, worth Rs 1.85 lakh crore was detected.  All these cases are being investigated by the CBI and being monitored by the Supreme Court . Union government's interferences in the affairs of the CBI has also come to light. Union Law minister  Ashawani Kumar reportedly poked his nose over the status report of the CBI to the Supreme Court. Kumar was caught napping by the court but politicking is going to bail him out Huge uproar were witnessed in the country over all these issues but our Prime Minister is maintaining golden silence over the issue.

Thanks to the outside support of the left parties to UPA-ONE government, the first term of Manmohan Singh government made some remarkable achievements. People's angers are growing. Next Lok Sabha elections is due early next year. People will have the last laugh. But the way , development is going on in the NDA over prime ministerial nominee of much-maligned Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and NDA is on the verge of split with JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar opposing Modi's candidature, Citizens of India have been left on tenterhook without any alternative !

One quotable quote , the writer Chetan Bhagat has written in The Times of India about "the so called empowering of slaves" and has compared the CBI as slave of successive union governments in India. Bhagat sarcastically writes, " Once upon a time. a king committed a grave mistake. He stole the state's money and destroyed national wealth. Angry citizens clamoured for justice. The King agreed. He appointed his pet slave to investigate the matter. The pet slave felt the King had done nothing wrong. The case was closed. Life went back to normal." This is what is happening in the Indian system, likening CBI as 'pet slave'!.

Our executive branch is said to be one of the corrupts organs in the world. Nothing moves without bribe in the government offices. Not only the senior officials succumb to the political pressure for tailored-made opinion and decision  of course on money considerations in connivance with their political masters.

The Judiciary in India has different story. Although , the Supreme court of India has largely escaped systematic criticism, beneath the surface one finds an institution that many court -watchers believe has strayed from the mission and may even unintentionally be undermining the rest of judicial system. There are many examples of intellectual and corruptions by the judges of the  high courts and the Supreme courts. Least said is better about the worse scenario of corruption in lower judicial organs at the district and sub-divisional levels.The  high courts and the Supreme Court disproportionately spends thousands of hours hearing the cases of wealthier litigants situated in and around Delhi and from more affluent states. non the other hands, dozen of vital pending Constitution Benches matters have waiting to be heard for decades. For instance, for many years the court has failed to hear a pending Constitution Bench case to examine the definition of 'industry' in the key piece of labour legislation, creating uncertainty for employers and millions of workers. There is no question that the courts continue to be the last resort of the poor in their quest for justice. But courts are not as forthcoming or responsive as they used to be in defending the causes of the poor.

Like much of the rest of the judiciary, it is overwhelmingly Hindu upper caste (roughly 60 percent of the Supreme Court judges today; but the average representation of Hindu upper caste tends to be higher-closer to 70 percent) with currently no member  of the scheduled caste, only two women and very little representation of the Other Backward Classes (hardly ten percent).

Are we Indian are impotent in this decadent society ?