INDIAN GDP

India has come a long way from 1991, when the Prime Minister admitted while presenting the annual Budget that the crisis in the economy was both ‘acute’ and ‘deep’. The financial crisis back then forced the government to loosen stiff regulations hampering economic growth and initiating reforms in various sectors.

These reforms helped kick-start a nearly dormant economy. The gross domestic product (GDP) jumped to 9% in 2005-06, up from 5.57% in 1990-91. The projected growth for 2006-07 is 9.2%, making it the second year running into a 9% growth.

The rising GDP has turned India into one of the fastest growing economies in the world. But to really get into the big league, it must grow at 10% in the coming years. The question now being asked is: Is this growth possible? Financial pundits assert that this can happen, provided certain policies and processes are put into place urgently.

Inclusive Growth:

India’s growth has benefited its prospering middle class. Engaged largely in the fast growing services sector, they are both contributing to India’s success and also enjoying its benefits.

But this growth story has an ominous side as it has left behind a large majority of Indians. According to a recent survey, one out of every five poor people in the world is an Indian. This skewed economic ratio must be addressed, as any growth that is not inclusive can never sustain itself on a long-term basis.

In this context, one of the biggest sufferers is rural India as it lacks the basic social and infrastructure services in healthcare, roads, education and drinking water.

Agriculture:

Sluggish development in rural India is aggravated by the near-stagnant growth of agriculture. Although services and manufacturing industries are driving economic growth, 60 % of India’s labor force is still dependent on agriculture. Agriculture also remains the single largest contributor to the country’s GDP. If a sector so critical to the economy grows at an insignificant 2% where other sectors like services and manufacturing clock over 10%, then it is clear that this sector requires a major overhaul.

Currently, agriculture is too heavily dependent on monsoons. India’s GDP tumbles every time there is an erratic monsoon. India also has one of the highest wastages in the world, touching nearly 90% in some cases.

In addition, external factors like global climactic changes also play havoc with agricultural productivity. To quote an example, every 1 degree rise in temperature above normal in the second half of December causes a wheat yield loss of approximately 315 kg per hectare. There are also other culprits like soil degradation.

The proposed entry of foreign biggies like Wal-Mart, along with Indian hotshots like Reliance, in organized retail is expected to benefit agriculture. They could explore ways to enhance productivity by reducing inefficiencies & wastage during transportation. And as these retail outlets integrate their supply chains, farmers are expected to get a better price for their products.

Apart from allowing FDI in retail, drastic initiatives in areas such as land reforms, irrigation, knowledge enhancement and effective credit are required to jump-start the sagging agricultural growth.

Infrastructure:

Many international business rating agencies and businessmen highlight weak infrastructure as the key impediment for India's growth. According to estimates, poor infrastructure adds 3-6 percent to the Indian manufacturer’s cost of doing business.

The growth that has occurred to date has happened in spite of poor infrastructure. But for this momentum to continue, India needs better highways, ports, railways, airports and most of all, urban infrastructure that meets world-class standards.

Public-private partnership can come together to develop state-of-the-art infrastructure that will push sectors like manufacturing, agriculture and retail to reach their true potential.

Education:

India’s population potential is tremendous. But paradoxically, in a country of 100 billion, lack of skilled manpower may yet prove to be the biggest hurdle in attaining double-digit growth. The reason: Educated people do not necessarily translate into employable people. Estimates indicate that only one out of every 4 engineers passing out in India is employable. And this shortage of skilled manpower is pushing salaries northwards, gradually eating away at India’s cost-advantage.

The government has come up with some innovative schemes to bridge the gap. It plans to launch ‘Finishing Schools’ for graduate engineers. Working in collaboration with IITs and other reputed colleges, these ‘finishing schools’ will admit students graduating from engineering colleges and attempt to enhance their conceptual knowledge.

This is a welcome step, but the problem requires a long-term solution. The availability of highly skilled manpower at a reasonable cost gave India a distinctive advantage. People are the biggest asset of any country. India must invest in its people, or there will be a serious repercussion on its long-term growth prospects.

State Role:

BBC World had recently commissioned an international poll involving approximately 10,000 people in 10 countries across the globe. The respondents were questioned on who they believed would be the world’s top economies by 2026. A quarter of the respondents answered that India would emerge as the third biggest economy by 2026, after China and U.S.A. The poll is an indication of the general optimism the world has about India’s growth story. The potential is there, but a lot of work is needed to realize it.

An emerging economy requires strict fiscal discipline where there is no room for short-run subsidies and government handouts. Still, indulgences like serious under-pricing of water and electricity, subsidized fuel and an aversion to tax the wealthiest farmers remains a chronic problem. And this shows up adversely in the fiscal deficit, as India has the highest fiscal deficit amongst major emerging markets. Worse, India is probably the only emerging market to have witnessed a relatively smaller correction in its deficit over the past five years.

Because India is a democracy, good economic sense sometimes get sacrificed for vote-bank-driven politics. But if India is to reach double-digit growth, policy decisions must be made on sound economic ground and not for political gains.

The elephant has now learned to dance – but can it rock ‘n’ roll? The answer is blowing in the wind.

The Day

The Day

 “Non cooperation movement”, yes I still remember, I was preparing for my 10^th class exams, when the short circuit chaos distracted me, I went out to see what the matter was. GO INSIDE, my father shouts at me, it’s a Fidayeen attack, all my nerves squeezed and I glued to the place where I was preparing.

It was 2002, ninth day of the cremation of my paternal grand mother, and my place was stuffed with mourners, as tomorrow is the 10^th day, as per Sikh rites, we observe ten days in the loving memory of deceased, so for that we had brought Guru Granth Sahib at our place, so every body was busy listening to last rites in the loving memory of my loving grand mother.

I was busy in preparing for the final exams of my matriculation as for the whole year; I haven’t touched my books, not only me but nobody in my home. As this year was the worst of my entire life, whole year went in confusion.

With due respect to all my subjects, I was very weak in history, so despite of it being my last paper I went on its intensive preparation, ‘Khilafat and Non cooperation movement’ was the topic I was running through, I was disturbed and confused with the disturbances of the entire year, yet I was making my mind for cooping up, the scene starts and the disorder was clear outside, In a mean time the chaos with firing sound reverberate outside  unexpected and unprecedented, it frigid me, I was no more in a condition to think anything.

In haste I went outside to get to know about family and others present on the spot, it was disgraceful to learn that my first cousin brother, Lucky was out for playing, which had already created havoc for the family, in addition to it all the relatives were out side gate waiting for its opening.

For the sake of Lucky all the members of the family had put their lives on stake, without thinking for another second, it was all mayhem as at the distance of around 50 – 60 meters, fidayeen was firing indiscrimately, whereas all my family members were confronting him face to face.  

I consider my self the most coward person, one can say the most pacifist one, I hate this word but I know its true, when all my family was on stake I was peeping for them from the grid of windows, I was looking for a chance to get over to Lucky.

The moment went in frictions at our place, don’t know what was it, kindness of fidayeen or mercy of God, everything was fine at our place, but unfortunately my dad received some splinters of bullet, which fidayeen fired aiming wall near my place.

Some thing gloomy is still striking my mind that, I was not aware with it until dad was brought back with their knees banded with white bandages, doctor have advised them not to work for three months, and on the next day it was 10^th. Every thing was like scattered and aimless, somehow dad at that moment stands with the situation and managed to observe the day.

It was all calm during night as both the ends stopped firing, neither police was firing nor was fidayeen, shockingly even after using crates of ammunition police was yet to locate him,,, it was so calm as nothing had happened, rumors had made its space, some say that fidayeen is hiding in the immediate next building to ours and some say he has been killed, so all in chaos night spent.

Sunday, I woke up and went out to get some fresh air, oh I forgot to mention that I too have very poor memory, same was the situation at that time I woke up causally and directly went out, as I stood out in veranda, sound of indiscriminate firing once again hold the momentum, I was thinking at my own, isn’t is something acquaint. I smiled and went back to my hide out blanket to take some more timely nap. For my family it was the toughest year as I say, all went like anything and we did last rites of grand mother under sheer fear.

After, fidayeen was killed people made their interpretations, especially our relatives, same old orthodox beliefs, some said that my grand mother saved us and more interesting part was that when I heard some women folk talking and saying fidayeen was kind enough.

Till date I still shrugged when ever I listen to any sound of fire, it reverberates in my ears like some body has fired it near to me.

“I am thankful to almighty God for saving all of us from that inexplicable day, our family use to talk about that incident but when ever I thought of it……..

Post title I, ME and MYSELF

My school days, I was not less than the character of ‘Taare Zameen Par’, words deterred my vision of attaining valuable knowledge, sitting back in the corner I always tried to escape from inquisitive teachers, and notorious students who used to call me by numerous names, I will say nicknames. The teachers were always in the hunt of students like me, and I was one of the easiest preys to them, it was not like that I was bad in studies, the reason was that I had phobia of facing teachers. New Convent School, the most reputed school in Kashmir, where students from well off families attain education. Still the school has very good reputation and is counted in top schools of valley. During my elementary schooling, I was very shy, with very less friends, not much effort to fall in competition, this competition word was something alien for me as I never put competition in my life’s dictionary. When students vie hard for positions, my funda was to contend with passing marks, but I can say that god was always kind to me as I always stood as per expectations of my parents. Slowly and steadily I kept on moving, from one grade to another,.. during schooling when students go off their schools and classes, It was record that I had never skipped my classes, I still remember that I was very poor in science as per my teachers but I was the best student of mathematics and Hindi, were I had marked my intellect. It is quite obvious that after qualifying matriculation, students mostly visit to their schools twice or thrice, but the haunting school never witnessed my presence after my being passed out. After attaining good numbers in 10th standard, I joined SP higher secondary with science stream aiming to be the doctor of future, ha ha ha.. very less I knew that being in science is not enough to be a doctor….desperately disregarding my so called dream of being a doctor I unveiled my real façade as I never entered in class during two years. There I cherished all the moments which are unforgettable ones of my life. Being in the company of good bunch of friends I used to venture out of school. But the restlessness of qualifying 12th was always haunting me. During my 12th I still remember, I completed my syllabus from Jammu, but it was equivalent to zero as they only provided me notes and nothing else. I worked hard but not as I can, qualified 12th and opted to join SP College for further studies, there some changes occurred in me as I start thinking out of boundaries and tried new facets of life. Here in College I participated in every function where I felt that my wings are unfolding, part I, second and third went like anything, students, whether junior, senior or class mates, named Bali, now people knows me with the name of Bali, this name sounds weird but it is kinda crazy and stylish name in Kashmir. Teachers were cooperative, I am not in PR so no more praise of teachers but they were really admirable. College time was most memorable time I had spent, that’s why even after four years, I have been to my college after every month or twice a month. Little I knew that my destiny will drag me to further studies in Kashmir University, where very serious students are seen. Following the trend I also tried to rescue from Kashmir in order to join management at Jammu, but destiny had something else for me as I joined Kashmir University, Department of Media Education and Research Center (MERC)………. It was something which unconventionally came to my kitty.. very little interested in what I had done I kept on going without thinking for any other reason why not to do.. coming into Media was more a chance as I was not intended to join it. Likewise every average student I also passed my graduation and applied for post graduation course, my aim was to join any MBA college in Jammu, so I took entrance test of Mass communication very casually. On the day of preliminary exam I found toppers of college, thoroughly taking notes, I was like zero all was what I knew, nothing special was prepared for exams. Unfortunately or fortunately I qualified that exam and was now among those 147 students who have registered their berth in mains. Out of 15000, students only 147 could make it and I was one among them. On mains 147 students all looking more than normal,, vying for just 20 seats.. I laughed and shrugged my shoulders…huh..what a little competition still I was envisaging that MBA college, I sat in examination hall,,,, all questions were easy to attempt…. Ha ha ha ha.. my name was in the list without any serious attempt. Usual formalities was done, first day it was all boring no friends, no acquaints,, it was hell for me.. sitting alone.. eating alone.. huh oh god were I had been I was thinking, but with passing months we all classmates came close and the moment when we left department no one was ready to leave. Every moment in the department was unforgettable, but the time spent together at Tangdhar was the most memorable for all of us.

Social Networking sites go speculative over new controller JKPSC

PS BALI

The transfer of Mohammad Ashraf Bukhari, Secretary and controller J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC) in the recent met State Cabinet, under the chairmanship of Omar Abdullah has raised many questions and speculations about his replacement. When the government is mooting over the replacement, the aspirants of various examinations under Commission are arguing over the competence of new controller. The replacement of Bukhari is the ‘hot bread’ among the Kashmir Administrative Services (KAS) aspirants, especially on various Social Networking Sites and Blogs, where the long streak of comments following the question about his replacement is visible. Many comments read “we will miss MA Bukhari, not because who he was, but for what he has done for Commission.” However, arguments also heated up over the appointment of new controller. Social networking sites, especially Twitter and Facebook are flooded with arguments regarding new controller. “At the time of joining of Bukhari, commission was obsolete without much to do, but under his control, JKPSC conducted CCE for three consecutive years, besides other examinations with satisfactory results”, commented aspirants. Followed “now the new controller has to further the system without much hassles, but we wish he aspires to make JKPSC functioning smoother.” According to official sources, government is mooting over the new controller of JKPSC and many competent people have been located, but the final name is yet to be decided. MA Bukhari, who served in JKPSC as a secretary and controller for more than two years, brought revolutions in the commission by making Combined Competitive Examination (CCE), besides departmental examinations a regular feature, aspirants reminded. Since his appointment as Secretary and Controller of JKPSC, the commission has smoothly and successfully convened many coveted examinations of the state. At the time of joining JKPSC, the commission was not in ‘Good Books’ of the aspirants, which was challenging for Bukhari, but to make obsolete Commission to run optimistically, Bukhari worked day and night, in which Bukhari succeeded to a great extend and made CCE and other examinations a “talk of the day”, shared aspirants on Twitter. Bukhari who is now transferred and posted as Secretary to Government, Information Technology and Science &Technology Departments expressed satisfaction and said that it was his job to run commission, but “without assistance and cooperation of other members this milestone of making examinations a regular feature was not possible,” said Bukhari.

Baisakhi

Baisakhi or Vaisakhi Festival is celebrated as the Sikh New Year and the founding of the Khalsa Panth. History of Baisakhi traces its origin from the Baisakhi Day celebrations of 1699 organized by the Tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh to form Khalsa - Brotherhood of Saint Soldiers to fight against tyranny and oppression.

Story of Baisakhi
The story of Baisakhi Festival began with the martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru who was publicly beheaded by the Aurungzeb, the Mughal ruler. Aurungzeb wanted to spread Islam in India and Guru Tegh Bahadur stood up for the rights of Hindus and Sikhs and the Mughals therefore saw him as a threat.

After the death of Guru Teg Bahadur, his son, Guru Gobind Singh became the next Guru of the Sikhs. Guru Gobind Singh wished to instill courage and strength to sacrifice among his fellow men. To fulfil his dream, Guru Gobind Singh called on the historic Baisakhi Day congregation of Sikhs at Keshgarh Sahib near Anandpur on March 30, 1699.

When thousands of people assembled for Guru’s blessing, Guru Gobind Singh came out of the tent carrying an unsheathed sword. He gave a powerful speech to infuse courage amongst fellowmen. At the end of the speech he said that every great deed was preceded by equally great sacrifice and demanded that anyone prepared to give his life come forward. On the Guru’s third call, a young man offered himself. The Guru took the man inside a tent and reappeared alone with a bloodied sword. Guru Gobind Singh asked for another volunteer. This was repeated another four times until a total of five Sikhs had gone into the tent with the Guru. Everyone present was worried and though that Guru Gobind Singh has killed five Sikhs. At this point Guru presented all the five men before the people. Every one present was surprised to see all five men alive and wearing turbans and saffron-coloured garments.

These five men were called Panj Piara or 'Beloved Five' by the Guru. The Guru blessed them with a Pahul ceremony. In an iron vessel, the Guru stirred with a sword called Khanda Sahib, the batasha that his wife, Mata Sundari Ji had put into water. The congregation recited verses from scriptures as the Guru performed the sacred ceremony. The water was now considered the sacred nectar of immortality called amrit. It was first given to the five volunteers, then drunk by the guru and later distributed amongst the crowd. With this ceremony, all those present, irrespective of caste or creed, became members of the Khalsa Pantha (the Order of the Pure Ones).

The Guru regarded the Panch Piaras as the first members of the Khalsa and the embodiment of the Guru himself. With the constitution of the Panj Pyare the high and low castes were amalgamated into one as among the original Panj Pyare, there was one Khatri, shopkeeper; one Jat, farmer; one Chhimba, calico printer; one Ghumar, water-carrier; and one Nai, a barber. The Guru gave the surname of Singh (Lion) to every Sikh and also took the name for himself. From Guru Gobind Rai he became Guru Gobind Singh. This was seen as a great step in national integration because society at that time was divided on the basis of religion, caste and social status.

Guru Gobind Singh also bestowed on Khalsa, the unique Sikh identity. He directed Sikhs to wear five K's: Kesh or long hair, Kangha or comb, Kripan or dagger, Kachha or shorts and a Kara or bracelet. Guru Gobind Singh also discontinued the tradition of Gurus and asked all Sikhs to accept the Grantha Sahib as their eternal guide. He urged them to come to him with their hair and beard unshorn to get baptized by the sword.

Female Foeticide : A Hall of Shame

More than a hundred million women are missing because their parents wanted a son.

Female foeticide is a process of aborting perfectly healthy female foetuses after about 18 weeks (or more) of gestation just because they are females. The same foetuses would've been allowed to live if they were males. There is no question that female foeticide is not just unethical but it is downright cruel as well.

Despite a law banning sex selective abortion is in force for a decade, as many as half a million female foetuses are aborted each year in the country. Gender discrimination in our society is so entrenched, that it begins even before a girl is born. Baby girls are throttled, poisoned or drowned in a bucket of water.

A baby girl tied in polythene bag and dumped in a public dustbin left to be torn away by wild stray dogs. An incident that took place nowhere else but in the very capital of our country.
To cite a couple of more examples, of many, the recovery of pieces of bones of newly born female fetuses from a hospital backyard in Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh in February 2008. And bodies of more than 100 fetuses found outside an abortion clinic in Pattran town in Punjab in August last year were both deplorable.

Though India has a history of skewed female sex ratio, what the country is witnessing today is the systematic extermination of the female child, with the ultrasound machine serving as an instrument of murder.

Clinics offering ultrasound scanning facility have mushroomed throughout the country, and despite making pre-natal sex determination a penal offence, doctors and parents alike rampantly violate this law. A survey in Maharashtra showed that an alarming 95% of the amniocentesis scan were being carried out for sex determination.

In India, the 2001 census reveals that the overall sex ratio is 933 females for every 1000 males, showing a marginal increase of 6 points from the 1991 census of 927. However, this is a very sorry state indeed and we are doing much worse than over a hundred years ago when the sex ratio was 972 in 1901, 946 in 1951 till the 933 today.

More and more baby girls have either been aborted or killed as infants since 1961 and that this trend continues strong even today. Indeed, an improvement in the child sex ratio has only been marked in one state, Kerala, and two Union Territories, Lakshwadeep and Pondicherry. Everywhere else, there is a decrease in the number of girls.

The greatest offenders in this area are the northern and the western states, with Punjab and Haryana leading the pack. In Punjab, the child sex ratio has decreased by 77 points to a new and horrifying low of 798 females to a 1000 males, and Haryana has seen a decrease of 60 points, meaning there are now only 819 females to a 1000 males. Other offenders high on this list are Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Chandigarh and Gujarat.

This is not so much a legal problem as it is a social disease. The son-centric model of our society forms the foundation of the practice of female feticide and infanticide. Girls are made to face discrimination before birth, at birth, and throughout their lives at the hands of their families. Even those girls who are allowed to live get second-class treatment. They are denied adequate medical and health care facilities, they are denied adequate nutrition, and they are denied educational facilities. They are often subject to physical and sexual abuse.

This is not so much a legal problem as it is a social disease. The son-centric model of our society forms the foundation of the practice of female feticide and infanticide. Girls are made to face discrimination before birth, at birth, and throughout their lives at the hands of their families. Even those girls who are allowed to live get second-class treatment. They are denied adequate medical and health care facilities, they are denied adequate nutrition, and they are denied educational facilities. They are often subject to physical and sexual abuse.

Unfortunately, various schemes to counter this situation brought out by many states as well as at the central level have been ineffective in reducing the extent of this problem. Removal of this practice must involve:

• Focus on the humanist, scientific and rational approach and a move away from the traditional teachings which support discrimination.
• Empowerment of women and measures to deal with other discriminatory practices such as dowry, etc.
• A strong ethical code for doctors.
• Simpler methods for complaint registration for all women, particularly those who are most vulnerable.
• Publicity for the cause through the media and increasing awareness amongst the people through NGOs and other organizations;
• Regular appraisal and assessment of the indicators of the status of women such as sex ratio, female mortality, literacy and economic participation.

Infanticide is a crime of murder and punishment should be given to both parents. There ought to be stricter control over clinics that offer to identify the sex of a fetus and stronger check on abortions to ensure that they are not performed for the wrong reasons. Doctors must also be sensitized and strong punitive measures must be taken against those who violate the law.

It has been calculated that more than a hundred million women are missing because their parents wanted a son. We have made significant scientific and technological progress and we churn out some of the brightest minds every year in every area possible. But if we can’t check female feticide all this progress is absolutely worthless.

How can a society expect to survive without women? Indeed various studies have shown that having far fewer women in a society leads to increased violence in a society, particularly against women. If the macabre practice continues, it would spell doom for both sons and daughters and will have a disastrous impact on the future generations.

Onset of Baisakhi; Canals yet to be cleaned up

photo by Sansar Singh



Irrigation Department apathetic
PS BALI
Jammu, Apr 5
What could be more apathetic on the part of Irrigation Department that the canals, which are thrown open with the onset of Baisakhi every year, are yet to be touched for de-silting and cleaning.
Contradicting tall claims of the Irrigation Department of performing their duty with devotion and integrity, most of the canals in the Jammu are craving for attention of the Irrigation Department.
With the continuous negligence of the Irrigation Department, the canals are turning into dumping site.
Regretting over the working of the Irrigation Department, the local residents rued that just a few days are left for Baisakhi, no work of clearance on this canals yet has been initiated.
“Every year, these canals are being cleaned and de-silted properly before throwing water into it, but this time the situation is not same as 5-6 days are left, but no work has been initiated,” said Atul Malhotra, a resident of Resham Ghar.
He lamented that with such attitude of the concerned authorities, it seems that this time the water will be released without cleaning of the canals, thus making water of no use for the agriculture and other purpose, as would be filled with dirt.
However, official sources claimed that the process of cleaning of canal is under progress at some areas, but due to apathy of the concerned authorities, there is no supervision from the higher officials. Moreover the residents maintained that the working agency is just mowing weeds from sides of the canal and the actual waste is not properly removed.
“Though the work over canal has been initiated, but the concerned authorities are only mowing weeds and picking some waste from the sides of the
canal, which is sheer wastage of money,” maintained Balbir Singh, a resident of Sehora.
He regretted that the government is spending huge money for cleaning and hygienic purposes, but the lethargic approach of the departments causes suffering and inconvenience to the people.
“JCBs are installed for the clearance, but the problem is that the department lacks sufficient manpower, and those at work are lethargic to understand their responsibility,” said an official in Irrigation Department, wishing anonymity. He added that normally every year canal cleaning process is complete before Baisakhi, but this time the situation seems different.
Denying the allegations, Chief Engineer, Irrigation Department, Avinash Sharma said that the machinery is being put onto work and within a day or two canals would be cleaned up.
“We are already done with the process of de-silting, but at some places where the road widening project is undergoing, we are waiting for signal from PWD,” he said, adding that although the working is complete, but due to the lack of civic sense, we are facing huge quantity of polythene thrown by people to be removed, which would otherwise be washed away with the flow of water.
Admitting that the Department lacks sufficient manpower, Chief Engineer said that they are dependent on Service Selection Board (SSB) for the recruitment of permanent employee. He further claimed that some distributaries are under jurisdiction of Ravi-Tawi Irrigation Complex and they are responsible for their clearance.

Have you ever felt like you belonged with someone no matter what they put you through?

Well I have, I fell in love and never regretted my time with her. The only time she truly hurt me was when she broke my heart and left me in secluded. After her, I never smiled or laughed or had any desires or dreams. When she left I was in so much shock I just went numb and nothing mattered, it was the time when I was in desperate need of her, but Alas! She was nowhere.

I thought I could go back to how it used to be and that girl would just be a memory. But soon I came back to my senses. I cried more then
I have ever cried, I was so sad and depressed. I had the worst craving in my heart.
I crave to have dreams, desires, and goals again. The kind I had experienced with her. I craved her, and I still do. I crave her touch, how she would hold me when I was upset and whisper that it would be okay.
I crave her comfort and support, her love and laughter, her jokes and dreams of us and the promises we made. I crave her voice, her smile, her eyes, and her personality.
I crave her happiness, I crave her. But she doesn't want me anymore, at least that's what I think but I always hope that I'm wrong. What keeps me going is that hoping that she will be mine again. Hoping and dreaming those promises will come true.
Hopefully this it isn't for good and no one will replace her. I want to be with her, no one else can have my love as my partner, my equal, my other half.
She is my best friend and the only one that I care for. I love her so much. I finally realized that only I want her to be happy. When we last met, I tried to read her eyes, though could not succeed to get what I always wanted. I endeavoured to palinode everything for her smile, she smiled, but not me.
There is so much more to say but I can't write it all down.

A child labour: deprivation of dignity

PS Bali

Child labour as defined by International Labour Organisation (ILO) is putting children of under-14 years of age in various type of work that deprives them of their childhood and their dignity and hampering their access to education and acquisition of skills.

Child labour in simple is putting children in hard physical employment, which neither suits his age, nor his potential to carry out work effectively. Moreover, deprives children from basic education. As child labour is crime and a sheer violation of fundamental rights of the children, but is practiced every where.

The magnitude of child labor is as such that it is widely prevalent in some form or the other, all over the world and in India it is on rampant. The term is used for domestic work, factory work, agriculture, mining, having own work or business’ like selling food and doing odd jobs, though helping parent’s in home made jobs is not among child labour practice.

It is more in rural areas than in urban, due to poverty and illiteracy in rural areas. Industrialists and factory owners hire small children and put them in hazardous jobs, which are totally unfit for their health and strength.

In India, the main cause behind the spread of child labour is poverty, vested interests and illiterate parents.

In India, half of the population is Below Poverty Line (BPL), which induces parents to send their child to work and not to school, in order to have some support in the family income.

Moreover, low level of parental education is also cause of spread of child labour, they cannot distinguish between good and bad for their children, for them basic of life is to earn money. And third and most heinous is that of vested interests, where some industrialists for the sake of cheap labour hire children. They put children in unhealthy jobs with minimum wage as compared to the adult for same work.

Although, different rules have been made in different countries to fight this crime, even constitution of India has a framework within which ample provisions exist for the protection, development and welfare of children. There are a wide range of laws that guarantee children their rights.

Article 24 includes prohibition of employment of children in factories, means that no child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.

Article 39 (f) states that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.

Article 45 provides for free and compulsory education for children from six years of age upto 14. Even though, Article 21-A was also incorporated among fundamental rights to ensure elementary education of every children.

As it is a universal problem, as a citizen it is duty of all to eradicate child labour from its roots.

NGOs can play a major role in eliminating child labour from the societies, they are empowered to aware masses about the ill effects of the child labour, as government does not have the infrastructure to reach every section of the society and particularly the in remote areas. Thus, NGOs can act as a bridge between hard-to-reach areas and the government.

However, the role of media in elimination of child labour is one of the most important components of the process of total human development. The media should expose defaulting firms or business houses that secretly employ children and violate laws relating to child labour.

At last but not the least, the government can provide certain monetary incentives to the families that live Below Poverty Line (BPL) to avoid child labour so that their children can be sent to school.

Although, besides government various agencies including NGOs are working to bridle this menace but due to lethargy in the implementation of proper planning at the root level, all goes vain. The need of the hour is to expand the machinery for enforcing the various laws on child labour. There is a plethora of laws but nothing can eradicate child labour unless there is awareness among parents and children, which will go a long way in saving the future of millions of working children in India.

Women empowerment, a myth or reality

PS Bali

The empowerment of any section of the society is a myth, until they are conferred equality before the law, so it would be perhaps wrong to say that women empowerment in India is a myth. Women empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social or economic strength, making her entitled to equate men, thus it substantiates the fact with the participation of the women in all activities such as education, politics, media, art and culture, service sectors and science and technology.

Since ancient times, women in India is considered to be a divine, to whom people worship and respect,

The principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution in its Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties and Directive Principles. The Constitution not only grants equality to women, but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women. The Indian Constitution guarantees to all Indian women equality (Article 14), no discrimination by the State (Article 15(1)), equality of opportunity (Article 16) and equal pay for equal work (Article 39(d)).

In addition, it allows special provisions to be made by the State in favour of women (Article 15(3)), renounces practices derogatory to the dignity of women (Article 51(A) (e)), and also allows for provisions to be made by the State for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief (Article 42).

Notwithstanding, such a gigantic space in the Indian constitution, women in India is till date facing wrath of honour-killings, biological sex difference has caused wide discrimination between men and women, female foeticide leading to morally and socially sick race, rape and molestation. She is striving to get identified and is still longing for free life to live.

Transcending, orthodox beliefs women tried lot to equate men, but were let-off, she sought reservation in local bodies, but were not given as men felt that if women came in politics, their seat would be on stake, that’s why even after year’s of struggle, women is still craving for adequate representation in any house of the parliament and in local bodies.

The women held a sacred position in context of religion in India. Since Vedas, she has been worshipped as deity and it has been proved from numerous excavations, where it was found that people worshipped women idols in different eras.

Eventually, in later Vedic period, women respect came to decline, in that era, women was thwarted to participate in public bodies, men over shadowed her desires, harsh laws were imposed on them, like that of Sati, Devdasi and child marriage among others, thus making them speechless, powerless and hapless creature. 

They were considered to be the entity for house-hold and at many places her free movement was also debarred.

All these factors led to the constitution of female bodies, to fight for their rights, but could not stand against men, as there was no unity among them.

The prime feminist activism in India picked up momentum during later 1970s. One of the first national level issues that brought the women's groups together was the Mathura rape case. The acquittal of policemen accused of raping a young girl Mathura in a police station, led to a wide-scale protests in 1979–1980. The protests were widely covered in the national media, and forced the Government to amend the Evidence Act, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian Penal Code and introduce the category of custodial rape. Female activists united over issues such as female infanticide, gender bias, women health, and female literacy.

The National Commission for Women was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1990 to safeguard the rights and legal entitlements of women. The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1993) of the Constitution of India have provided for reservation of seats in the local bodies of panchayats and municipalities for women, laying a strong foundation for their participation in decision making at the local levels.

Despite such commissions, committees no change has been witnessed so far, still in many parts of the UP, Bihar, Haryana, MP and Punjab, female foeticide is on rampant. For men in these areas, women are nothing more than a dust, they treat them like animals.

Moreover, the statistics in the Indian Census-2011 tells a horror story, where sex ratio declined like anything. The Constitution of India gave equal rights to the women with men from the beginning. Unfortunately, women in this country are mostly unaware of their rights because of illiteracy and the oppressive tradition.

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Education—for poverty reduction

PS Bali

"Education is not a way to vanish poverty — it is a way of fighting it.''

Poverty is much more complex than simply income deprivation. Poverty entails lack of empowerment, lack of knowledge and lack of opportunity, as well as lack of income and capital. Despite increased access to education, the poor—mostly women, socially disadvantageous groups, the physically disabled, persons in remote regions — are often deprived of basic education. And when basic education is available, the poorest are unable to avail it because the direct and opportunity costs attached to it are quite high for them.

Poverty is thus both a cause and an effect of insufficient access to or completion of quality education. Children of poor families are less likely to enroll in and complete schooling because of the associated costs of attending school even when it is provided "free''. The cost of uniforms, supplies and transportation may well be beyond the means of a poor family, especially when the family has several children of school age. This means that choices have to be made, and the choice is often to drop out of school or, worse still, to deny schooling to girls while enrolling the boys, thereby contributing directly in maintaining the inferior status of women. And as poor children who are enrolled grow older, the opportunity cost (their lost labour and the forgone income it may entail) becomes greater, thus increasing the likelihood of abandoning school.

Furthermore, dropping out of school because of poverty virtually guarantees perpetuation of the poverty cycle, since the income-earning potential of the child is reduced, not to mention overall productivity, receptivity to change, and capacity to improve quality of life. Lack of education perpetuates poverty, and poverty constrains access to schooling. Eliminating poverty requires providing access to quality education so that the poor could stand up in life.

The relationship between education and poverty reduction is thus quite linear as education is empowering; it enables the person to participate in the development process; it inculcates the knowledge and skills needed to improve the income earning potential and in turn the quality of life. Moreover, education of girls and women helps in improving the number of other indicators of human development. Education thus helps to lay the foundation for the following pillars of poverty reduction: Empowerment, human development, social development and good governance.

Basic education empowers individuals:

It opens up avenues of communication that would otherwise be closed, expands personal choice and control over one's environment, and is necessary for the acquisition of many other skills. It gives people access to information through both print and electronic media, equips them to cope better with work and family responsibilities, and changes the image they have of themselves.

It strengthens their self-confidence to participate in community affairs and influence political issues. It empowers entire nations because educated citizens and workers have the skills to make democratic institutions. Investment in women's education results in substantial social and economic gains.

Educated women have fewer children. In South Asia, women with no education have seven children on an average; women with at least seven years of education have fewer than four children. Educated women have healthier children. In Africa, one out of five children die before the age of five if the mother has no education; the probability is more than halved for children whose mothers have seven years of education. Educating women has a stronger positive effect on children's health than educating men.

Mothers are also much more closely involved in the immediate care of children and in the critical decisions about food, sanitation and general nurturing, all of which influence children's health and development. Longer spacing between births leads to healthier children.

Education provides women with greater opportunities for employment and income, and raises the opportunity cost of their time in economic activities compared to child rearing. Such economic gains motivate families to have fewer children.

The socialization obtained by attending school includes such values as punctuality, following instructions, managing time, planning work, focusing attention, adhering to rules and receptivity to new concepts, thus helping to develop persons better suited to function effectively in a changing society.

Education also plays an important role in cultural transmission. As traditional societies change, transmission of culture, appreciation of cultural heritage, understanding of national history, inculcation of cultural values are all increasingly left to the schooling process.

Education is a powerful tool for introducing members of a society to the system of government and the concept of governance. Educated persons are more likely to vote and participate in local and national government. They are more likely to demand better and more accountable government, thus creating demand for improved governance. Education is linked to empowerment, and a major manifestation of empowerment is the demand for better governance.

The continuing challenge for education is to ensure that all people have the knowledge and skills necessary for continuing human and economic development and for breaking the poverty cycle. The linear relationship between education, poverty and empowerment is, however, governed by the circumstances of a country and within a country in a particular region. Education, thus, influences and is influenced by the context in which it is developed. This powerful relationship implies that education must be in a constant state of change as it responds to changing social and economic needs, and that education in itself is a force for social and economic change as people become more empowered and more productive.

Reflection of life Listen and appreciate each other

PS Bali

Often, we are so stuck in our old beliefs and patterns that we aren't able to see the changes we need to make. Even when we feel frustrated about our problems, we may not recognize the need to learn to change things. That is why we need to use the mirror of life. Everything in our lives reflects where we are in the process of developing integration and balance. We can use everything that happens externally as a mirror to help us see the areas within us that need healing and development. Whenever we have a problem, especially a recurring or chronic problem, it is always an arrow pointing directly to some aspect of our psyche where we need more awareness.

If we accept that life is always trying to teach us exactly what we need to learn, we can view everything that happens to us as a gift. Even experiences that are uncomfortable or painful contain within them a key to our healing and prosperity. We may have difficulty understanding what the mirror of life is trying to show us, but if we sincerely ask for the learning and the gift in every experience, it will be revealed to us one way or other.

One of the clearest reflections we have to work with is the one provided by our relationships. Everyone we attract into our life is a mirror for us in certain ways. All of our relationships - our families, children, friends, co-workers, neighbors, pets, as well as our romantic partners -- reflect certain parts of us. How we feel with someone is usually an indication of how we feel about the parts of us that they mirror.

We all attract certain people into our life who have developed qualities opposite to the ones we are most identified with. In other words, they mirror our disowned selves, and we mirror theirs. These are often the most highly emotionally charged relationships. We either love them, hate them, or both! We feel very attracted to them, and, or very uncomfortable, judgmental, annoyed, or frustrated with them. The stronger the feelings, the more important a mirror they are for us. We have drawn them into our reality to show us something about what we need to develop in ourselves. The fact that we have such strong feelings (one way or another) toward them means that they are showing us a part of ourselves we need to acknowledge, accept, and integrate.

This does not mean we have to be with them or hold onto a harmful or inappropriate relationship. It just means that as long as they are in our lives, or even in our thoughts and feelings, we can use the relationship as a learning experience. It also does not mean we are supposed to become like them. They may carry an energy we need more of, but they may be too far to the opposite extreme, or they may express that energy in a distorted way.

Still, we can look for the positive essence in the opposite qualities they carry. For example, if you have been taught never to express any anger, you will probably at some point find yourself in relationship with a person who expresses their anger frequently and vehemently. Life is giving you a strong message that it's time for you to learn to acknowledge your own anger. It is not saying you have to become like this person and go around dumping your anger everywhere. Instead, you need to find the appropriate balance, learning how to assert yourself and stand up for yourself.

If we are strongly identified with power, we will attract vulnerable, needy people. This mirror is reflecting our need to recognize and accept our own vulnerability. If and when we do that, the needy people in our lives will either become more empowered, or will move out of our lives. If we are overly vulnerable and disown power, we will find ourselves in a relationship with someone who uses power one way or another. We will feel overwhelmed, controlled, or victimized by them until we own our power, at which point the relationship will either dissolve or become more equal.

We often seem to gravitate toward a romantic or business partner who has an opposite approach to financial management. If the difference is not too extreme, this can be a complementary and harmonious balance in which we appreciate and learn from each other's strengths. If we are highly polarized, however, it can be painful and frustrating, leading to a great deal of conflict and stress.

Still, it is a gift - an opportunity to recognize how we identify with one polarity and a chance to develop the opposite energy we need. Like any relationship issue, it requires that we communicate with one another, and be willing to listen and empathize with each other's feelings and perspective. If we feel stuck in our ability to communicate, it may be an appropriate time to call in a skilled third party -- a therapist, marriage counselor, or mediator -- to help us through. Personally, I find that most of us need help at certain times to get through the deep issues that are reflected in our intimate relationships.

The topic of relationships is a complex and fascinating subject. If you grasp the basic idea of how our relationships show us the next steps we need to take in our personal growth, you can begin to use your relationships as powerful guides on your path to true prosperity.

On Sikhism

PS Bali

Sikhism began in his lifetime. When Guru Angad became the second Guru of Sikhs, Guru Nanak gave him his collection of hymns and teachings in the form of a "pothi" (manuscript). Guru Angad added 63 of his own compositions and subsequently handed the enlarged manuscript to the third Guru, Amar Das. Guru Amar Das prepared a number of manuscripts, which he supplemented with 974 of his own compositions, as well as the works of various Bhagats. These manuscripts, known as GoIndwal pothis, mention the message of Guru Amar Das as to why the Bhagat Bani was included and how the Bhagats were influenced by Guru Nanak. The fourth Guru also composed hymns and preserved them in a pothi. The fifth Guru, Arjan Dev, in order to consolidate the Bani (Divine word) of earlier Gurus and to prevent spurious compositions creeping into the original text, decided to compile the Adi Granth. The ancient Sikh manuscript Tawarikh Guru Khalsa mentions that Guru Arjan Dev issued a Hukamnamah (official order), asking anyone who could contribute to do so. All of the sourcing and content of the Bani was reviewed, of the earlier Gurus as well as that of the Bhagats. Guru Arjan Dev's examination of the text sought to order and affirm the authenticity of the existing revelation. Guru Arjan started the work of compiling the Adi Granth early in 1599.

The final prepared volume is known as Adi Granth, or "original volume". It was written by Bhai Gurdas under the direct supervision of Guru Arjan who dictated the text. It included the compositions of the first four Sikh Gurus, to which were added those of the fifth Sikh Guru, Arjan Dev. The Adi Granth also contained the compositions of fifteen Bhagats, seventeen Bhatts ("bards", or traditional composers), and four others such as Bhai Mardana, a lifelong companion of Guru Nanak.

The Adi Granth took five years to complete and was installed in Harmandir Sahib ("the abode of God"), popularly known as the Golden Temple, on September 01, 1604, with Baba Buddha as the first Granthi. This original volume is presently in Kartarpur and bears the signature of the Guru Arjan. The Supreme Court of India holds that the Guru Granth Sahib should be, for historic and legal reasons, considered a 'Juristic person': "The Granth replaces the Guru after the tenth Guru. We unhesitatingly hold Guru Granth Sahib to be a juristic person." The court articulated this finding in the context of a case pertaining to a property dispute.

Another Hazare in the making hampered

PS Bali

Amid noisy camera clicks and on dispose huge footages, Baba Ramdev began his crusade against corruption and stashed black money in foreign banks. Little he knew that the government will not let him inflate hood to spew venom against it.

Just before the hours of Baba’s ultimatum to observe hunger strike, police swung into action and detained Baba by trampling hundreds of supporters, who were in half-conscious at the midnight. 

This action of government is a tight slap on the democracy of the country, where an individual is stopped for exercising his fundamental rights. According to Indian Constitution, Part III, article 19, where an individual is endowed with freedom of speech and expression, but on the name of law, police triggered panic among the supporters of the Baba Ram Dev at Ram Lila Ground, New Delhi.

Though, the action of the police was unjustifiable, but keeping aside emotional affinity and taking things practically. Let us assume that Baba Ram Dev’s protest was not hampered by the police and successfully he got to convince government of his demands, then what next.

First was Social activist Anna Hazare, who observed fast unto death for an anti-corruption law at Jantar Mantar, which received stimulating response from the public, and after 98 hours of strike, government kneeled in front of his demands, he demanded for Lok Pal Bill to bridle on corrupt practices by politicians and bureaucrats, which was accepted by the center and a Lok Pal Bill committee was instructed.

Undoubtedly, the crusade of Anna Hazare stirred people's imaginations, igniting one of the India's biggest mass protests in recent times, following same Baba Ram Dev, high-profile yoga guru announced a fast to compel the UPA government.

But, to what extend it is fair to bully government, who has a lot of other things to do, I may opine the act of Baba Ram dev as a well hatched conspiracy to malign government and to withdraw their attention from other important projects.

In personal, I admire Baba Ram dev but his decision to hold a protest against government is something strange. He knew that people will follow him, as he had ignited strong influence, but it will pay hard if used in negative sense.

We must not forget that present government has done a lot for the country in every sphere from nuclear power to economy and education.

Its under the present government, India became third most powerful country, just after US and China and international experts are gnawing that till 2025, India might outdo them too.

I am not a PR to the government, but I guess it should be highlighted that present government elevated standard of India to new horizons, it’s the only known country, which has been authorized to proliferate Nuclear Weapons, without being a signatory member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT or NNPT).

I am puzzled, Yog Guru like Baba Ram Dev, who considers himself a patriotic Indian did not uttered a single word regarding spectacular achievements of the Government and now he came up with a crusade against government, though they call it crusade against corruption and black money.

It may be recalled that Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, earlier had wished to enter main stream politics. And another fact which would not be snubbed is that recently, some Congress members questioned over the property of the Baba, to which Baba never answered.

If Crusade of Baba Ram Dev is believed to be true, then where the Yoga man was at the time when Anna Hazare took on to Jantar Mantar, at that time, if Baba Ram Dev had extended his support, the result would be yielded and government may have mulled over the issue more seriously.

Taking steps arbitrarily is no way to register protest against wrong doings, no matter how monstrous the act is, but things need to be sorted out genuinely and not by blackmailing, under the garb of opposition.

If going by the statistics, it showed that Baba Ram Dev’s protest was just a shoulder for the opposition to gather its vote bank. They convinced Ram Dev, under the name of religion and patriotism.

JKPSC declares CCE-2010 result in record time of 2 months

P S Bali

Jammu Tawi, June 1

Yet another time officials of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) have something to be proud of. They have succeeded in bringing out the results of Combined Competitive Examination (CCE)-2010, in a record time of two months.

Announcing the results here on Wednesday, JKPSC Secretary, MA Bukhari gave the credit to the collective efforts of the officials, who coordinated the entire process in a flawless manner.

“The consistent efforts to reduce the time for announcing the results yielded outcome, a proof of the efficiency of those involved in the process,” said Secretary.

Making record by declaring result in two months for the examination held in April this year, the Commission officials have scrutinized around 18, 000 answer scripts in such a short span, which is an achievement in itself.

Another remarkable achievement in making is the notification of the Combined Competitive Examination, 2011, which will be publicized soon with about 142 vacancies.

“After this achievement, with the consistent efforts of the commission officials, the commission will soon notify more 142 vacancies of Combined Competitive Examination 2011,” said MA Bukhari, Secretary.

Bukhari also congratulated all the qualified aspirants and wished them a luck for further interview.

Well wishers write to Vigilance Commissioner regarding corrupt DySP

P S Bali

Jammu Tawi, June 2

 

Unraveling the transgressions of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Surjeet Kumar, being posted in SCRB Jammu, some well wishers of Police department on anonymity today wrote to the Vigilance Commissioner about the alleged misuse of power by the said DySP and they also sought verification in the matter.

If the well wishers are to be believed, Surjit Kumar is harming modernization of the police department by his unpleasant working. They alleged that Kumar has embezzled more than Rs 30, 000 by making fake train tickets during his posting in Delhi, Rajasthan and other places out of J&K, which are still placed with the IGP Crime, head quarter’s account section.

They said that Kumar is residing in police quarters at police station Bakshi Nagar and is also drawing house rent from police department, he has three drivers and four orderly with one driver and gunman with his wife. Apart from this, he is also producing bogus petrol vouchers, which he uses for his private car, which is against the set protocol of the department and is deceiving police.

Lobbing allegations, wishers said that DySP, Surjit Kumar robbed 300 bricks, two Cement bags, during work of SCRB bathroom and two UPS, computer chair, three electric pipes, mats and nine tube lights, which was meant for the renovation of SCRB computer lab.

Wisher further alleged that besides embezzling, he also made his lower employees to work for him, as one of his constable Avtar Krishan posted in SCRB has installed 10 Fruit Reharis and is also running a shop of Blue CD’s, for which he is paying to DySP.

Besides doing unreasonable expenses, Kumar is also indulged in other malpractices like misuse of computer, telephone, stationary, Photostat Machine. Interestingly according to wishers, Kumar has also created an atmosphere of casteism within the department, which is also not in the constitution.

Requesting Vigilance Commissioner, for intervening into the matter to save police department from corrupt and self-interested officers, who are razing the name of the department, anonymous well wishers urged for verification of the said DySP.

80% polling in panchayat elections in Mendhar

PS Bali

Mendhar, June 2

An estimated 80 per cent voters today exercised their franchise in the 13^th phase of Panchayat elections under tight security cover at Mendhar.

A total of around 62384 voters, including men and women thronged polling booth to bolt the fate of about 418 Panches and 49 Sarpanches in Mendhar.

Men and women turned up in great number at polling stations earlier than the scheduled time and casted their votes in peaceful and decent manner.

Apprehensions of the previous phase of elections, where more than two dozen people were injured in clashes between two groups that occurred at polling stations, tapped authorities to clamp high security in the area. In this regard a huge deployment of cops was placed on job to maintain peace and order in the region.

To avert any mis happening and to ensure peaceful polling in the area, DC Poonch, Ajit Kumar Saho accompanied by SSP Poonch, Ashkoor Ahmad Wani remained active through out the day, instructing cops.

Notwithstanding high security, in the late hours of the polling, a clash took place between two groups at polling booth in ward no.3 of Lar Malkote, thus leaving 15 hurt, including five in critical condition.

Advertisements Vs Audience

PS Bali

A wise man has rightly said that general public has very short memory and they forget things very often. Following the quote, several Advertising companies in the race of competition to make space for their product in the market are hammering every possible nail to get identified. Such advertising companies believe in making strong influence in the market, either by hook or by crook, where latter rules.

Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering.

With the emergence of media, world was believed to be fashioned up into a global village, with information of the world at the press of button, but as an old saying goes that ‘excess of every thing is bad’, same happened with the popularity of the media, where several corporate houses in connivance of advertising companies made it a way to earn money by misleading the common audience.

For instance in 2007-2008, Cricket superstar and one of the best fast bowlers in the history of cricket, Wasim Akram came up with an advertisement on Indian television, while endorsing Diabetes check machine, “Accu-Check”, where he played a role of brand ambassador by involving audience with himself by being a diabetic patient.

It gained huge response from people and no doubt it is still great in use, for years Akram was found saying that after use of Accu-Check, he was able to take sugar free chocolates and other sweet items, having no sugar content.

But, the recent advertisement of Wasim Akram, where he is endorsing Chocolate KitKat, a product of Nestle, one of the most selling products in India, has contradicted his erstwhile brand (Accu-Check).

Earlier, Akram claimed that he consumes only sugar free chocolates, but as far as my knowledge is concerned, KitKat has no such product still available in market. Till date very few chocolate companies are offering sugar free product including Heilemann Dark Chocolate Marzipan Bar, DeBron Chocolate Wafers, Woodies Wafer Bars and product of like.

I mean how could a man, who year back was a brand ambassador of anti-sugar product, came up with such a product which carries maximum percentage of calories. May be I am wrong here, but statistics revealed the same and showing Mr Akram taking chocolate is something that pinched me most, as a patient of diabetes, one should refrain such products, but may be Accu-Check has improved diabetes of Mr Akram, who knows.

What can I call this, a professionalism on the part of Mr Akram or faking on the part of advertising companies, who are making fool of public, whatever it would be but to some extend advertising companies are running their monopoly by making celebrities to be their puppet and are using every possible way to reach out public.

This trend among advertising companies is usual, on the name of creativity and innovation they befool public. The advertisement of Akshay Kumar, endorsing ‘Thums-up’, where he jumps from mountains, beneath the water, trespassing speedy vehicles and fiddling with wild animals is again offensive, as it prompts youth to act like him. There are number of advertisements, which make fool of audiences and one which is striking my mind is that of NIRMA, in which a lady walking in the market is shown making water splashes standstill by rebuking water not to splash over her, which again seems insane, but it is enough for advertisers. These advertisers keep on creating new ideas, without bothering about, what they call passive audience.