Left Wing Extremism- Possible SOLUTIONS

               Left Wing Extremism - Possible SOLUTIONS

         Extremism,no doubt, is the greatest threat to the internal security of our nation. In order to achieve our aim of inclusive growth this internal security issue should be addressed effectively.

         The main reason for existence of the extremism is regional imbalances in growth and development and these extremist affected areas,called Red Corridor regions, are least developed. The reason for this scenario of imbalance is not merely becoz of govt but also extremists themselves are responsible for this situation. The extremists are generally against any initiative or step of the govt taken in these regions. This is becoz the extremists leaders may have vested interests in doing so.

        The problem of extremism certainly has solutions and according to me the possible solutions are:

   Firstly, all efforts should be made to disarm the extremists by way of negotiation. And police action(not military action) should be used as a final resort for disarming of extremists who have picked up arms against the State. Disarmament of cadres should be the first step followed by intensifying the pace of development, becoz development and peace go hand-in-hand and there is no precedence between the two. This can be seen by the fact that the majority of the developmental activities by the govt are stopped/halted by the threat or act of violence by the extremists. So disarmament of cadres should be the first step.

    Followed by disarmament, the govt should focus on intensifying the pace of development in these regions through people-centric developmental models and by using local resources and local population. The presence of govt should be made felt to the people by taking small developmental programs like providing housing, drinking water, hospitals, schools etc to reduce the trust deficit in the people.

      Along with taking developmental programs, the govt should explore all possibilities of talks with the extremists and govt should try to convince them that it exists for the welfare of the people.

        Presently the main problem is that the people do not have trust in the govt and extremists organisations are encashing on this trust deficit to fight against govt by using local people. Therefore there is an immediate need from the govt to increase its image in eyes of the people of the red corridor regions. The govt should take steps on its perception management among the people. This can be done by frequent meetings with the local people by politicians and officials to establish a connect between the govt and the people. This can also be done by conducting various awareness campaigns in the region to educate the people about their rights and govt initiatives taken in the region.

      Also there should be better coordination between the central and state govts in addressing this issue. Instead of thinking on short term political gains, the govts at centre and states should work in synergy to solve the problem of extremism.

     Also steps should be taken to strengthen the state police and there should be better coordination between intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies.

     Since the extremists are active near or along two or more state borders, there should be a mechanism for sharing of information between the states to combat extremism. And National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) is a great step in this direction. NCTC should be setup early with necessary modifications and its objective should be converted into action with full faith and spirit.

      With these steps I think the problem of extremism can be solved significantly. 

     Let us hope that the govts, both centre and states, will take the issue of extremism seriously and in the greater national interest work together and achieve the goal of eradicating extremism from the country.

   

    

camPAIgNing

                                                       camPAIgNING

                   The world's largest democracy (India) is currently under general elections. The general elections are being conducted to elect 543 members to the 16th Lok Sabha (Lower House of our Parliament). Elections are regarded as festivals in democracy. But this great festival i.e, general election is not celebrated in full faith and spirit. This festival is celebrated by voting and campaigning by political parties to woo the voters to vote for their respective parties/candidates. Generally Campaigning should highlight the  futuristic goals/policies of a political party or a candidate. But it is sad to see that this campaigning is filled with full of hate speeches, one party accusing the other, making derogatory speeches, verbal attack on leaders of one party from others etc. Every political party, including the two mainstream parties(BJP and Congress) have also resorted to this strategy of accusing the other party - Congress is questioning the secular credentials of BJP's PM candidate Modi and BJP is focussing on corruption and scams of Congress government. These are the major election issues in the present Lok Sabha elections. But no one is focussing on their future steps if they come to power. Only on the day of releasing their manifestos, they talked about their future policies. But thereafter there are rare cases of any political leader speaking about their future goals/policies. The least importance given to the manifesto can be seen by the fact BJP released its election manifesto on the day when first phase of elections started. This behaviour and action of a major(national) political party is not acceptable. So this campaign is all about giving pain to opposite parties. Almost every candidate/political leader resorts to hate speeches and accusing the opposite candidate/party. The innumerous cases of violation of model code of conduct is a testimony to this.
               Any election should be an issue-centric or manifesto-centric and every candidate/party should focus on advertising their manifesto or futuristic goals to the electorate instead of resorting to accusing opposite parties/leaders. It should NOT be like - Since Mr.A is bad, vote Mr.B. But rather it should be like - Since Mr.A is good, let us vote for Mr.A.  This way of voting should be followed and each candidate/party should bring out their strengths and keep them in front of the electorates and based on assessment of these strengths electorates should elect their representatives. This has to be understood by the politicians and they should refrain from accusing one another and instead they should campaign in a positive manner. And finally the people of India should make their choice correctly by giving their vote to the most desired candidate.
    "Let the largest democracy of the world survive and stand tall forever and ever."

IN(dian) TOLERANCE

 

                                      IN(dian) TOLERANCE
          Many believe and profess that we Indians have a great level of tolerance and they also believe that this tolerance is not restricted by issues/ideas/things, but it is extended to all issues. BUT according to me this belief regarding Indians' tolerance is not true. Most of the people of India are not tolerant or open to many of the ideas/issues. People broadly practice tolerance in public, but when it comes to their private life they suddenly become intolerant. For instance, if you ask anyone his/her views about inter-caste/inter-religion marriage, they will be tolerant, but if you ask whether they truly allow their children to get inter-caste/inter-religion marriage, their tolerance turns into intolerance. This can also be understood by the fact that many parents in present days also brief their children that they should not marry anyone out of their caste. But generally these parents will be tolerant towards range of issues/ideas, in theory but not in practice. Thus the concept of tolerance in Indian society is largely theoritical and it is leastly practised in India.


    Let us look into the tolerance of State(INDIA) towards various issues. Our Constitution declares that the state is neutral to all religions i.e, India is secular. No doubt India is secular by the letter of law. But 'India' by itself is not organic. India as a state is represented by humans(elected members/legislature, bureaucracy/executive, judiciary and citizens). For India to be secular, its people have to be secular. Indian society is not yet fully secular- The periodic communal riots, booking of Jammu & Kashmir students under sedition charges for supporting Pakistan cricket team etc are a few testimonies to the fact that Indian society is not yet fully secular. The Constitution aspires India to be secular(an example/form of tolerance), but the problem is that tolerance is an independant and individual choice and it cannot be forced onto anyone.

      So the change has to take place at the grass-root level(individual level) to make Indian society tolerant towards many issues.

      I hope that the belief that many people have about Indians' tolerance become true and the people of India practice tolerance not only in words but also in action.

CONsensus

                                                   CONsensus

          Recently there occurred two instances in which all the political parties of the country which are having different ideologies have come to consensus. These consensuses have been reached without much discussions or difficulties.

       I feel quite surprised when all the parties having different ideologies come to a consensus (agreement) easily on any matter. There are many issues pending with the govt without consensus viz., Lokpal, Food Security Bill, FDI issues, NCTC and so on. But recently all the parties have come to consensus on two issues.

      The first issue is regarding the Chief Information Commissioner’s (CIC) Order stating that the political parties should come under the ambit of RTI Act 2005.

      The second instance is about the Supreme Court’s verdict which results in immediate disqualification of law makers who are convicted of criminal cases and also makes a person who is in police custody ineligible to contest elections.

       {1} The CIC ordered that the national political parties should be regarded as public offices under the RTI Act and they should make their funding sources public. The CIC gave this order stating that the national parties are funded substantially by the central govt and hence they should be considered as public offices. The CIC’s Order was an effective step towards decriminalization of politics and making the political parties transparent. But the political parties are against this Order and they are saying that it is their internal matter. And they have decided to amend the RTI Act to keep the political parties out of the ambit of RTI Act.

        According to me the decision or consensus reached by all the parties is not in the common good for the country. I think it is against the ‘principle of natural justice’- according to which ‘no person can be a judge in his own case’. In this situation the political parties themselves are deciding whether they come under RTI or not. But in India’s Parliamentary System this is the way. But also there is one way to overcome this- The Judiciary. The Judiciary can make this void by the applying ‘due process of law’ in which the legality of the law is checked.

       This shows that the political parties are not in favour of decriminalizing the politics of the country. If something has to be done then it should be done by the judiciary. In this way the political parties are themselves making the way for Judicial Activism.

           

        {2} As mentioned above the Judiciary took certain steps in decriminalizing the politics.

Recently the Supreme Court gave a verdict which resulted in immediate disqualification of law makers (legislators/politicians) if convicted in criminal cases and also the verdict made the persons who are in police custody at the time of elections ineligible to contest the elections.

      But all the political parties have once again come together and they have reached a consensus to nullify the apex court’s order and they have decided to amend the Representation of People Act 1951 (RPA 1951).

      According to RPA, a person in police custody is ineligible to vote and any person to contest in an election should be a valid voter. Hence the Supreme Court gave the verdict that any person in police custody during the elections is ineligible to contest elections.

     But all the parties are against this verdict and they say that it will be misused by the ruling party to frame wrong cases against the other party candidates.

   But I will not agree with the view of the parties, because there are provisions to overcome the misuse of this judgement. Firstly, the preventive detention can not be the ground for ineligibility  or disqualification. Secondly, the criminal cases which are filed atleast six months before the elections are only regarded as ground for ineligibility. And regarding framing of wrong cases, the candidate can get a bail from the independent judiciary and then contest in the elections. But the political parties are verdict and have come together to amend the RPA and nullify the Supreme Court order.

     By the above two cases it can be understood that the political parties are not in favour of decriminalization of politics, instead they are even nullifying the steps taken by other institutions in this direction. The political parties/politicians should take some steps on making the administration transparent and accountable to the people of India. This should be done not on the basis of personal gain or loss, but for the betterment of the country. The Judiciary to an extent can change the system by its Judicial Activism, but the ultimate power lies with the legislators/politicians. So if something really needs to be changed, then it should be done by the politicians.

       We shall hope that in future the politicians/political parties/legislators work for the betterment of the country and the people.

   

GREAT RESPECT and HIGH STATUS

              I’m a Civil Services Aspirant. My dream is to become an All India Services Officer(IAS/IPS). Recently I have given the UPSC interview and presently waiting for results. For that interview I had an answer for the expected question-‘Why I wanted to become an IAS?’ The answer was-“Because it gives me an opportunity to serve the society with great efficacy and also I can be a part of Policy making which leads to development of the country”.
But after today’s experience I would like to add a little to the above answer. The new answer would be-“Because it gives me an opportunity to serve the society with great efficacy and I can be a part of Policy making and also the service has a Great Respect and High Status in the society”.
    The reason for this change in answer is my experience. I would like to share it with my friends.
        I happened to go to meet an IAS officer(my brother’s friend) for some work in a district in Uttar Pradesh. But the day I went, the Sir had to go to Lucknow for some urgent meeting with the CM. So the Sir informed me that he has made all arrangements for my work to be done. So I thought of going to the place and make a room in any hotel and get my work done. I reached the place one hour late due to the delay in train. I came out of station and I saw a Govt vehicle with Beacon (Laal batthhi) and name on it Magistrate. I was staring at the vehicle from a distance and at that time I got a phone call. The person on the other side of the phone was the driver of the same vehicle which I was staring. He told that he was waiting in the station for an hour. I went near the vehicle , greeted the driver and boarded it. It was the first time I was going in a Laal Batthhi car which I always wanted to.
 During my journey from the railway station there occurred a few instances:-
 Seeing the vehicle a police inspector saluted me and one police put off  his cigarette. In a circle there was a little traffic jam, the driver switched on the Laal Batthhi and Siren, a police nearby came running and cleared the traffic. Really I was feeling HIGH in the vehicle. I reached guest house, the caretaker gave biscuits and tea. I got refreshed and made some phone calls regarding my work. The Sir had made all the arrangements and my work was done in a couple of hours.
  For lunch the driver took me to a restaurant. There he introduced me to the cashier as-“DM Saheb ka Dost hai” (DM Sir’s Friend). Then the cashier came out of the counter and made me sit in an AC dining hall, and called the server and whispered  in his ears. I understood what he said to the server.
  I ordered the lunch and was waiting. I was sitting in a table of capacity 4. One person came and sat in front of me, But I was shocked to see that the cashier came and made that person sit in another place and placed a reserved status on my table. For the first time in my life I was experiencing such respect. I finished my lunch and without order there came an icecream and I told I have not ordered it, but the server told that cashier told him to serve. I had it and came to the cashier to pay the bill but he refused to take a pie from me. I didn’t wanted to create a scene in the restaurant, so I thanked him and came back silently. Outside the dining hall the driver was waiting for me. He took me back to the guest house and on the way I got two more salutes from the police on the road. The driver asked me whether I had any plans of going out so that he can take me. I had no plans and told him that I have the return train at 6 PM. He told me that he would come at 5.30 and left.
     In the room I was unable to rest, not because of any physical inconvenience (the room was fully sophisticated AC Room with TV), but because of the experience I had in the preceeding 4 hours.
  The driver came at 5.20 and called me. I got ready and boarded the Laal Batthhi vehicle for the last time. The evening traffic was little heavy and the driver used the Siren 4-5 times on the way to railway station. I was feeling happy by sitting in that vehicle. I reached the station and the driver came with me to the platform and made me board the train. Really it is a Great experience.
              Until today I had 2 main reasons for clearing the UPSC exam and become an IAS officer, viz.,(1) To serve the the society with more efficacy and  (2) To become a part of Policy making. Today I got the third reason. Rather than calling it a reason I would like to call it a driving force. The driving force is the “GREAT RESPECT and HIGH STATUS of being an IAS officer”.
So I wish and hope that the added driving force will also add more strength and courage to face the examination; and strengthen my preparation and finally lead me to the success.

my UPSC INTERVIEW

my UPSC INTERVIEW

    My interview was on 13th March, afternoon session. We were 6 members in the group and we were in Rajni Razdan(RR) madam’s Board. I was the last person in that group of six. My interview started at around 4.15pm and lasted till 4.40pm. 
  Since I was the last person, I knew that the Board was cordial and also RR was not asking any questions.
{My Interview Board consisted of Chairperson (RR Madam) and 4 other male members.}
Me: May I come in madam?
RR: Yes, Please come in.
Me: Good Afternoon madam. Good Afternoon Sirs.
RR: Good Afternoon, Please take your seat.
Me: Thank you madam.
RR: What is your name?
Me: Chethan Kumar D.
RR: Roll number?
Me: 019745
(RR showed my photo and asked whether it was mine. I said Yes)
Member 1(M1): Chethan, you have done your PU from Sarvodaya college. What is the meaning of Sarvodaya?
Me: Sir, Sarvodaya means ‘Rise of all’.
M1: Do you know about Sarvodaya Movement?
Me: Sorry sir. I am unable to recollect.
M1: Do you know Vinobha Bhave?
Me: Yes sir.
M1: He started the Sarvodaya Movement.Where is his Ashram?
Me: I’m not sure sir, but it’s in Maharashtra.
M1: Have you heard of Wardha?
Me: Yes sir, It’s a place in Maharashtra.
M1: You have done your  BE from VTU. Tell me about Visveswariah?
Me: Sir M. Visveswariah was a famous engineer from Karnataka. He has built a dam.....
M1: OK, Which dam?
Me: KRS dam in Mysore.
M1: I think there is a beautiful garden beside KRS. What is it called?
Me: (I knew it, but the name was not coming out of my voice box, I tried to remember for 5 seconds and finally said..) Sorry sir, I m not able to recollect.
M1: (With smiling face) Is it Vrindavan?
Me: Yes sir(Smiling)

Member 2(M2): You play football. What is your greatest achievement till date?
Me: Sir, I have not participated in any tournaments. I play football with friends as an hobby.
M2: Ok, At what position you play?
Me: Sir, Centre Attacking Mid.
M1: Oh, Centre Forward, scoring position...
Me: No sir, behind  CF sir.
M2: In which formation do you play?
Me: 4-3-3 sir
M2: Ok.. Who wrote Gitanjali?
Me:  Rabindranath Tagore, sir.
M2: Discovery of India?
Me: Jawaharlal Nehru, sir?
M2: (He asked one more book. I don’t even remember the name of the book)
Me: Sorry sir, I don’t know.
M2: Gandhiji started his political life in South Africa. From which place did he do so?
Me: Dont know sir.
M2:Who wrote Ramayan?
Me: Valmiki, sir.
M2: Ramcharit Manas?
Me: Dont know sir.

Member 3(M3): Chethan, Coming back to football, When did you start playing football?
Me: During my Graduation days, sir.
M3: What is the National Trophy of India called?
Me: Santosh trophy, sir.
M3: What is the ranking of India?
Me: I’m not sure sir, but its too low, its above 100, sir.
M3: Its 159.
Me: Thank you sir.
M3: There is also a new coach appointed recently. Hope he will take India forward.
Me: Yes sir.
M3: Chethan, What is the achievement of Indian football in Olympics?  
Me: (I dint hear the question carefully, I thought he was asking about World Cup...) Sir, India has qualified once but has not won the Trophy. It was qualified in 1950.
M3: 1950! In 1950 there was no Olympics.
Me: Sorry sir, I thought you are asking about world cup. Sorry sir.
 M3: (The member told India’s achievement in Olympics...)
Me: Thank you, sir.
M3: You come from Karnataka. Which are the 2 states involved in Cauvery issue?
Me: Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Sir , But kerala and puducherry are also riparian   states, sir.
M3:Ok. What is the Current status in the issue?
Me: sir, The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal(CWDT) gave the Award in 2007 and it was recently notified in the Gazette by the Govt of India in February.
M3: Can you tell the details of the Award?
Me: Yes Sir, 419 tmcft to Tamil Nadu, 270 tmcft to Karnataka, 30 tmcft to Kerala, and 7 tmcft to Puducherry.
M3: Are you happy with the Award?
Me: Yes sir.
M3: What is happening in Rome?
Me: Sir, The 2 Italian marines who are facing trial in India went on Parole to Italy to cast their votes, but they have not returned back.
M3: No, Not about death something about life is going on in Rome. What is it?
Me: Sir, Election of Pope.
M3: Yes. Why is it happening now?
Me: Sir, Because the earlier Pope- Pope Benedict retired from the post.
M3: Pope Benedict number?
Me: sir, XVI(16)
M3: Is he the first to do so?
Me: Yes sir.
M3: No, he is the 5th. He is the first to do so in recent 600 years.
Me: Thank you sir.
M3:Who will elect the Pope?
Me: Sir I’m not sure, Fathers from throughout the world will elect.
M3: Pope is also a Father. (Smiling..)
Me: I’m not sure of the election process sir.
M3: Ok. How will they signal the election is over?
Me: Sir, Smoke will come out of the chimney when election is over.
M3: Which colour smoke?
Me: Sir, White colour indicates Pope has been elected and Black smoke indicates the Pope has not elected yet.

Member 4(M4): What is famous about Bidar?
Me: (I dint knew the answer) Sir, it comes in Hyderabad-Karnataka Region.
M4:No, there is something famous about Bidar.
Me: Sorry sir, I don’t know.
M4:Do you Know Girish Karnad?
Me: Yes sir.
M4: Tell me about him?
Me: Sir, He is a famous Playwriter in Kannada. He has won the Jnanpith Award in 1998.
M4:Only Playwriter?
Me: No sir, He is also a famous Actor, Director and also writes novels.
M4: Does your district comes in Cauvery Basin Region.
Me: Yes sir, a part of it comes.
M4: Does Cauvery flow in Tumkur district?
Me: Yes sir, Tributary of Cauvery called Shimsha flows in Tumkur.
M4: Who wrote Vande Mataram?
Me: Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, sir.

RR: Thank You, Chethan. You may leave.
Me: Thank you Madam, Thank you Sirs.

Inclusivity=Gandhian Concept of Structure of Society

           
          I m back to my blog after quite a long time. The reason for this long leisure is my civil services exams. I m happy to be back...
       In this piece of information I would like to introduce to u something special- One of the ideals of our Father of Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
      While I was preparing for a essay for my exams I came across this ideal of Gandhiji and thought it will be a great idea to share this with my dear ones(My Friends).
      The concept is Gandhiji's Ideal of 'Structure of Society'. Gandhiji gave this concept in 1946 in one of his article in the journal 'Harijan'.
    The concept goes like this : Society is not hierarchial as everyone thinks(or feels) it to be. Society is an egalitarian structure with expanding concentric circles like ripples centred around the 'individual'.
This can be represented as :

     In this way, every human being thinks about Himself first, then about his Family and then about his Community, then about his State, and then about his Country and finally about the World.
    So in this way according to Gandhiji the society is egalitarian.

   Now U may ask, What is so Great about this concept of egalitarian society and What is the use and its relevance in today's world?
     The answer to this question is that if we understand this concept in its functiontal aspect we can bring a great change in the working of society and we can hope for development of the country harmoniously, inclusively and without any clashes between different social stratas.
     That is by concentrating on the development at he grass-root level i.e, development of the individual. Primarily in every society development of individual should take place first and this development will spread like ripples and finally leads to the development of the country. The developmental programmes should be oriented towards the development of the individual and not any company or PSU. If the individual feels that he will be benifitted by a programme or project, then he will welcome it. So here lies the greatness of this concept of Gandhiji in a way to make India more developed, by making people of India developed.
   The Reconstruction of Gandhiji's this ideal is the concept of 'Inclusivity'. 'Inclusive Growth' means providing the fruits of growth and development to the every person of the society i.e, including every person in the development. The Govt of India is talking about inclusivity these days which Gandhiji did about 7 decades back. The aim of the 12th Five Year Plan(2012-17) is "Faster, Sustainable and MORE INCLUSIVE Growth" as given by Govt of India.
    WE shall hope that this ideal of Gandhiji will be made functional and will be implemented with great concern and will.
"Hope for the Best".