Narmada Bachao Andolan !!

Narmada Bachao Andolan is the most powerful mass movement started in 1985 against the construction of huge dam on the Narmada River. The proposed Sardar Sarovar Dam will displace more than 250000 people. The big fight is over the resettlement of these people.. The movement soon took the shape of an NGO that brought together the tribal, the farmers, the environmental activists and the human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar Dam.

Initially, the focus of the movement was on saving the trees and the forest that  would be submerged under the water, if the dam would be constructed. Recently, it  included a focus on the issue of rehabilitation of the poor people living around the area and this to be facilitated by the government

The government and the authorities have their own interest  in the project. This multi-core project will generate considerable revenue for the government. The project is expected to produce  1450 mega watts of electricity as well as supply pure drinking water to millions of people.

The protests do not seem to have achieved much. The construction of the some of these dams such as the Tawa Dam and the Bargi Dam are already complete.. Those protesting against further construction say that these construction will adversely affect the lives of human as well as the biodiversity  as  acres of agricultural as well as forests land will be taken away. Also it will displace thousands of people from their livelihood.  These activists have been demanding that the government look at alternative means to meet the water and energy needs that are also ecologically beneficial or at least, do not harm the ecology.

Led by Medha Parker, NBA has now been turned into international protest gaining support from NGO’s all around the globe. There is large scale protest in media , hunger strikes, mass protest marches , rallies etc . The NBA movement has been pressurizing the World Bank to withdraw its loan from the project.  Famous celebrity like Amir Khan made open support to the cause of NBA. The intensity of the movement has in fact thrown light on other similar issues as well.

In 1984, the supreme Court gave orders to stop the dam construction. 

Naxalist : Internal Threat to India

The Naxalite movement erupted violently in 1967. It started as a spark in a small village, Naxalbari and within a few years spread to distant parts of India. The United Front government openly supported the movements of the landless who began seizure of land and also forcible harvesting. Many students from urban areas also joined the peasants in their struggle. With the fall of the second United Front government the police action against the peasant movements intensified and the first phase of Naxalbari movement fizzled out. Nasalism arose from certain basic factors – social injustice, economic inequality and the failure of the system to redress the grievances of the suffering people.

The Naxalbari uprising lasted just 52 days. The failure of the movement in Naxalbari was due to lack of strong party organization, powerful mass base, ignorance of military affairs and a formal attitude towards land reforms.

 But it left a far reaching impact on many other parts of India specially Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, UP and MP. 

 The Naxalite violence was at a peak from about mid-1970 to mid-1971. Terrorist activities were on the increase.

Naxalite leaders like Charu Mazumdar, influenced people to create hundreds of Naxalbaris throughout India. and called for revolutionary struggle .  A large no. of West Bengal youth responded to his call.  He called upon the youth to join the poor and landless peasants and go to villages in large numbers instead of wasting their energy in passing exams.

There were raids on government offices damaging property and brutal attacks on policemen. In the atmosphere of violence anti-social elements infiltrated into the Naxalite ranks which had a bad effect on the organizations’ discipline and ideology. The anti-social elements used the Naxalite umbrella to settle their own scores.

The government took joint operations by the army and the police to tackle the violence. Suspected Naxalites were arrested, illicit weapons, ammunition and explosives were seized resulting in drop in violent activities

Internal differences were building up within the organization which had a disintegrating effect. Also the Government pressure on Naxalites was building up and by 1972 almost all top Naxalite leaders were arrested.  Charu’s death marked the end of a phase in the Naxalite movement.  Emergency declared in 1975 led to banning of almost all Naxalite groups in the country

New opportunities for Naxalites again grew in 1977 with the defeat of Mrs Indira Gandhi . 4 Naxalite groups demanded the release of all political workers and withdrawal of cases against them .  The then Home Minister  agreed to release the Naxalite prisoners. 

The movement again touched a peak in 1991 and today it is in a fragmented state. There are about 40 odd groups operating in different parts of the country.

The origin and growth of Naxalite movement is due to a no. of complex economic, social and political factors – extreme poverty, economic inequalities and exploitation , unemployment , income inequalities . The factors which gave rise to Naxalism in the country still persist even today. The Movement has its ups and down but it continues to have a large support base because of the intellectual appeal of  its ideology. The movement has developed an inherent strength .

Its a Crime : Corruption !

In Current Era, Corruption is a global phenomenon. Corruption has progressively increased and is now widespread in our society .It is spreading in our country and becoming the main obstacle in the growth of the country like other developing countries of the world. It is so much present in politics as well that sometimes its as if people really believed itz natural or inborn feature of India.

All the Government departments are corrupt but worst were those of customs, revenue collection, Public Works and agencies in charge of licenses and permits.

There are many causes behind spread of corruption

1.     Deterioration of the ethical qualities and moral values of the people working as govt. administrators.

2.     Low salaries of govt. officials in such highly inflationary economy compel them to shift towards corruption.

3.     Complex laws and procedures alienate common people to ask for help from govt.

Strong youth Movement can eradicate corruption from the country. It is possible today’s Generation is willing to change this system and soon corruption is gone out from India. Every person should have his own responsibility to avoid corruption. We all need to stop talking about corruption and blaming each other we should start our self, take the initiative and be brave our self. Government should include a chapter in text book related to corruption and its desire consequences. Greedy business people should stop bribing the political elites. Don’t be either at receiving or at the bribing end.

Tragedy of Farmers Suicide in India

The Weather in India these days has become erratic at best and rainfall does not happen at the right time. Moderate rainfall, which is needed so much for proper agriculture is now becoming a thing of the past and things have reached the extreme. India is facing worst water crisis in a decade. Farmer’s suicides in India has been a serious public policy concern.

Reason behind their suicides:-

1.     Because of drought or unexpected rains the crop sown are wasted and there is less in yield of grains which is a huge loss.

2.     Unable to repay the loan of the creditors and increase in debt amount can also be a reason for suicide.

3.      Financial instability is core reason for suicide.

Current Government has taken an initiated 5 steps to  solve the problem of farmers.

1.        70 % cut in Monsanto’s Royalties

2.     Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana

3.     Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojna

4.     Relief to farmers in input subsidy

5.     Soil Health Card

Five worst affected states in decade are Maharashtra, Andra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh , Karnataka, Chhattisgarh .These year suicide chances are quite less as there is sufficient rainfall in monsoon  season. 

Women empowerment is the way to country’s development

Inequality between men and women and even discrimination against women have been and old age issues all over the world. Women quest for equality with man is a universal phenomenon.

Women demand equal powers with men in terms of education, employment Marriage, Politician etc. Women want to have themselves the same strategies of change which men have over the centuries such as equal pay for equal work etc. These gave birth in formation of many women association and launch a movement.

In the 70s and 80s women were not allowed to leave their house and work or hang out with their friends but From late 90s and 20s Women were given importance even they started working and leave their life. Nowadays more and more females are studying in higher schools and colleges and also go abroad for higher studies. Women are increasing their position in society.

Ways of empowering Women:- 

1.     Proper education to women as she will take care the family and manage house.

2.     Make sure women working in office should have a safe working environment.

3.     Women have right to raise their voice if she found any gender discrimination.

4.       There are various part-time, full-time job opportunities for women, many of them take private coaching class or tuition.

Importance of women empowerment:-

1.     Women are equally compatible or even they are ahead then men in many field .

2.     Nowadays, women are allowed to study and are well qualified which help them to show their talent

3.     Women is educated she can educate family, society and even they contribute in economic growth of country by working.

Government should take every possible action to remove all the gender gaps & inequalities.

With government Civil Society is equally responsible to take care of eliminating and practices the discrimination, eve teasing and other women empowerment obstacles. 

Inflation -A See Saw

Almost everyone thinks inflation is evil, but it isn't necessarily so. Inflation affects different people in different ways. It also depends on whether inflation is anticipated or unanticipated. If the inflation rate corresponds to what the majority of people are expecting (anticipated inflation), then we can compensate and the cost isn't high. For example, banks can vary their interest rates and workers can negotiate contracts that include automatic wage hikes as the price level goes up.

 People like to complain about prices going up, but they often ignore the fact that wages should be rising as well. The question shouldn't be whether inflation is rising, but whether it's rising at a quicker pace than your wages.

Inflation is a sign that an economy is growing. In some situations, little inflation (or even deflation) can be just as bad as high inflation. The lack of inflation may be an indication that the economy is weakening. As you can see, it's not so easy to label inflation as either good or bad - it depends on the overall economy as well as your personal situation.n economics, inflation is a sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. When the price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation reflects a reduction in the purchasing power per unit of money – a loss of real value in the medium of exchange and unit of account within the economy.A chief measure of price inflation is the inflation rate, the annualized percentage change in a general price index, usually the consumer price index, over time.The opposite of inflation is deflation.

Inflation has affected many economies in various positive and negative ways. Negative effects of inflation include an increase in the opportunity cost of holding money, uncertainty over future inflation which may discourage investment and savings, and if inflation were rapid enough, shortages of goods as consumers begin hoarding out of concern that prices will increase in the future. Positive effects include reducing the real burden of public and private debt, keeping nominal interest rates above zero so that central banks can adjust interest rates to stabilize the economy, and reducing unemployment due to nominal wage rigidity.

Economists generally believe that high rates of inflation and hyperinflation are caused by an excessive growth of the money supply.However, money supply growth does not necessarily cause inflation. Some economists maintain that under the conditions of a liquidity trap, large monetary injections are like "pushing on a string". Views on which factors determine low to moderate rates of inflation are more varied. Low or moderate inflation may be attributed to fluctuations in real demand for goods and services, or changes in available supplies such as during scarcities.However, the consensus view is that a long sustained period of inflation is caused by money supply growing faster than the rate of economic growth.

Today, most economists favor a low and steady rate of inflation.Low (as opposed to zero or negative) inflation reduces the severity of economic recessions by enabling the labor market to adjust more quickly in a downturn, and reduces the risk that a liquidity trap prevents monetary policy from stabilizing the economy.The task of keeping the rate of inflation low and stable is usually given to monetary authorities. Generally, these monetary authorities are the central banks that control monetary policy through the setting of interest rates, through open market operations, and through the setting of banking reserve requirements.

Illiteracy - Curse for country

India has a state like Kerala which has a striking literacy rate of 93.91% alone, while on the other hand we also have states with the lowest rate of literacy like Bihar with 68.8% rate. Education is not only necessary for employment and learning but also is required to create a sensitive and growth-seeking younger generation. Our generation needs to be empowered with education, to understand our necessity towards our nation and what our nation is providing us, further know their rights as the citizens of the country. Illiteracy in our country needs special attention and needs to be tackled as one of the biggest social issues of the nation, as this is the biggest reasons why the our present generation is misguided and involved in crime issues and other misleading process as well as terror activities.

The government needs to enforce free education and strict rules to follow it in every family in India, poor or not poor in every part of the country. An educated population will eventually lead to the country having a stronger workforce and will have lead in every possible ways not only in education but also in social, political and economic issues too as against the world. Education is sure to change the poverty and unemployment scenario in the country. At the core level, the people need to be made aware of the need of education to have enriched lives.

Our Indian government has to set up thousands of primary school all around the country making literacy and compulsory obligation of every citizen, if found no education that person must be penalized as per strict rules. For this the primary education has to be made free of tuition fees, all books and papers and instruments including computer to be supplied free so that each house each citizen are able to be educated.