Atal Bihari Vajpayee Biography

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a highly respected politician who served as the 10th Prime Minister of India. This biography of Atal Bihari Vajpayee provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline.

Quick Facts

Birthday: December 25, 1924

Nationality: Indian

Famous: Quotes By Atal Bihari Vajpayee Prime Ministers

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Died At Age: 93

Born in: Gwalior

Famous as: Former Prime Minister of India

Height: 1.68 m

political ideology: Bharatiya Janata Party (1980–present)

father: Krishna Bihari Vajpayee

mother: Krishna Devi

siblings: Prem

religion: Hinduism

Died on: August 16, 2018

place of death: New Delhi

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a highly respected veteran politician who had served as the Prime Minister of India in three non-consecutive terms. He was a member of the Indian Parliament for almost five decades; in fact he was the only parliamentarian who had been elected from four different states at different times, namely, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi. He made his foray into politics during the pre-independence era when he took part in the Quit India Movement which led to his arrest and imprisonment. A true patriot, he was one of the founding members of the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh, an Indian nationalist party. A multi-faceted personality, he was a very skilled poet with several published poems. Also well known is his love for his native language Hindi—he was the first person to deliver a speech in Hindi at the U.N. General assembly. He was very famous for his oratory skills and held several prestigious positions in Indian politics before being elected the Prime minister. His first stint as the Prime Minister of India lasted for just 13 days. He was again sworn in for the second time after a couple of years. This time too, his government lasted for just over a year. His third stint as the Prime Minister was his most successful one and he served a full term of five years in this position

Childhood & Early Life

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  Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born into a middle-class family in Gwalior. His father was Krishna Bihari Vajpayee, a school teacher and poet, and his mother was Krishna Devi.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  He attended the Saraswati Shishu Mandir and later went to Victoria College from where he graduated with distinction in Hindi, English and Sanskrit.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  He enrolled at DAV College, Kanpur to complete his post graduation and earned his M.A. in Political science.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  He was a patriot at heart and participated in India’s struggle for freedom even as a student and edited several nationalist Hindi newspapers.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

Political Career

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  He became associated with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), a right-wing political party founded by Syama Prasad Mookerjee in 1951. He became a loyal follower of Mookerjee and supported him during his fast-unto-death in Kashmir in 1954.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from Balrampur (U.P.) in 1957. He proved himself to be an excellent orator and gave powerful speeches.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  He was made the national president of the Jana Sangh in 1968 after the death of Deendayal Upadhyaya. Over the next few years he worked tirelessly with Nanaji Deshmukh, Balraj Madhok and Lal Krishna Advani to make the Jana Sangh a prominent presence in Indian politics.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  In 1977, the BJS was united with the Bharatiya Lok Dal and the Socialist Party to form the Janata Party. After the victory of the Janata Party in the general elections, Vajpayee became the Minister of External Affairs in Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s government.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  The Janata Party was dissolved following Morarji Desai’s resignation as Prime Minister in 1979. Vajpayee, in collaboration with Lal Krishna Advani and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat formed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980 and became the party’s first president.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  After the 1984 elections, when BJP was reduced to two seats, Vajpayee worked tirelessly to build the party and in the next parliamentary elections in 1989 BJP won 88 seats.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  By 1991, BJP had emerged as the principal opposition party and the party won 120 seats in 1991 parliamentary elections.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  He became the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament in 1993 and in November 1995 at a BJP conference in Mumbai, he was declared as the Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

Career as the Prime Minister

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  The BJP emerged the single largest party in Lok Sabha in the 1996 general elections. Vajpayee was sworn in as the Prime Minister in May 1996. However, he resigned after 13 days since BJP could not obtain a majority.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  He was again sworn in as the Prime Minister in 1998 after BJP emerged as the single largest party and formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with other political parties. This government lasted for a little over a year when fresh elections were held.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  It was during his tenure that India conducted underground nuclear tests in Pokhran in May 1998, just a month after the government came into power. These tests were regarded a national milestone.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  The Kargil War between India and Pakistan took place between May and July 1999. By the end of the war, the Indian Army and Air force had recaptured the areas infiltrated by the Pakistani militants. The Kargil victory cemented the reputation of Vajpayee as a strong and able leader of the nation.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  The BJP-led NDA again emerged as the largest political alliance in the 1999 general elections in the wake of the Kargil War victory. Vajpayee was made the Prime Minister for the third time in October 1999.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  He introduced many economic and infrastructural reforms like strengthening of private sectors, encouraging private research and development, bringing about privatization of certain government owned corporations, etc. His major projects were National Highway Development Project and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  U.S. President Bill Clinton paid a state visit to India in March 2000. Clinton’s visit to India was viewed as very significant in improving the foreign trade and economic relations between the two nations.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  Vajpayee’s privatization campaigns were criticized by trade unions and government employees as excessive privatization was not in their favour.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  In 2001, he invited the Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to India with a view to improve Indo-Pak relations. However, this attempt could not achieve much success for India.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  He launched the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in 2001, with the aim of universalization of elementary education.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  The Parliament House in New Delhi was attacked in December 2001 by Pakistan trained terrorists. Investigations pointed to a conspiracy hatched in Pakistan. For a long time the threat of a full-fledged war between the two nations loomed. The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA) was enacted in the aftermath of the attack.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  The Vajpayee government implemented several economic reforms during 2002-03 which resulted in a record growth rate of 6-7% in the GDP. The international image of India also improving due to the rapid developments that took place in the country during this perios.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  Vajpayee resigned as Prime Minister in 2004 after Congress emerged as the single largest party in the general elections.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  He announced his retirement from active politics in 2005 and didn’t contest the 2009 parliamentary elections.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

Major Works

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  Nuclear tests conducted in 1998 during his reign unambiguously established India as a nuclear state and the country was able to develop a minimum credible deterrent to ward off threats to its security.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  The National Highways Develop Project (NHDP) and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) were two projects that were very close to his heart. NHDP involves connecting the four major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. PMGSY is a nationwide plan to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  He is highly respected for the economic reforms and privatization policies he brought about during his tenure as the Prime Minister of India. His diplomacy and leadership while handling political issues during the Kargil War and terrorist attacks further strengthened his image as a wise and capable leader of India.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

Awards & Achievements

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  He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India in 1992 for his distinguished contribution in public affairs.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  He was honored with Best Parliamentarian Award in 1994.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  In 2014, he was honoured with Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the Republic of India.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

Personal Life & Legacy

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  Vajpayee remained a bachelor all his life. He had adopted Namita Bhattacharya, the daughter of BN Kaul and Rajkumari Kaul, and was very close to his friends and relatives.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  He had a deep love for Hindi and wrote several poems in the language.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  He had a long history of illness. He underwent knee replacement surgery in 2001. A stroke in the year 2009 impaired his speech. In the last few years of his life, he was largely confined to a wheelchair and failed to recognise people. He suffered from dementia and diabetes. He had not attended any public event in the last few years of his life.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  On June 11, 2018, he was admitted to hospital due to critical health condition. He passed away on August 16, 2018, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, after a prolonged illness.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

Trivia

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  Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh called him the Bhishma Pitamah of Indian Politics.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh and Mohd. Rafi were his favourite singers.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  


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  This towering political personality was the only parliamentarian to have been elected from four different states at different times namely UP, MP, Gujarat and Delhi.

  
  

 

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Story-Elephant and the tailor

One evening the tailor was in a mischievous mood. When the elephant greeted him and stretched its trunk to collect the banana, he playfully pricked the elephant with a needle.

Click Here and Read The Story

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Urbanisation and its Hazards

Introduction

Increase in the volume of total population in urban areas is called Urbanization. Rising population in urban areas creates rise in the demand of basic amenities such as food, health, transport and shelter in such areas. This contributes to the development of land for housing, economic support institutions, commercialization, transport and so on.

Problems Due to Urbanization

Given below are the problems that we face due to Urbanization:

• Overcrowding

Overcrowding means over population in the urban areas due to migration. Cities where the population is rising every single day are getting overcrowded. This is the current situation in all the big cities in India. Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi are some of the examples of overcrowded cities.

• Housing

When the population increases, the demand for housing also increases. The factors that are mainly responsible for the lack of housing facilities are lack of financial resources, poverty and unemployment.

• Unemployment

The chief cause of unemployment is over population in the urban areas due to migration of people from rural locations to these areas. The growth in economic opportunities fails to keep pace with growth in urban population.

• Slum Areas

The unplanned growth in the urban areas is growing the spread of slums. Rise in slum settlements in India is a striking feature. Urbanization, poverty and overpopulation, has increased the growth of slums as high rate of land and property in urban areas is beyond the reach of rural migrants and urban poor.

• Transport

Large use of vehicles for transport has increased traffic congestion making the movement slow and difficult.

• Urban Crime

With the rise in urban population there is rise in poverty and unemployment. Due to poverty there is rise in crimes like theft, pick pocketing, cheating and murders.

• Air Pollution

Urbanization is a major cause of air pollution and global warming. Industries release greenhouse gases causing rise in the temperature of the earth and creating air pollution. Larger use of vehicles release gases by fuel combustion. Large amount of garbage from the landfills is burnt causing air pollution.

• Water

Water is the most important element of nature to sustain life. Due to overcrowding in the cities the supply of water is falling short compared to the demand.

• Trash Disposal

As the number of citizens grow in urban areas the problem of trash disposal rises. The large quantity of garbage in the cities increases severe health issues. In most of the areas in cities there is no garbage disposal facility. When the landfills get full innumerable poisons leak around its surroundings, inviting diseases, like malaria, diarrhoea, typhoid, etc. Air travel also carries bacteria from one person to another spreading disease even more.

Ways to Keep Urbanization in Check

Here are some ways to keep Urbanization in check:

• Employment

The chief reason of Urbanization is the migration of people from rural areas to urban areas in search of employment opportunities. Developing agricultural and rural industries will provide employment opportunities in rural areas.

• Infrastructural Development in Rural Areas

Construction of roads, buildings, hospitals, parks, educational centres, etc. is vital for rural development. This will help rural people get better education and health care locally and also provide more job opportunities. Government should develop transport networks and related infrastructure.

• Overall Development

Industrial and private sector development in rural areas is necessary. The focus of government should be nationwide Urbanization. Planning and investment in Urbanization of rural areas is essential.

• Population Control

Over population is also a chief cause for Urbanization. Educating people about family planning and creating awareness among the rural communities is crucial.

• Global Warming

One of the major problems of Urbanization rapidly rising is global warming. Use of renewable energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, hydropower should be encouraged. Investments in energy efficient industries and technologies will lead to clean economy. Reforestation instead of deforestation should be promoted.

Conclusion

Urbanization is on a rapid increase in our country. While it is good that our country is progressing and that more and more people want to lead a modern life, get better education and good employment opportunities, Urbanization can have negative repercussions as well. It is thus essential to control Urbanization.

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Short Essay on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

The term FDI is an abbreviation for “Foreign Direct Investment” and refers to the direct investment that any foreign company makes in another country, by the act of buying that company or by expanding some existing business in the country.

The ways of making foreign investment include, setting up an associate of the company in the foreign country, acquiring shares of the company or via a merger etc. Unlike, the indirect investments where the institutions abroad invest in the equities listed on a nation’s stock exchange, direct investment allows entities a higher degree of control over the company wherein it invests. A larger amount of FDI is a characteristic of an open economy which has good prospects of growth.

From the view point of the accounts of a country, FDI also refers to the net incoming investment (incoming-outgoing investment) in acquisition of minimum management interest of 10% or more of voting stock in the economy where the investment is being done.

Every country has its own set of FDI rules that decide the way he foreign country can conduct business. A foreign company interested in investing in an Indian company can take two routes-automatic and government route. In case of automatics route, no prior approval from Government of India or RBI is required to invest in sectors/ activities that are defined in consolidated FDI policy. Activities, other than those covered in FDI policy require government approval which involves decision by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, Department of Economic Affairs, and Ministry of Finance.

The key benefit of FDI is the foreign capital and funds that it brings to the country where the investment is made. Besides, it enables the exchange of skill sets, information and expertise, job opportunities and also leads to an increase in the productivity levels. Many Asian progressive economies like China, South Korea have experienced booms in their economies due to higher proportion of foreign direct investment in their economies. From economic perspective, the FDI can be defined as the measure of foreign ownership of domestic productive assets including factories, organizations, land etc.

With internet having changed the rules of businesses across the world, FDI no longer demands huge capital and physical investment. Advent of small internet start-ups which require lesser investment and economies becoming knowledge oriented that lay emphasis on human capital instead of manual labor has altered the FDI operations largely. FDI has already captured the advanced economies of the developed nations like U.S. and is currently moving towards the developing nations where the FDI flows are growing better.

FDI is being looked upon as a way to internationalize and have global presence for many industries and companies. This also provides an excellent tool to the government to check the local production and also trade to be carried on freely without any barriers. With FDI coming, setting up of locally based sales offices ensures that companies are able to approach the customer directly

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All about bitcoins

“Bitcoin is the beginning of something great: a currency without a government, something necessary and imperative.”

How do people use bitcoins?

It is an electronic or digital currency that works on a peer-to-peer basis. This means that it is decentralised and has no central authority controlling it. Like currency notes, it can be sent from one person to another, but without a central bank or the government attempting to track it. The system depends on cryptography to control the creation of the currency. While no one authority controls the generation of the coins or tracks them, the system itself is designed in such a way that the network maintains a foolproof system of the record of every transaction as well as tracking issuance of the currency.

The beauty of this cryptocurrency is that if you receive a bitcoin from another, you can be as sure of the payment as you would on receiving physical currency notes, with the same anonymity ascribed to it. No one need know if your neighbour spent 2 bitcoins this morning to buy gold, but the transaction is recorded for posterity.

This anonymity is lacking in other forms of digital payment such as online banking or e-wallets.

Who can you send bitcoins to?

You can send bitcoins digitally to anyone who has a bitcoin address anywhere in the globe. One person could have multiple addresses for different purposes – personal, business and the like.

Receivers can get to spend them within minutes of receiving the coins. Once given away, like currency, there is no getting them back, unless the receiver decides to give them to you. A bitcoin is not printed currency but is a non-repudiable record of every transaction that it has been through. All this is part of a huge ledger called the blockchain.

Where do you get bitcoins?

Bitcoins are available in bitcoin exchanges. You could also purchase bitcoins from other users. A bitcoin exchange traded fund could be another source in the near future. You can become a bitcoin miner by investing in software and hardware. More the power of the hardware that helps with encryption technology, higher the probability of your earning bitcoins.

Unocoin is a Bengaluru-based company that allows users to buy, sell, store or use bitcoins. While bitcoin usage is certainly not mainstream, there are said to be more than 500 merchants who accept bitcoins for payment in India.

How is a new bitcoin generated?

A bitcoin is generated when an entity, i.e. a person or a business, uses software power to solve a mathematical puzzle that makes the blockchain more secure. The difficulty level of solving the problem is high enough to ensure that it takes time to do it.

Beware of tall promises

Even if you become a bitcoin miner, there is no guarantee that you would be able to mine a certain number of bitcoins. Any scheme related to bitcoins promising a fixed return is likely a tall promise best avoided.

Can you own 50 million bitcoins in, say, 2 years from now?

Unlike currency notes that can be printed by a central bank for an unlimited value, there are only so many bitcoins that can be produced. The blockchain system is designed such that at its maximum only 21 million bitcoins can be produced and in circulation. The number cannot exceed this cap. As of February, about 15.2 million bitcoins have been mined (or produced). That is about 75% of the total cap already in circulation.

Current estimates are that the last bitcoin that will ever be mined will come into existence in 2040.

What is the value of one bitcoin today?

One bitcoin is worth roughly about $1,200 now. An early investor in Snapchat has been quoted on the Web as saying that by 2030, the value could be as high as $500,000. One of the reasons that could prompt you to buy a bitcoin today is not so much to use it for payment online but as an investment.

Urban legend has it that someone who was doing a thesis on cryptocurrency bought 5,000 bitcoins for $27 in 2009. Do the math for the value today!

And unlike traditional currency that is inflationary in nature, the bitcoin is a deflationary currency. In other words, if there are only so many bitcoins in use, and the demand for those rises, the value of a bitcoin would, logically, rise.

How does the payment system work?

When you send a bitcoin to a receiver, the transaction is included in the blockchain and broadcast to the network. The blockchain ensures that the same bitcoin is not spent twice by the same user. A computer network validates the transaction using algorithms so that the transaction becomes unalterable. Once validated, the transaction is added to others to create a block of data for the ledger.

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Positives and negatives of cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is a decentralized digital currency transferred directly between users and a public ledger confirms all transactions. The digital payment system used for the transaction employ cryptographic algorithm and functions to ensure anonymity of the users, security of the transactions, and integrity of the payment systems. Instead of trust, the principle of the authenticity of transactions is cryptographic proof. Though seen as a disruption for traditional banking and financial institutions, it has gained significant traction over the last decade. Bitcoin, created in 2009, was the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Since then, several companies have created numerous cryptocurrencies. At present, 969 cryptocurrencies exist across the globe, with a total market capitalization of 116 billion USD. While still not understood by most people, the governments and banks have become aware of its pros and cons.

Positives of cryptocurrency:

Cryptocurrencies are gaining popularity because of following reasons.

Cost-effective

The transaction cost is low, approximately 1% of the transaction amount. In addition, cryptocurrency eliminates the third-party clearinghouses, thus, cut down the cost and time delay. All the transaction over cryptocurrency platforms, whether domestic or international, are equal. Also, they constitute single valuation across the globe.

An alternative to fiat currency

Governments have strict regulation over the banking systems, monetary and fiscal policies, national currencies, and international money transfers. In contrast to this, cryptocurrencies offer the users a reliable means of money exchange outside the direct control of national or private banking systems.

Privacy and account protection

Governments have the authority to seize a bank account following a fraud or a suspicious activity. But it isn’t possible while using cryptocurrency transaction system, as it conceals the identity, information, and details of the parties to the transaction. Thus, cryptocurrency provides immunity to a citizen against freezing or seizing a bank account.

Low restrictions

To open an account for international usage, a bank validates the address, income, and identification of a person. Also, different banks can have different criteria for providing same facilities. But cryptocurrency users don’t require any disclosure or proof of income, address, or an identity. In addition, one can join it for free. This way, cryptocurrency lowers numerous barriers, that a person encounters in a traditional banking system.

Accessible and secure

An individual can send and receive a cryptocurrency from any part of the world irrespective of traditional barriers such as national borders and banking regulations. In addition, no individual can manipulate it because it is cryptographically secure and doesn’t contain users’ personal information.

Negatives of cryptocurrency:

Consequences of cryptocurrency usage have arisen the tension among various governments and regulators.

Web crimes

The companies, which backs cryptocurrency encounters a common problem of hacking. Recently, one such company, Tether, lost bitcoins worth millions of US dollars. These instances show that cryptocurrency lacks security factors compared to fiat money.

Online black market

Drug trade of dark markets, nowadays, uses cryptocurrency for illegal supplies. The United States consider bitcoins as virtual assets. In such countries, the law enforcement agencies find it difficult to put a stop to the online drug trade or utilization of bitcoins earned from these trades. Improper regulation of cryptocurrency enhances online illegal trade.

Economy instability

Cryptocurrencies exchange takes place over the Internet and hence, is outside the government financial institutions. Due to this, they have the unique potential of challenging the existing system of currency and payments.

Inexperience

Economies across the world have been using fiat currency for ages. Today, every nation knows about the causes of slowdown, recession, stagnation, stagflation, and growth. Because, in past, one or more nation has experienced it and they can predict the capability of an economy according to the current situation. But, cryptocurrencies are still wrangling at the experimental stage. Such inexperience induces difficulty for the government to make provisions for cryptocurrency regulation.

Low usage

The lack of awareness among common people has resulted in the limited number of transactions using cryptocurrency. Owing to its unpredictable valuation, a small number of businesses use them. At the same time, where people easily adapt the physical form of money, the acceptance of cryptocurrency among masses is a major problem.

Many western countries treat cryptocurrency as property and impose capital gains tax on it.  In addition, governments should encourage the development of supervision ecosystem that assists in tracking illegal activities. To banish the limitations of cryptocurrency, one realistic approach is using it along with fiat money. The fiat currency can make use in paying for basic goods and services, where cryptocurrency can find the use for business purposes. And the further success of the cryptocurrencies depends upon the devised regulatory frameworks.

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Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan Essay

Introduction

Accessible India Campaign or Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan is an initiative program run by the Indian government to equally serve the differently-able people of the country. This program is launched to make disabled-friendly buildings and other public places. It was launched on 3^rd December in 2015 in New Delhi. This program is dedicated to the disabled community, that’s why it was launched especially on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Targets of this Campaign

This campaign targets to provide easy access for disabled people in the public places. As per the census of 2011, around 21 M Indians (2.21% of total population) are suffering from disability. Approximately fifty percent of the government buildings and twenty five percent of the government public transport vehicles are targeted to make them disabled friendly all over India till the end of 2016 or mid of 2017. Further developments with bigger targets regarding this programme will be continued in the following years. By 2018, almost overall environment will become more comprehensive for the people with disabilities. It has been estimated that by July 2016, international airports and railway stations in the country (coming under A1, A and B categories) will be completely ready for the use of disabled. It will offer them equal opportunities like other normal public.

There is plan to develop online websites and mobile apps, so that common public can upload their views regarding accessibility of any government building. Visually impaired disabled people will have access to special set-top boxes which will make their TV watching more convenient and easy. It has also been planned by next 5 years to train almost 200 disabled persons to speak in sign languages (a system of communication which uses visual gestures and signs to teach deaf people) through the government channels on TV. It targets private companies also to fulfill the ‘accessibility index’ standard for the differently-abled.

Conclusion

Private companies from different sectors (like textiles, manufacturing, etc) will be rated (one to ten) according to their investment in providing training and quality of facilities to differently able employees for their career growth. It is a big step taken by the government to bring disabled people also to the industry which has dual benefits like career growth of disabled and economic growth of country.

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National Integration Essay

India is a country of diversity in people’s races, religions, languages, castes, etc however unity is also seen here many times under the influence of common territory, history and continuous fight for the freedom from British rule. Britishers followed many years the policy of Divide and Rule in India in order to continue their ruling power over India. However the unity of Indian people from different races, religions and castes makes possible to run away the Britishers. However, after independence disintegration took place which divided India into Bharat and Pakistan.

Indian is a land of various religious communities like Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, Jains, Buddhists and Parses. National integration is possible here only when each community live peacefully together, appreciate other community, love people of other community and respect culture and tradition of others. People from each community should observe their fairs, festivals and other great days peacefully. Each community should help each other and share the celebration of religious festivals. Any religious community should not do anything bad which is banned or prohibited in other religious community.

People of different religions speak different languages like Hindi, English, Urdu, Oriya, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, etc. There should be equality among people of all religions and same facility for students of all castes. National integration in India is an immediate need in the modern time to bring equality among people of all races and equal growth and development of all communities for the ultimate development of the country. Indian government has founded the Council of National Integration in the hope that people living here would co-operate in fulfilling the purpose of its all programmes.

National integration is one combining group of all the people living of the nation to make a single identity. National integration is a particular sentiment which binds people together into one common bond of nation without noticing the religion, caste, background or language. We should identify ourselves as people of India not as from particular religion or caste. India is a big country having vast population of various creed and castes. It is a heritage rich country however we cannot say it a country having unity of people. It is possible through the huge awareness of the youths of the country. As a youth, we are the future of our country so we should fully understand our responsibility towards our nation and do all the required activities needed for the national integration.

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Reservation System in India: Concept, Arguments and Conclusions

Defining Reservation:
Reservation in common terms refers to an act of reserving, keeping back or withholding.
Reservation in the Indian Context:
Reservation in Indian law is a form of affirmative action whereby a percentage of seats are reserved in the public sector units, union and state civil services, union and state government departments and in all public and private educational institutions, except in the religious/ linguistic minority edu­cational institutions, for the socially and educationally backward communities and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes who are inadequately represented in these services and institutions. The reserva­tion policy is also extended for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for representation in the Parliament of India.
The Rationale behind the Concept:
The underlying theory for the provision of reservation by the state is the under-representation of the identifiable groups as a legacy of the Indian caste system. After India gained independence, the Constitution of India listed some erstwhile groups as Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).
The framers of the Constitution believed that, due to the caste system, SCs and the STs were historically oppressed and denied respect and equal opportunity in Indian society and were thus under-represented in nation-building activities.
The Constitution laid down 15% and 7.5% of vacan­cies to government aided educational institutes and for jobs in the government/public sector, as reserved quota for the SC and ST candidates respectively for a period of five years, after which the situation was to be reviewed.
The Present Status:
After introducing the provision for reservation once, it got related to vote bank politics and the following governments and the Indian Parliament routinely extended this period, without any free and fair revisions. Later, reservations were introduced for other sections as well.

The Supreme Court ruling that reservations cannot exceed 50% (which it judged would violate equal access guaranteed by the Constitution) has put a cap on reservations. The central government of India reserves 27% of higher education, and individual states may legislate further reservations. Reservation in most states is at 50%, but certain Indian states like Rajasthan have proposed a 68% reservation that includes a 14% reservation for forward castes in services and education.
However, there are states laws that exceed this 50% limit and these are under litigation in the Supreme Court. For example, the caste-based reservation fraction stands at 69% and is applicable to about 87% of the population in the state of Tamil Nadu.
Arguments Offered By Supporters of Reservation:
a. Reservations are a political necessity in India
b. Although Reservation schemes do undermine the quality of education but still Affirmative Action has helped many if not everyone from under-privileged and/or under-represented communities to grow and occupy top positions in the world’s leading industries.
c. Although Reservation schemes do undermine the quality, they are needed to provide social justice to the most marginalized and underprivileged which is their human right.
d. Meritocracy is meaningless without equality. First all people must be brought to the same level, whether it elevates a section or decelerates another, regardless of merit.
e. Reservations have only slowed down the process of “Forward becoming richer and backward becom­ing poorer”.
Arguments Offered by Anti-Reservationists:
a. Intellectuals and Philanthropists agree that reservations will divide India Reservation is similar to internal partition because in addition to being a form of ethnic discrimination, it also builds walls against inter-caste and inter-faith marriages. Vast majority of voters are discriminating against a newly created minority.
b. Reservations are the biggest enemy of meritocracy. By offering reservation through relaxed entry criteria, we are fuelling inflation of moderate credentials as opposed to the promotion of merit based education system, which is the foundation of many progressive countries. Meritocracy should not be polluted by injecting relaxation of entry barriers, rather should be encouraged by offering financial aids to the underprivileged although deserving candidates only. Today the NTs and IIMs hold a high esteem in the global scenario due to their conservation of merit.

c. Caste Based Reservation only perpetuates the notion of caste in society, rather than weakening it as a factor of social consideration, as envisaged by the constitution. Reservation is a tool to meet narrow political ends.
d. Affirmative Action can be provided at a more comprehensive level taking into account various factors of exclusion such as caste, economic conditions, gender, kind of schooling received etc. A comprehensive scheme of Affirmative Action would be more beneficial than reservations in addressing concerns of social justice.
e. Allocating quotas is a form of discrimination which is contrary to the right to equality.
f. There is great confusion in the “pro-reservation camp”. While they clamour for 33% reservation for women in parliament and state legislatures [and do not accept caste quotas as part of women’s quotas], they do not want special consideration for women in quotas in higher education. This is implicit acceptance of the fact that there are multiple factors of exclusion and discrimination at work in society.
g. The policy of reservation has never been subject to a widespread social or political audit. Before extending reservation to more groups, the entire policy needs to be properly examined, and its ben­efits over a span of nearly 60 years have to be gauged.
h. Poor people from “forward castes” do not have any social or economical advantage over rich people from backward caste.
i. Combination of factors like Wealth, Income, and Occupation etc will help to identify real needy people. Most often, only the economically sound people make use of most of the seats reserved for “back­ward” castes, thus making the aim a total failure.
j. There is fear that reservation once introduced will never be withdrawn even if there is a proof for upliftment of backward classes, due to political issues. For example, in Tamil Nadu, forward castes were able to secure only 3% of total seats (and 9% in Open Competition) in professional institutions at Undergraduate level as against their population percentage of 13%. This is a clear case of reverse discrimination.
k. Many cite the Mandal Commission report while supporting the idea of reservations. According to the Mandal commission, 52% of the Indians belong to OBC category, while according to National Sample Survey 1999-2000, this figure is only 36% (32% excluding Muslim OBCs).
l. This policy of the government has already caused increase in brain drain and may aggravate further. Under graduates and graduates will start moving to foreign universities for higher education.
Committees and Commissions on the Issue of Reservation:
a. 1882 – Hunter Commission was appointed. Mahatma Jyotirao Phule made a demand of free and compulsory education for all along with proportionate reservation/representation in government jobs.
b. 1953-Kalelkar Commission was established to assess the situation of the socially and educationally backward class. The report was accepted as far as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were concerned. The recommendations for OBC’s were rejected.
c. 1979-Mandal Commission was established to assess the situation of the socially and educationally backward. The commission didn’t have exact figures for a sub-caste, known as the Other Backward Class (OBC), and used the 1930 census data, further classifying 1,257 communities as backward, to estimate the OBC population at 52%.ln 1980, the commission submitted a report, and recommended changes to the existing quotas, increasing them from 22% to 49.5%.ln 1990, the Mandal commission recommendations were implemented in Government Jobs by Vishwanath Pratap Singh. Student Organisations launched nationwide agitations. Rajiv Goswami, a Delhi university student attempted self-immolation. Many students followed suit.
d. 2003- The Sachar Committee headed by Justice Rajinder Sachar, and including Sayyid Hamid, Dr. T.K. Ooman, M.A. Basith, Dr.Akhtar Majeed, Dr.Abu Saleh Shariff and Dr.Rakesh Basant was appointed for preparation of a report on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community of India. Dr.Syed Zafar Mahmood was the civil servant appointed by the PM as Officer on Special Duty to the Committee. The committee submitted its report in the year 2006.
Implementation of Sachar Committee Recommendations: Marching Towards ‘Inclusive Growth’:
Welfare of Minorities, specially of the underprivileged section of them, has been put high on the agenda of the UPA Government ever since it adopted ‘inclusive growth’ as its guiding principle of governance. Otherwise too, in every meaningful democracy, it’s the duty of the state, and as a corollary, responsibility of the majority community to ensure the welfare of minorities so that all sections of the society feel proud to be part of the democratic setup and thus contribute their best to the development of the nation.
Specially in our historical context: where all communities and sections of people had marched shoulder to shoulder and laid down their lives in the War of Independence, the concept of ‘Inclusive Growth’ becomes sine qua non for the roadmap of devel­opment and progress.
It was in this context that the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, had appointed in March 2005 a High Level Committee under the Chairmanship of Justice Rajindar Sachar to prepare a report on social, economic and educational status of the Muslim Community of India.
This study was necessary because till then there was no authentic information on the social, economic and educational backwardness, of this community, thereby hampering proper formulation and implementation of specific policies, interventions and programmes to address the issues relating to its socio-economic backwardness.
This 7-member High Level Committee, popularly known as Sachar Committee, gave its report in November 2006 – and it clearly found that the Muslim community was really “seriously lagging behind in terms of most of the human development indicators.”
The Government immediately sensed the gravity of the problem and started working on the follow-up action in right earnest. Of the 76 recommendations of the Committee, 72 were accepted. Ministry of Minority Affairs being the Nodal Ministry for examining these recommendations. And in less than a year, i.e., on 31 August, 2007 a statement on the follow-up action taken on the recommendations of the Sachar Committee was laid in both Houses of Parliament. The progress of implementation is being reviewed regularly.
Ever since the Government has been taking regular steps towards implementation of major recommendations of the Sachar Committee. Education being the most powerful means of socio­economic transformation, a multi-pronged strategy to address the educational backwardness of the Muslim community, as brought out by the Sachar Committee, has been adopted.
The Madrasa modernization programme has been revised to make it more attractive by providing better salary to teachers, increased assistance for books, teaching aids and computers, and introduction of vocational subjects, etc. This scheme, now known as Quality Improvement in Madrasa Education, has been launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
A new centrally sponsored scheme of financial assistance for Infrastructure Development of Privately Managed Elementary/Secondary/Senior Secondary schools set up for minorities has been launched. National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has prepared text books for all classes in the light of the National Curriculum Framework-2005.
Thirteen universities have been provided Rs.40 lakh each for starting centers for studying social exclusion and inclusive policy for minorities and scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Under the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya scheme (KGBV), criteria of educational backward blocks has been revised with effect from 1st April 2008 to cover blocks with less than 30% rural female literacy and in urban areas with less than national average of female literacy 53.67 % (Census 2001).
Universalization of access to quality education at secondary stage (SUCCESS) has been approved. Setting up of new Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSSs) is being incorporated in the revised schemes by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Provision of more girls’ hostels in colleges and universities in minority concentration districts/blocks is proposed under the existing University Grants Commission scheme of the Ministry of HRD.
Three scholarship schemes for minority communities viz., Pre-Matric, Post-Matric and Merit- cum-Means were launched and 6.89 lakh scholarships were awarded to students belonging to minority communities in 2008-09. The corpus of Maulana Azad Education Foundation, which stood at Rs. 100 crores, was doubled to Rs. 200 crores in December, 2006.
The corpus was increased by Rs. 50 crores in 2007-08 and by Rs. 60 crore in 2008-09. A budget provision of Rs.115 crore has been made in 2009-10. A revised Coaching and Allied scheme was launched and 5522 candidates belonging to minority communities were provided assistance in 2008-09.
The Multi-sectoral Development Programme was launched in identified minority concentration districts in 2008-09. Plans of 47 Minority Concentration Districts (MCDs) in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Manipur, Bihar, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Orissa were approved and Rs.270.85 crores were released in 2008-09. In the current Financial Year.
Plans of more than a dozen more MCDs have been approved till date. An inter-ministerial Task Force constituted to devise an appropriate strategy and action plan for developing 338 identified towns, having substantial minority population, rapidly in a holistic manner submitted its report on 8th November, 2007. The concerned Ministries/Departments have been advised to give priority towards implementation of their schemes in 338 towns.
Economic factor being an important tool in the upliftment of a community, all public sector banks have been directed to open more branches in districts having a substantial minority population. In 2007-08, 523 branches were opened in such districts. In 2008-09, 524 new branches were opened.
Reserve Bank of India revised its Master Circular on 5th July, 2007 on priority sector lending for improving credit facilities to minority communities. Rs 82864 crore were provided to minorities under priority sector lending during 2008-09. District Consultative Committees (DCCs) of lead banks have been directed to regularly monitor disposal and rejection of loan applications from minorities. The Government has accorded ‘in principle’ approval for restructuring of National.
Minorities Development and Finance Corporation:
A National Data Bank, to compile data on the various socio-economic and basic amenities parameters for socio-religious communities, has been set up in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. An autonomous Assessment & Monitoring Authority (AMA), to analyse data collected for taking appropriate and corrective policy decisions, has been set up in the Planning Commission.
A training module has been developed by the Indian Institute of Public Administration, for sensitization of government officials. The module has been sent to the Central/ State Training Institutes for implementation. Lai Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) has prepared a module for sensitization of organized civil services and it has been incorporated in their training programmes.
Under Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT), additional central assistance of Rs 1602.20 crore has been sanctioned for 69 towns having substantial minority population, out of which Rs.659.37 crore was released in 2008-09.
A High Level Committee, set up to review the Delimitation Act, has considered the concerns expressed in the Sachar Committee report and submitted its report. Guidelines on Communal Harmony have been issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Dissemination of information regarding health and family welfare schemes is being undertaken in regional languages in minority concentration areas.
State Governments and UTs have been advised by Department of Personnel & Training for posting of Muslim police personnel in thanas and Muslim health personnel and teachers in Muslim concentration areas. State Governments have been advised by Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Urban Development, to improve representation of minorities in local bodies.
The recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Wakfs have been received. These have been processed as per approved modalities. An expert group constituted to study and recommend the structure and functions of an Equal Opportunity Commission submitted its report on 13th March, 2008.
This has been processed, along with the report of the expert group on diversity index, as per the approved modalities. To meet the ever growing need for ameliorating the condition of minorities, and Muslim community in particular, the Annual Plan allocation for the Ministry of Minority Affair is has been increased substantially to Rs 1,740 crore for the year 2009-10.
Conclusion:
The issue of reservation has remained a cause of disagreement between the reserved and the non- reserved sections of the society. While the unreserved segments, keep on opposing the provision, the neediest sections from within the reserved segments are hardly aware about how to get benefited from the provision or even whether there are such provisions.
On the contrary, the creamy layer among the same segment is enjoying special privileges in the name of reservation and political factions are supporting them for vote banks. Reservation is no doubt good, as far as it is a method of appropriate positive discrimination for the benefit of the downtrodden and economically backward Sections o, the society but when it tends to harm the society and ensures privileges for some at the cost of others for narrow political ends, as it is in the present form, it should be done away with, as soon possible.

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Essay on Harvest Festivals of India

India is an agricultural nation and harvesting season is a reason to rejoice for Indians. There are many different harvest festivals in India and they vary from one region to another. Here is the list of all major harvest festivals of India

Makar Sankranti – This festival is celebrated in January and it has many different names. It is also known as Pongal in South, Lohri in North and it has many other names. A lot of people fly kites during this festival to celebrate the harvest season.

Baisakhi – Next popular Harvest Festival in India is Baisakhi and it is mostly celebrated in Punjab and neighboring This festival is celebrated to express gratitude to god and it also has religious significance to Sikhs.

Rongali Bihu – Rongali Bihu is mostly celebrated in Assam and this festival is celebrated thrice every year but each of them has a different name. This is also remarked as Assamese New Year and the celebrations last for 7 days.

Hareli – Hareli is the celebration of the harvest season in Chhattisgarh. This festival is celebrated in Monsoon season and all the farmers worship their farming tools during the festival.

Onam – Onam is yet another popular festival in India and it is celebrated between August and September. This festival signifies the harvest of rice and the celebrations last about 10 days.

Nuakhai – Do you know which the harvest festival of Orissa is? Well, it is Nuakhai and this festival is also celebrated between August and September during the harvest season.

Kut – In Manipur, people celebrate Kut festival and this festival is celebrated in November. The celebrations of Kut includes traditional dance and other such events.

Tokhu Emong – Last harvest festival in India is Tokhu Emong and this is celebrated in Meghalaya, West Bengal,and It is certainly one of the popular festivals in northeast India.

These are all the harvest festivals celebrated in India every year.

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Essay on Sariska National Park

Situated in Alwar District of Rajasthan, Sariska National Park is one of the most important tiger reserves in India. It is surrounded by the marvelous Aravali Mountains giving the most exquisite and breathtaking view of Nature and wildlife to its viewers. Though it is a tiger reserve which falls under the Project Tiger, this national park is home to a large number of species from big mammals to tiny reptiles. Having dense Fauna comes with even denser Fauna with rare species of trees and shrubs. An example of its fauna is Bengal Tiger, Leopard, Golden Jackal, Hyenas, Boars, Antelope and deer, Grey Partridge bird, Indian tree pie, sandgrouse, great Indian owl and much more. This shows that Sariska National park is home to a great number of species of flora and fauna. The Sariska National Park is also temporary home to several hibernating birds which flew in from distant and neighboring countries for its warmer weather conditions.

History of Sariska National Park

• The Sariska National Park is a witness to great history which dates back to Hindu mythology to tiger reservation until this day. It is said that Sariska National Park was the forest where Pandava brothers sheltered during their exile during the great Mahabharata.


• The forest shielded the five brothers until they reached Viratnagar in order to disguise as servants of the King who ruled there. The story is told by the generations of five boulders who witnessed the entire fiasco. There is also a temple made in memory of the five Pandavas and tourist from all over the world come here to visit the land which was home to the Mahabharata heroes.


• The holy forest of Sariska even gave shelter to the legendary sage Bhartrihari who was the writer if Nitishastra, an epic Sanskrit manuscript.

Present day Sariska National Park

• The Sariska National Park is spread in a region of 866 sq kilometers today which started from barely a hundred square kilometer. The Aravali mountain range that surrounds this national park is also host to some exotic wildlife which is under the process of adding to the Sariska Land premises. After a bill passed by Rajasthan State Government, the land mining has been completely abolished in and around the Sariska National Park.


• The Sariska National Park has witnessed a rather depressing black period from 2005 to 2017 when all its tigers vanished totally. It is only a few months ago when the first tiger in about a decade made its comeback.

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