Just a thought..

This blog was a part of my curriculum for my subject 'Development Communication and Traditional Media In India'. Now that my sem is over, there is no valid reason to continue this blog, except for the fact that I really want to.

Lets see if i manage to do that.

Mish-ika

SARASWATI SHISHU MANDIR

Located in the district of Sitamarhi, Dumri is one of the better villages of Bihar. And it being my own village, I’m more than proud of it.

I went to Dumri this August for our housewarming. The old house, on which the foundation of the new one is also laid, is said to be more than hundred years old.

Since we had been given this assignment way back in July, I used this opportunity to work on it.

Saraswati Shishu Mandir School in the only private school in Dumri, owned by RSS or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Apart from this, there is a government school in the village too.

Even though the number of students enrolled in the government school are more than 750, not more than 50 turn up on a daily basis. Also, since the education provided here is free, neither the parents, nor the children take it seriously and turn up only when they wish too. It is because of situations like these that even though the enrollment rate is high, the literacy rate continues to be a big question mark.

On the other hand, Saraswati Shishu Mandir has about 150 students enrolled, and the attendance over here is above 140 everyday. The reason behind this is mainly that it is a paid school. Although the fee here is a nominal Rs.100, not many parents are able to afford it. Also, the concept of mid-day meals, like in government schools is not there. In fact, the way it functions is quite like schools in urban areas-morning assembly and classes till 3p.m. and a lunch break in between. The food is not provided by the school. Students get packed lunch from homes. Uniforms are also a must. Because of all these reasons, not all are able to afford this school.

The lowest class here in pravesh, which is an equivalent of nursery over here. Prep is bodh. Then comes pratham, dwitiya,tritiya, chauth and pancham- classes first, second, third, fourth and fifth as we know it. The school terminates at class five, after which those who are interested either go to Sitamarhi, or drop out of studies.

Although there is no acceptance of the fact that boys are encouraged more to go to school, there is a noticeable difference between the number of girls and boys enrolled. This difference, as would be expected, is decreasing with every batch that leaves the school.

The school here is run by seven teachers-2women and 5men, including one principal. Although not very highly qualified, all of them are minimum graduates. Graduation is the eligibility criteria for teaching here, though same have gone up to the level of M.A. and PhD.

As I entered the school around 9am, I was warmly welcomed by all the teachers, the students hopping around nervously seeing the camera in my hand. I attended their vandana, or the Morning Prayer which started at 9.30am, shortly after all the students had arrived and spread their mats and arranged the deities for the prayer. This was followed by singing praises about their school, remembering their aim and what they wanted to seek by coming to this school, and finally ended with students entering into their respective classes.

I interviewed one student from each class, and trying to be fair, I let others hang around in the background. Although shy, the answers I got from most of them were pleasantly surprising. They referred to their fathers as businessman, want to become doctors, engineers and the likes of it, and claimed to study because they wanted to, and not because they were forced into it. They said they’d rather come to school and spend 6hours with friends than go to the fields and work in the heat. Whatever the reason maybe, the fact that they wanted to study makes me feel immensely proud of my village.

The liking for the teachers was apparent throughout, although when asked about if they beat them up, students just smiled. The teachers also played the favorite student game with them. Very clearly, the more academically inclined ones were given all the work, while the others seem to enjoy the no-responsibility world. But this, in no way, seemed to hamper the functioning of the school.

The subjects that are taught here are as follows:

Hindi: Hindi

Gannit: Maths

Angrezi: English

Sanskrit: Sanskrit

Vigyaan: Science

Samanya Adhyayan: General Knowledge

Indriya Vikas/Kala: Moral Science/Art

I got a chance to get hold of the report card that is given to parents after very 6months, and that is also quite an interesting specimen. The parents are also required to fill in every six months, describing their child’s overall development. Another interesting aspect about the school that I couldn't’t help but notice was that teachers were referred to as bhaiya/didi (brother/sister). The same was true for teachers when they spoke about/to students.

The literacy rate in the village has seen growth in the past 4-5 years mainly. Even though RSS is doing a lot for improving the education level over here, there are still some issues that need attention.

About 6-7 children hungout around my house everyday while I was there. They were mainly children of people who worked for us and none of them went to school. None of them wanted to. Even of you sponsored them, they are not interested in studying. Their argument is-“why should I leave this life where I have to do nothing?”. I have the answer, but unfortunately they don’t want to understand.

Shortage of Vaccines Increases Death Toll In Capital

Children are dying in Delhi hospitals because of an acute shortage of vaccines for preventable diseases. The blame is on the government which has not been able to meet the demand for vaccines. It takes three months for the consignment to arrive after the order has been placed. Because of this, the death toll has increased significantly. At the Capitals Kalavati Saran Hospital, 44 children have died in 2008-09 because of these preventable diseases. Another 27 children died in Safdarjung hospital due to lack of vaccines.

The extent of shortage is of a whopping 17 crore and is increasing every year. The shortfall of requirement and procurement was around 14.5 per cent in 2008-09, and has deteriorated in 2009-10 to a shortfall of 22 per cent.

The basic problem is because of closure of the vaccine producing public sector units by the government. Re-opening of these units hasn't happened and the dependence on the private sector has grown.

Immediate action needs to be taken as this is some issue that can be taken care of if the government puts in effort.

Baingan ka Bharta, With Foreign Genes??

The genetically-modified (GM) brinjal has been cleared for environmental release by a high-level committee under the environment ministry. But the ministry has reserved its decision in view of a raging debate over the issue.

But the issue here is that even if the ministry were to approve it, states can discourage GM brinjal as agriculture is a state subject. GM brinjal carries a gene called "Bt" from a bacillus thuringiensis which releases toxin to kill fruit ans shoot borer insects. This is the main advantage that has encouraged the growth of GM brinjal.

But there are certain problems pertaining to this. Two European geneticists -Prof. Gilles-Eric Seralini and Prof. Michael Antoniou had warned India against accepting GM crops and foods. They termed it as a technology that had been rejected in Europe and was now being dumped in India. The last thing we wanted after being China's dumping ground was this, specially since it pertains to the health of the country.

GM Free India is an umbrella of several groups against GM foods, who have said that the expert committee hasn't adequately answered all the questions raised about the safety of Bt brinjal. Bt Brinjal has side effects on human health as it affects our immune system adversely. Consumption of the Brinjal would decrease human resistance to infections and lead to the body becoming resistant to anti-biotic drugs, making cures difficult. India doesn't have any public sector lab to test GM content. Because of this, the discretion is based entirely on reports coming from labs outside the country.

Since questions are so many and not enough satisfactory, the ministry has put a hold on the release of Bt brinjal. keeping the health issues in mind, a decision will soon be taken.

Hullabaloo over Hijab in Kuwait

A hijab, as commonly understood in the English-speaking world, is the type of head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women, but can also refer to modest Muslim styles of dress in general. The Arabic word literally means curtain or cover (noun), based on the root meaning "to cover, to veil, to shelter". Most Islamic legal systems define this type of modest dressing as covering everything except the face and hands in public.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/kuwait/6307598/Kuwaiti-women-MPs-refuse-to-wear-hijab-in-parliament.html

The following article tells us about how Rola Dashti and Aseel Al-Awadhi, who were among the first four women to elected to Kuwait's National Assembly in May, have angered their Islamist colleagues by refusing to wear hijab in parliament. They might be accused of flouting the sharia(It refers to the legal framework within which the public and private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Islamic principles of jurisprudence and for Muslims living outside the domain. Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business, contracts, family, sexuality, hygiene, and social issues.), but that isn't stopping them from protesting against what they think is not a required custom. In fact, one of them has gone a step ahead by demanding the scrapping of an amendment to electoral regulations that says they have to observe sharia in parliament.

A statement by Dashti, "you can't force a woman to wear hijab", might have created controversy in Kuwait, but it is good to know that women still are able to raise their voices as and when the need arises. Hopefully, history will be created with the implementation of this rule, or at least scrapping of the previous one.

Perfect Bride?? What the HELL!

I know it's slum development for this week, but this is something I just can't resist writing about. I came across this serial called "Lux Perfect Bride" on Star Plus yesterday when I was randomly surfing channels. So this is what I saw- some 5-7 young girls sweeping the floor, cooking, washing clothes, and doing all sorts of gharelu things, with a voice-over that said something like- "Itna to ladki ko aana hi chahiye. Agar khana bana aur saaf-safai nahi aati ho toh woh ek acchi bahu kaise bann sakti hai?"

What the hell? What exactly are these my-life-is-almost-gone-and-this-is-my-last-chance-to-gain-fame type aunties really looking for when it comes to choosing a daughter-in-law? Education comes way down their lists. It's almost like they are getting a maid to do all the household work, just that she should be VERY fair, and VERY good looking, and yes, their sons have a say in this too!

Just when I thought media was becoming a tad bit more responsible towards portrayal of women in ads, serials, movies, etc, there comes this superbly degrading show which burst my bubble even before it got shaped.

These are the things which should be banned. This not-so good looking aunty ji thinks only good looking girls will make nice bahus. What kind of people are these? They themselves have ugly looking sons who have nothing better to do than come on some reality show for their supposed soul-mate. Same goes for girls. I wonder what they were thinking, or if they were thinking at all! So much for fame and money!

P.S. Personally, I would want in-laws who can cook well so that I get good food when I come back home after woking hard all day (that is IF I ever get married).

"Boond boond mein hai yakeen!!"

The above mentioned title is a tag line used by a famous mineral water company. Sadly, it is only a tag line and does not provide any guarantee that the water we consume from this, and many such bottles, is safe to drink.

Have you ever felt that the water you are drinking only looks clean? That its possibly sewage water that had just been bleached, not one treated?? Well, I have, many times. When I first saw this scene in Slumdog Millionaire, where Jamal is refilling used mineral bottles and re-sealing them with quick fix, I didn't really pay much attention to it. It was only when I saw this happening with my own eyes on Muzaffarpur railway station this August I realised how serious this problem is. Most of us buy a bottled water before even thinking twice about what we are about to consume. We just accept it as a matter of fact that it must be clean if it says so.

For some reason, I never purchased a bottle of water. When on a bus stop, I always got my water bottle re-filled from the 1/- "Fresh Drinking Water" fellow. I don't know the reason behind it, but now I think it was maybe because I never trusted any of those mineral water companies.

In India, if all the reports about various mineral water scams are to believed, this is the industry making the largest profit. You can just pick up any bottle, fill it with water from any source, seal it and circulate it in the market. Thanks to us consumers, chances are no one will even notice what is happening.

I hope next time when you buy bottled water, you get reminded of this and regret carrying your own bottle (which I always do, as rule!).

The need for sex education- Whay is that even a question??

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/ludhiana/Sex-education-a-must-in-schools-Experts/articleshow/4960523.cms

I don't even see what the other side of this argument is. Sex education should be made mandatory in our schools. Its good that chief minister Parkash Singh Badal feels the need to introduce some personality development classes, but they obviously can't be used as a substitution for sex education.

In a country like India where sex talks are considered a taboo and parents refrain from discussing it with their children, sex education is the only way to ensure that adolescents don' feed on half-baked for them, which is dangerous for them, as well as those around them!

This is something that I came across while I was reading about the need for sex education, and I really wanted to share it with all of you. Do read it.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/134572/10_reasons_we_need_comprehensive_sex.html?cat=52

"Independence" Day??

How ironic is it that we spend the whole year going for lunches, dinners, movies, picnics, meet friends, travel in public transport, and attend all other things, but on our very own "independence" day, this very independence disappears?

People don't move out of their houses

because of bomb scares. Parents don't allow their children to go out with friends because of the same reason. And then we talk about the spirit of celebrating "independence" day!!

Maybe the kite is symbolic of how our freedom gets strained on this very special day. It soars as high it can, just to compensate for the fact that we can't even move out of our homes without creating a scene or getting into an argument with family members. How ironic!!

Well if i was the PM of the country. I would definitely discourage this whole idea of people staying at home. Kite flying is good, but organising competitions would be a far better idea. At least that will get people out of their cocoons.

This is how I spent my day..

Cheero, our enetertainment buddy! Kite flying, a bit of jamming and a lot of fun!

Blame it on the rains?

Friday rains brought the city to a complete standstill. Whole of page 4 in Sunday Times was devoted to the consequences of the heavy rainfall the capital had witnessed two days earlier.

The tree toll, as reported by NDMC was 100, and over 119 by the MCD, although the residents claim that the figure could be much higher. The main reasons for such a high number of trees getting uprooted are stated to be lack of proper care, trees growing old, and lately concretization around trees. This caused massive traffic jams and major power disruption all over the city. The water logging on the roads that slowed down traffic to such a large extent show how unprepared our city is for rains. One shower and the city comes to a halt!! The MCD also refused to get trees cleared from residential areas because that's not a part of their job. Only public places are supposed to be cleared by them!

Power was disrupted in many areas for as long as 5 hours. Areas in east Delhi, like Mayur Vihar, waited till 10pm for power to be restored. Discoms said that they had to employ extra manpower to attend to the crisis. There were about 12 trippings of 11KV lines. as reported by the NDPL. Some areas had to wait till morning for electricity.

If this is what rains can do to our city, I'd be rather thankful that we are having irregular monsoons. Whats the point of praying for rains in a city like ours which becomes dysfunctional after every shower?

The this-and-that of measuring poverty..

http://www.ptinews.com/news/231843_Income-wrong-tool-to-measure-poverty--Sen

Poverty can be defined as whether households or individuals have enough resources or abilities today to meet their needs.

"The income approach to poverty, which considers people earning less than a certain amount annually as poor, is not an accurate measure of how well people live...precedence to one's capability or the capacity that people have of choosing and leading their lives." Amartya Sen

The above statement is something that I agree with because measuring poverty just on the basis of income undermines the quality of life of people. This also is closely associated with the fact that the amount of money spent on each member of the family may not be equal, but then the "aggregate family income" may not adequately reflect the deprivation of neglected members.

The other option that has been used to calculate poverty is on the basis of calorie intake. According to this method, the minimum calorie level intake for people in urban areas should be 2100cal and 2400cal for people in rural areas. But Abhijit Sen, member of Planning Commission, said that if this was taken into consideration, 64% of urban population and 80% of rural population would be below poverty line. (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/measure-poverty-by-income-not-calories-sen/488417/0).

These stats don't co-incide with the stats given by the rural development committee, which clearly show that there is no consensus on the quantum of populace living below the poverty line.

The Plight of Women 'Empowerment'!!

"Empowerment means moving from a position of

enforced powerlessness to one of power".

"Tall claims of women empowerment and taking health care to the remote areas sounded hollow..."

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/jaipur/Woman-delivers-baby-on-road-dies/articleshow/4872324.cms)

With a phrase like this for the first line of a news story, one will be compelled to think how empowered we, as women, really are. The news item refers to a case in the Gatla district of Jaipur. Although the article mainly focuses on how the condition of women in India is still not as good as it is expected to be after so much (mostly false claims!) has been done to improve their condition, it also throws light on gender issues. The baby being a girl resulted in the husbands' reluctance to accept the child, seen as a typical case of gender discrimination. It also questions the efficiency of the government in times like these.

Ironically on the same day, i.e. August 9, 2009, another article was published in Times of India newspaper about a woman in Delhi who delivered a girl in a n open park near Nizamuddin dargah. Even she had been abandoned by her husband but now finds some strength in the Ladli Scheme under the Janani Suraksha Yojana. The article throws light on the various programmes by the government, and many more by non-government organisations (NGOs) to improve the condition, mainly health related, of women in our country. A number of names have been mentioned which are working towards this cause. "..she is one of the very few who have managed to benefit from the government's social welfare schemes..." With so much being written, maybe one can hope for a healthy future for Fatima's daughter, Alisha.

It is hard to gauge how much of it is really the way it is mentioned though. So many schemes that exist are hollow from within as their existence is mostly namesake. To actually measure the growth that is taking place we might need to wait longer, as such a substantial growth is yet to be witnessed.

The How and Why of Commonwealth!

Page 4 of today's Times of India (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?showST=true&Skin=TOINEW&Daily=CAP&BaseHref=CAP/2009/08/01&Enter=true&GZ=T) was dedicated completely to how medical facilities in the city are getting all pumped up to prepare the City for the upcoming Commonwealth Games (CWG). Although the main story focused on how all hospitals are upgrading their staff and infrastructure in order to ensure that all health issues can be tackled effectively during CWG, side stories focus on what problems can still be encountered even when so much is being done.

The facts and figures given along with the story make it easier for the reader to understand and give an overall positive outlook to the story. My problem with the story, however, is that although is appears to be totally unbiased and thoroughly based on facts, the way it is presented gave an idea how this country needs an external push all the time for development to occur. The whole hullabaloo over CWG had definitely proved to be a boon for the city. First the metros, the highways, flyovers, and now finally the health sector- the city is making progress in all areas. But the sad part is that all this is being done mainly for people who will be here for the CWG. When Bush visited India some years back, a whole new set of flyovers and wide roads were constructed. Why is that we need motivation from outside to plunge into hardcore development work?

Also, as I mentioned before, even though a lot has been taken care of, there are still a few problems which the government chooses not to see. There is no action plan for outbreak of any epidemic, specially dengue cases, which is expected to rise this year. Mosquito breeding peaks in October, as the weather is conducive, therefore the risk factor in this case is very high.

CWG have done a lot of good to the City in terms of development. Hopefully all this will be restored even after the Games are over.

All the best to Delhi for hosting CWG for the very first time.

Agricultural Extension

The changing world situation has brought to focus several issues relevant to agricultural extension. With the arrival of the monsoons getting delayed every year, it has become inevitable for all farmers to resort to new techniques to avoid, or at least reduce considerably, the damage caused due to low, late and sometimes no rains at all. Agriculture also faces the challenge of keeping pace with rapidly increasing population with few reserves of potentially cultivable land.

This change in methods, from old and obsolete techniques to new technologies, has given an impetus to the growth of the concept of agricultural extension in India. Various programmes have been adopted by the Agricultural Extension Management (or AEM) depending on the kind of conditions prevailing in every the various states of India.

The arrangements for agricultural extension in India have grown, over the last five decades, in terms of activities, organisational types and available manpower. Public sector extension, represented mainly by the State Department of Agriculture (DoA), continues to be the most important source of information for the majority of farmers. Activities of other extension agencies, be it Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), input agencies, mass media, research institutions or farmers associations, though increasing, are still restricted to certain regions, crops and enterprises. The performance of public sector extension is under scrutiny for quite some time and questions are being raised on its capability to deliver goods in the rapidly changing environment.

The shifting emphasis of Indian agriculture towards diversification, commercialisation, sustainability and efficiency has made it necessary for the state extension organisations to critically examine their extension approaches. DoA in several states made changes in some of their approaches towards the late 1980's as the Training and Visit System of Extension was coming to an end. But the basic issues regarding the type of support required by the farmers and the changes in extension organisation needed to provide these were not addressed.