Poverty In India

    It is a tragedy that, despite the process and programmes of economic growth, about fifty percent population of India cannot afford to have food twice a day. It was believed that the process which was initiated in 1951 would result in profits. But it proved to be a misconception. The emphasis was given to growth with social justice in fifth and sixth plans and the national programme for Minimum Needs was given priority in these two plans.

   Poverty can be expressed broadly either in absolute or in relative terms. The former is based on some physical norms and standard of living and the latter is based on the distribution of income or consumption expenditure among different sections of society. The planning commission of India redefined, in the sixth five year plan, the poverty on the ground of an average daily food of 2400 calories per person in village areas and 2100 calories per person in towns or cities.

  There have been commissions formed from time to time by the government to measure the poverty. According to V.M.DANDEKAR and Rath commission, the minimum desirable standard for village people is at Rs 180 per capita per annum and for urban people it is at Rs 270, at 1960-1961 prices.

Many reasons can be assigned to poverty in India. These are: a) tremendous growth of population, b) inequality in opportunities in professional education and training, c) unemployment and underemployment to a large extent, d) great inequalities in ownership of possessing valuables like land, industry, buildings, etc.

  The Government has endeavored to eliminate poverty under five year plans. The emphasis has been given at raid economic development besides continuous progress towards equality and social justice. The famous slogan” GARIBI HATAO” was adopted in the fourth plan. Towards this direction, the government has introduced the programmes like national rural development programme (NERP) integrated rural development programme  (IRDP) and rural landless employment guarantee programme (RLEGP). These constitute the main components of the anti- poverty drive in the seventh plan.

  The Government has introduced eight components under Minimum Needs programme- elementary, Education, Rural Health, Rural Electrification, Rural Water supply, Rural Roads, Rural Housing, environmental Improvement of Urban Slums and Nutrition. The Integrated Rural Energy programme (IREP) focused on supplying energy to rural areas to meet their day to day needs like cooking, heating, lighting and demand of power for economic development. This is expected to generate employment, increase productivity and enhance income.

Population Problem In India

  India being the second most populated country in the world, about 18 percent of the total population lives in India. Up to 1921, the growth of population was not as high as it is today. It was in fact negligible. The average annual growth rate of population during the 30 years period from 1891 to 1921 was 0.19 percent and 2.11 percent between 1981-1991. During the period of 1911 to 1921, the birthrate and death rate had decreased. There are various social and economic factor responsible for keeping high birthrate.

  According to the 2011 census, the population of India is 121, 01, 93422; the current population of India 2013 will be 1,239.26 millions. The density of population is 411.89 per square kilometer and sex ratio is 940 females per 1000 males. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar are the most densely populated states and Sikkim to be least one.

   It is the problem of the increasing number of mouths to be fed that has alarmed people in all parts of the world. In India, it has created other problems too, such as unemployment, poverty, starvation, illiteracy, shelter etc. a large portion of population is fed on agriculture. The considerable proportion is unproductive and is a burden to the government.  The birth rate per 100 people per year is 22.22 births/1000 populations. The growth of population not only brings despair to the community, to the individual but also neutralizes all development efforts.

Our Duties As Citizens (My Idea Of An Ideal Citizen)

  When we talk about duties as citizens naturally the question arises as to who is called a citizen of India. The answer is provided by our constitution thus- A person can be a citizen of India, by Birth, by Descent, by Registration, by Naturalization or by Incorporation of Territory.

   Then comes the point of our duties for the nation or citizens. The very fundamental duties of a citizen are drawn in the Article 51A, part IVA’ of the Constitution of India. It is stipulated thus: It shall be the duty of every citizen of India- (1) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the national flag and the national anthem;( 2 ) to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom; (3 ) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;( 4 )to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so; (5) to promote harmony and the spirit  of brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women; (6) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;( 7) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures; (8 ) to develop the scientific temper, humanism, of the spirit of inquiry and reform;( 9) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence and  (10) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity.

  It is quite understandable that there can never be rights unless these are duties. As it is aptly observed that rights and duties are the two sides of the same coin. One cannot expect rights only. He has to perform some duties when he desires to have right over others. For example a student needs silent atmosphere when he is preparing for exams. It is his right to have peaceful atmosphere. It is others’ duty to provide the same to him and vice verse.

  Of course, there is no provision in the constitution for direct enforcement of any of these duties nor is there any section to prevent their violation. The above duties nor is there any section to prevent their violation. The above duties are the rules for guidance of citizens in their in their public conduct and the sentiments in them are such as cannot be challenged.

Importance And Future Of English Language

    English occupies an important place in the education system and in it the life of our country. It is the language that continues to dominate the national scene. The Union Government took upon itself the promotion and the development of Hindi as the medium of expression since 1947. Later on, however, it was realised that Hindi could not replace English by certain line as it was not understood by the people in the south of the country. There was considerable opposition to Hindi from the south. As a result the parliament passed a resolution in 1963 declaring English as the associate-official language of India till an indefinite period.

   English is the language of international politics, trades, commerce and industry. It has been described as a window to the rapid progress of technology and scientific knowledge that is constantly taking place in the world.English has been described as pipeline for the stream of knowledge in all branches of learning. It, as a library language also is a key to the storehouse of knowledge. Most of this knowledge is not yet available in Indian language. It is in this context that the role of English as a library language becomes Important in India.

   English is the link language in India. It is the only language, which is understood by the educated people all over the country. Speaking of the role of English as a link language, Jawaharlal Nehru once said,” If you push out English, does Hindi fully take its place? I hope it will. But I wish to avoid the danger of one unifying factor fully taking its place. In that event there will be a gap. The creation of any such gap must be avoided at all costs. It is this that leads me to the conclusion that English is likely to have an important place in the foreseeable future.”

   “Love Hindi, by all means, but why hates English? Why hate your career, future happiness? let them- let the politicians- first create a climate where the learning of Hindi or Marathi, to the exclusion of English, is profitable practically.”

   Those who are purely practical will no doubt take care right from beginning to learn and teach their children communication through English. Those who are idealistic may study in their native language but not ignore English at the advanced level. To be sure students reading in any medium (any Indian language) can learn to speak and write English with some efforts. But learn English you must- for your own good.

knowledge is power

    For many students reeling under the pressure of acute competition, examinations have become a matter of life and death. In such a world, where competition has to be faced in every corner of life, a student should not become sad. In this situation, he has to reveal his courage, confidence and responsibility towards his career and nation.

    Stephen covey defines responsibility in his inimitable style. He says” look at the word responsibility, It is response and ability”, i.e. the ability to choose your response. Highly proactive people recognize responsibility. They do not blame circumstances, conditions, fate, God and so on. The mature mind says try me instead of why me?

    Isaac Newton observed “To every action, there is an equal reaction. “Good begets good, Evil begets evil. This only means that if we learn, make good use of our mind, knowledge, skill, talents etc, it will bring only positive results in our own lives. Knowledge is not derived from birth. It is obtained by learning and hard work. The best example of this is the Japanese success in building their industry out of ashes of the Second World War. What gave them tremendous success was their willingness to learn, to borrow and assimilate ideas having a clear focus on quality. There is nothing free in this world; one has to pay the price! To become individually great and make the nation great, the people have to grow. Growth will come out of only learning, knowledge, wisdom and the ability to use it!

    It is said by two psychologists Mr.Arthur and Linda Shaw in their book, “Intelligence can be Taught “that the proportion of intelligent quotient is attached with word power and it is increase by study. Francis Bacon rightly said,” Knowledge Is Power.”

    Management expert Peter Drucker says “Today knowledge is power.It controls access to opportunity and advancement. That is why scientists, bureaucrats and scholars are at the peak of apex. They largely determine the policies in such crucial areas as defense and economics. Socrates, the Greek philosopher argued that knowledge is the sole good and ignorance is the single evil.