#23 Strange Time....It will pass

As the world is gripped into the COVID-19 epidemic, the number of active cases around the globe reached more than 7 lacs and the death toll rises to 35000. The world has previously seen different types of epidemics but this is the first of its kind which spread across the globe. The coronavirus which originated from Wuhan province of China has now brought the world to its knees. Our generation has not seen any war but the situation is far more dangerous than the war.

I also work under the essential services sector, so on the way to the office during the lockdown period gave me some feelings about this hard time which I want to share. The deserted streets everywhere look terrible. Closed shops, empty petrol pumps look unusual. Society compounds, malls, and markets are devoid of people. There is a different sort of atmosphere spread everywhere. It feels like different sort of wind is blowing. Time seems to have stopped. It's a very strange time we have ever seen. Office with less staff and no clients offer less work to do but this does not give happiness at all. Lots of people are staying away from there family and home. Many are suffering as they are unable to earn daily wages. Lots of people will not get their salaries. And many are walking toward their villages on foot. Many people are dying in hospitals without their family members near them. Silence is not always good, this one which is everywhere right now is definitely not. We are definitely the most advanced generation but suddenly we have realized that nature can dismantle anything which we humans think is great. Even the strongest countries on the planet failed to contain this virus spread till now. Nature is a wise and profound teacher. This is the time when we all must learn a lesson that whatever we think we are, still nature will rule. 

Every time the human race has fought and set examples when dealing with any crisis. No doubt that this pandemic has brought life to a standstill across but the world will win this war against the coronavirus by being together. Life will flourish again.

During the lockdown, frontline workers are still going out. Doctors and medical staff are risking their lives to win this war. Police and security forces are working hard to enforce the lockdown. All other essential service providers are also doing their great work for all of us. It's a massive task to keep billion-plus people under lockdown, still, our central and state governments doing far better to contain the spread. United Nations and WHO also praises India's effort against this pandemic. Government, Administration, and Regulators are doing their best possible for the people of India. Now 1.3 billion people of this country must understand their responsibility. 


- Prateek Dixit

#22 Battle against Corona Virus....We Shall Win

Right now the whole world is facing a dangerous pandemic coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Coronavirus infections ticked above 3 lacs and deaths more than 13000 globally. Every country in the world is racing to contain the spread of coronavirus. Different Countries are taking different types of measures to Stop the Spread. Somewhere Public gatherings have been banned and freedom of movement sharply restricted. All sporting events in the country have been suspended. Schools and colleges have been closed and crews of cleaners have been working to disinfect trains, buses and gathering places. Various trains and flights are canceled. A whole lot of people are asked to stay at home.

India is doing a fine job of restricting the novel coronavirus outbreak. But India’s population density increases the risk of local transmission. Our government is taking all necessary steps to ensure that we are prepared well to face the challenge. They also have so far evacuated more than 900 people from COVID-19 affected countries, including Iran, China, and Japan. But these efforts will be successful only when all people will take precautionary measures and follow advisory by govt.

We all have read about several cases where people underestimating the threat and doing immature things that cause the spread of the virus. Some people do not understand the simple guidelines to follow and risking the life of themselves as well as the others. The life of millions at risk because of this outbreak. We must follow the basic instructions which will be helpful to stop this virus transmission. 

 This generation never faced such kind of situation in their lifetimes. This is a hard time, like a war. There are fear and panic in people's mind. The daily increase in the number of infected people making everyone sad and scared. Our Prime Minister requested people to be part of 'Janta Curfew' to make the fight against coronavirus. We people made this successful. But this is just a start. We have a long way to go. On request of our PM, people displayed gratitude to millions of frontline warriors working relentlessly to stop this virus spread. The clapping certainly is not the solution to this disease. It’s for expressing gratitude. The only thing we get from the sound of clapping, the sound of "Shankhnad" is the positive vibes. Suddenly the negative energy went away and positive energy came back. It gave hope that we all will come together to defeat this danger. Today what India accomplished is that we accepted that we are united and will fight against this situation and will be victorious.

I request all of you to follow the guidelines and take the necessary precautions. Stay Safe.

- Prateek Dixit

A GOODBYE..

When I moved to Pune and joined my first job in the IndusInd bank, it was a difficult time for me. Though I was learning and grasping things at a faster pace still the survival here seemed a little harsh. After about 6 months, I thought I should look for an alternative job. In Jan 2017 when you joined this branch that was the time my perception started changing about the organization.

The way you give space for work to all employees is simply amazing as it makes people dedicated toward the work. This is what I felt here working in the last two years with you and people who worked in the branch.

"A man can be judged by listening to other people behind his back". And you earned a lot of respect among the subordinates. This shows that you are an appropriate man for the leadership position. I learned a lot from you and I'll miss you always. More than a boss you are a leader who not only thinks about your own benefits but also the upliftment of the subordinates. Your one of the best qualities is people management which makes you a smart person and I always adore this.

My reactions and expressions rarely show what I feel so I chose to write. I just want to thank you for everything and I am lucky that I worked with you. There are some moments came when I felt a disconnect but I know that was pretty natural and professional. I never had any negative feelings about that. I also want to say sorry If I hurt you or disappointed you in any way

Your passion and dedication towards work are incredible, which still making people difficult to believe that you are leaving the bank. I am sure everyone in the branch will miss you and the environment in the branch which is set by you.

Wish you "Fair Winds and Following Seas, Sir"

- Prateek Dixit

#21 Dying Humanity "Detrimental IS"

Two days ago, photograph of a 3 year old toddler Aylan Kurdi laid on the seashore without soul in his body got viral and shocked the world. It was trending on Twitter, Facebook and the whole media. The big nations suddenly started discussions of great magnitude on the refugee crisis and seriousness of IS(Islamic state) caliphate. The photo is heartbreaking and the whole world seems to be united to solve the horrific problem. "Humanity died today" is the caption we can see everywhere on media and on the International forums. It is definitely a sad day. The world lost thousands of lives in last few years and losing everyday. But the humanity didn't died when that innocent toddler lost his life but humanity is dying everyday. Humanity died when IS beheaded hundreds of people. Humanity burnt with the Jordanian pilot who was brutally burnt alive in a cage by inhumane militants. Humanity killed when small girls and women forced to become the sex slaves of devil terrorists and when thousand died of hunger and thirst. Humanity killed everyday in Syria and Iraq since the starting of Syrian crisis in 2011. 

The refugee crisis is the outcome of destabilized Syria and Iraq which are almost destroyed by flagitious acts of Islamist militant group that has seized a chunk of land stretching from northern Syria to central Iraq. Most important reason of this crisis are the inefficient measures taken by egoistic and selfish UNSC (United nations security council) to tackle this problem. They are responsible for giving enough time to IS by not eradicating them, during this period IS becomes the most powerful militant organisation in the world. The veto power of the UN security council is totally unfair. It harms other country because it is always opted in the favor of themselves not for the world.

Syrians are moving in large numbers for European countries and Europe is also not prepared for this crisis but still they are supporting the unfortunate crowd. But one important event which hurts is, why the rich Arabian countries are not supporting them despite the people of Syria and Iraq belongs to same religion and region? They banned the entry of refugees into their nations. Humanity is dying in this way too. Why the powerful nations and UN took so much time to understand the crisis and not acted upon it? Why they were waiting for this shocking event to occur? Are the lives of miserable people of Syria and Iraq has no importance for the Intentional community? Thousands of children died in last 4 years in Syria and Iraq but was not recognized like Aylan . The international community should treat this as a window of opportunity to act and put serious efforts to stabilize the Middle east. People do not want to see again the innocent lives washed away....

--Prateek Dixit

#20 "Some thing which I'm feeling" It happens....

Life is a road and has many blind curves and one end. We walk, we run and sometimes we take a break. Every individual has its own belief system and life enable individuals to examine and revise their own belief systems. On the way, it is must for every person to have an aim in life. And everyone has different aims and goals at different phases and levels of life. And sometimes they change with the situation and according to our own convenience. But the ultimate aim of the life is to be happy.

We grow up seeing the love of parents and precious care they do. We all have some special friends who are part of our lives and one special person. We always seek love from everyone in every relationship and we love them all. Going through all this we also faced the time when the situation and life tests us. It hurt us. May be to make us stronger than what we were. When we are wrong and we give bad to our people, than we have no right to expect good in return. So I'm talking about when we are not wrong at our own side. Of course in this case when we don't get what we expected and what we deserve, hurts. We should not blame the people because "People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost". When we get hurt because of any reason it's not the evidence which show life is not good. In reality, life is beautiful and should be.

It is a well known quote that 'Happiness depends upon ourselves'. But this is something takes time to achieve in life. Commonly we have some expectations from others too. At least from those to whom we love and respect. And when we don't get happiness and our dreams shattered to get same what we give others, hurt us a lot. People do not change, situations change them and "We must applaud people for what they were, and we must respect them for what they are."

If we are true and right, whatever the present situation is, we must not lose faith in our beliefs and our good deeds. When we do not receive what we gave, don't lose hope because it help us to understand the wide variety of experiences. "Journey is to be undertaken alone and at our own pace". Wisdom is to accept what comes our way and this is the reality of life. Don't allow current sad situation to dominate our belief system, do not regret , do not change if you are right and do not stop walking on the road of life because we never did wrong. And after all no road is adventurous if it has no blind curves. But yes journey will end for sure......

- My Heart

#19 YOGA...."A nonreligious practice"

21st June, we all know this day as a longest day in the northern hemisphere, will now be celebrated as the International Yoga Day (IYD). Yes! India will lead 191 nations to mark the 1st 'International Yoga Day' on June 21, 2015. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), on 11th Dec, 2014 declared 21st June as the International Yoga Day. The resolution was proposed by Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi and More than 177 countries  have supported this move. There were several initiative taken to declare the IYD, but the historic visit of PM to USA made it possible. It had the "highest number of co-sponsors ever for any UNGA Resolution of such kind".

Yoga is an ancient art of development for the body, mind, and spirit will lead us to a sense of peace and well-being, and also a feeling of being at one with their environment. The yoga makes the body strong and flexible, it also improves the functioning of our organs like the respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and hormonal systems. Yoga brings about emotional stability and clarity of mind. This is simple definition. It's origin dates back to ancient Vedic sculptures. Various methods and practices were mentioned in so many ancient literature of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism. And the way Namaz is performed by Muslims has also contains some steps similar to Yoga. In 19th century, Yoga moved to west and in Europe and became the global practice to keep body and mind fit.  The whole world practices yoga as a form of exercise and not an religious ritual.

On one hand people around the globe, across the continent, creed, caste and religion, perform yoga, on the other hand we Indians who gave precious yoga to the world, entangled it  in the web of religion. With the govt. decision to mark the IYD, some minority groups are starting to oppose it. Government had asked schools to devise programs to celebrate the day which is not acceptable to some minorities group. Yoga includes Surya Namaskar which is against the Muslim faith. Amid opposition govt. decided not to include Surya Namaskar despite Yoga has nothing to do with the religion. Additionally, the Prime Minister will lead 35,000 people participating in events on the Rajpath on June 21 in a bid to enter Guinness book of world records. Opposition party Indian National Congress made fun of the mega event, which, in my opinion, is very immature response. Central government clarified that participation in the International Yoga Day events will be voluntary,which is welcoming decision. Despite of this, some political leaders and parties putting all their efforts to politicize the event and and giving it a communal color.

The fact is 47 of 177 nations supported Yoga resolution were Muslim-majority countries including Algeria, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia. This fact itself is an answer to those who are leaving no stone unturned to spreading religious hatred. But the truth is if they think about it without any touch of politics, they will understand without any effort. Opposing Yoga, which is performed by various nations and people belonging to various religion, is illogical. The world is suffering from various diseases, hatred and terrorism. And Yoga is key to unite the whole world, to spread awareness of healthy lifestyle and to be fit. Everyone should perform yoga and accept it because it is not religious ritual but a form of meditation and exercise.

#18 "War leads to.....?

War leads to ........? Destruction? Poverty? Extinction? But if I say war leads to development, then I think you would disagree with me until you read the my article.


“All war is murder, robbery, trickery, and no nation ever escaped losses of men, prosperity and virility. War knows no victor” - David Starr Jordan

‘War’ - Hardly anyone would disagree that the word itself gives off a gross negative feeling, for it reminds us of brutality of humanity, massive casualties,destruction and the gruesome consequences that follow. If we try to think about what would have started humans to take lives of other human beings, the credit would go the instinct of survival; that is to say that if a human perceives other human as a threat to him, be it for food, shelter, land, offspring, mate, etc., the survival mode would program him to fight off the other. But in modern world where there is no more scarcity of means of survival, why can’t we live in peace? Till around 18th century too, the reasons to fight were simpler and were mainly to establish supremacy over the other. The ideological and political differences made them use of forceful intervention in others life. But in 21st century, the reasons for war have diversified even more- ranging from strategic reasons to national security, increasing economical capabilities and to become super power. The more the country will be strategically strong, more they will be dominating and will have a better say in the global affairs. The aim to be supreme among all is still the same. But as the saying goes, every coin has two sides; that is every negative thing also has something positive coming out of it. How the events of war changed the world, how it made human life more conformable and safe... How war and military events lead the world from path of total destruction towards development...

Artificial satellites play a very important role to shape the today's world. Weather satellites help scientists study weather patterns and forecast the weather. Navigation satellites enable operators of aircraft, ships, and land vehicles anywhere on Earth to determine their locations. Satellites enable smooth Internet access, better television and radio signals and what not. There are hardly any fields which are not getting help from advanced space technologies. But all these are the result of a competition that was started between USA and USSR to reach space during cold war which is popularly termed as Space race. When Nazi Germany built ballistic missiles to attack allied forces in World war 2, USA and USSR both acquired this pioneer technology and started building deadly weapons. This space race benefited mankind with the first artificial satellite in the orbit of the Earth and the science which was used to kill people during war was later used in Apollo program which sent a man on the Moon. The GPS service which we use today was originally created for the United States Air Force for helping in navigation.

Stainless steel with which we are very familiar, is used for utensils in our kitchens; is a building material for buildings, bridges; finds its role in built of vehicles, air crafts; even medical instruments are built from steel due to its multiple qualities. The evolution of stainless steel dates back to the time of World War I, when military wanted a better metal to be used in guns, as other metals that were available that time, were not durable enough and were distorted after little use. Harry Brearley invented stainless steel for military purpose, which later became a useful metal to be employed in many ways.

Friend moving to U.S.? No problem, get in touch through Skype on weekends. Moving to a new city? Get information about people, food, exotic places just by ‘facebooking’ any person residing in that city. Need any information? Just ‘Google it’ and obtain answer in just few seconds. Sounds so simple! But it has all become possible with computer networking and the Internet; and the phrases themselves show that how Internet has become an integral part of our world. The Internet has evolved in stages but it’s foundation was laid when US army used it as a tool of war. Initially the network connected only four computers and was used by scientists and experts to share military and secret data. The aim of developing such a system was to establish a communication system which could be an alternative to telephone system and could be used in case of hostile attack. This network was called ARPAnet was created by Advanced Research Projects Agency (a branch of US military).

In war, if the surprise element is on your side; the situation becomes better for you. And thus, if there is some means by which you can protect the sensitive information and still can communicate information to the soldiers in spite of the enemy eavesdropping on you, nothing can’t be better. This technique is termed as Cryptography. In earliest form, the military sent information in letters in such a way that only their soldiers understood and not the enemy. Cryptography plays an extensive role in today's commutation system to protect our data on Internet like passwords, bank and credit card information, etc.

Microwave which can cook food for us has an interesting history of evolution for civilian purpose. The RADAR transmitter used by the USA army during 1940s used to release so much heat in the form of microwaves. Scientists realized that this heat is enough to cook food. And within next 2 years first microwave oven developed.

Well, cargo pants are quite a hit among the public but it also has past related to military purpose. British soldiers began sporting cargo pants in the 1930s. Because it could be used to carry many instruments and other important things in battlefield. Other military too adopted it later on.

The life expectancy has increased now a days because of tremendous development in the field of health care and medicine. Penicillin is the best example of it. It was developed earlier but its usefulness was not considered until the beginning of the Second World War. After the war, the antibiotics became a common part of medicine; which earlier used to cure wounded soldiers, to prevent and curb the infections, which until then was a common cause for the death of soldiers. The technique to store blood and preserved for later use, called Blood banking was rapidly developed during the World War I. Military related events can clearly be seen as triggers to the development of these medical inventions.

During World War I, Fritz Haber and Karl Bosch invented a large scale process to cause the direct combination of Hydrogen and Nitrogen gases to chemically synthesize ammonia, thus providing a replacement of sodium nitrate in the manufacture of explosives. The ammonia was later used for making of fertilizers.

Science has proved itself to be an evil genius during the time of war; but there is no denying that eventually the scientific inventions have proved to be a boon to the humanity. In addition to the above mentioned inventions, jeep, duct tape, drones, air traffic control, parachutes, Aviator sunglasses, ambulance services, safety razors, packed food and super glue are few more examples that were invented as a result of the advancement of military capabilities. All these discoveries are useful for non military purposes as well and are making lives of humans easy and comforting. It is very interesting that although unintentionally, but war and battles benefits people in the long run. The world has changed a lot. The warfare techniques, strategies changed but the counties are continuously preparing for future wars and are continually working for the up-gradations in military. Directly there is no relation between war and development but indirectly the wars, the fear of destruction and preparation of war act as a striving force that force man to keep inventing things. In this way, "war and it’s preparation leads to betterment and development of modern world."

- By Prateek and Rusheel

#17 Teasing...Sometimes cross limits

Friends, the species on the Earth, on whom we rely blindly. They are our family, our caretakers and our partners in mischief too. There are many jokes, and teasing that go on between friends and do constitute a crucial part of our relation with them. Not only with friends, but with colleagues, classmates, relatives and in all our social interactions, teasing, playing pranks and funnily joking around is a definitive part. Mostly it is harmless and stress relieving. But it also happens that joke for one person means insult of another. We also see in today’s T.V. shows also, without insulting someone, no joke can be formed. Can’t there be fun without looking down upon some other individual? And it is also not uncommon to see someone taunting against some other person and packing it in wrapper of joke.

It is not too rare to come across a situation, where others do not understand our individuality and make a comment on us, that has power to scar us to our soul...! Certainly, we all would have faced such situation at one time or other. And that moment sometimes takes us by surprise, sometimes hurts us, sometimes makes us angry. Range of emotions come to us at that point. What should be our stand when we face such an incident..? To ignore and continue relationship or take a stand for ourselves..!

Many of us choose to ignore the comment and continue our companionship thereby avoiding any conflict, but the right thing to do would be to take a stand. Each of us has an individuality, which many of us value most; and those who do not, should. And taking a step for protecting our dignity must be our first priority. There are moments in our life when somebody tries to hurt our individuality, whether intentionally or unintentionally. And often, the ones who hurt us are our close ones, so much so that they refuse to acknowledge our independent existence, an individual personality, and moreover our sentiments. At some times, they are the one of the best people in our life, but at other times, they do hurt us.

In my view, the first thing to do to deal with such situation is to not lose our head and restrict ourselves’ from yelling and shouting. Because, if we do this, it might look to others as our weak point, a way to tease us, and that would in-turn enrage us more; and yelling and shouting may even cost us the relationship. It is better to talk through the situation, and keeping a firm point that the comment had hurt us, and that such talk should be avoided in future. The best guardian one can get is oneself. And if we don’t have friends that can respect us, then we should not refrain from cutting out on gatherings with them. There is no companionship at the cost of one’s dignity.

Nobody deserves to get hurt, not even from his close ones and not even jokingly. Many a times joke for one is equivalent to a sword for another. And we should also keep in mind that any of our joke or prank does not hurt anyone else. After all, dignity of each individual is important. Thus if we don’t tolerate some kind of behavior with ourselves, then same should not be done to others. As the saying goes, “Treat others as you want to be treated by them.”


-Rusheel Shukla

#16 Saying No....Isn't Difficult

Hey, can you do this work for me? Yes! You reply….Let’s hang out buddy? Sure let’s go! You reply.

If you are a type of person who is afraid of saying NO, then this article is for you. Why denying somebody’s request with a simple NO is so difficult for someone? People think that if they will let down someone’s request, they will commit the biggest mistake. But facts state that most of the time the former person doesn't even care that we fulfill their request or not. As an example, if one of our friend/acquaintance is asking us to come with him/her and if we don’t want to go, the probability is high that he/she has invited other people too. So even if we do not accept their invitation, they won’t be alone and won’t mind our absence, exactly opposite to what we think. By not turning them down, we actually do nothing good to ourselves. We’re giving away our time (which not many people value), and if we turn out to not liking the company at the place, then God help us.

Why our inability of saying ‘NO’ harms us? If we actually jump to everyone’s request, chances are that we will not be able to find time for ourselves, and priorities of others’ life makes way in our to-do list. And that is not good at all. If we’re a frequent ‘YES’ person, let me rather call us a “Yes Man”, then needless to say that people start taking us for granted. No one likes that.

What if we want to spend some time alone doing something we love, but have to change our plan due to someone else’s request to do a work for them; we’ll surely do that, but may be half-heartedly and will feel guilty for the same at later point. Not to mention that somewhere deep down we’ll spoil our mood as well, as our plan was ruined.

Does saying ‘NO’ to anyone makes us a bad person? No, it doesn't. If we are a person who’s always ready to agree upon anyone’s request, at first it might estrange some of our friends, but if they really understand, they’ll come back to terms with us. And slowly, we’ll learn that it’s not so difficult to say ‘NO’ and that too without hurting others or feeling guilty for ourselves. Also, once we've control in our hands, our life’s priorities will have a top place in our list, giving us a good feeling. And that doesn't sound bad, right? Saying ‘NO’ applies to a casual dinner date to office life. In every sphere of life, being able to turn down some requests helps a lot in the long run. Saying “Yes” creates anxiety, stress and depression in extreme cases. Agreeing too often also can lead to overwork and exhaustion. Despite your best efforts, some people will continue to ask even after you've told ‘NO’. This kind of behavior is inappropriate and you shouldn't feel bad. Providing a reasonable explanation of why you're saying ‘NO’ always helps the other person in understanding your decision.

I don’t mean to say that every time, one should ignore others’ request. My point is that we need to prioritize what, when and for whom we can spend our time, making sure that we’re getting the full value of each moment. For example, if any of our friends is in genuine need, then of course one should take care of that first. Again the keyword is ‘priority’. It’s a well-known quote I remember that ‘Give Back to Others by Giving to Yourself First’, so we must give time to ourselves first. To be a “Yes Man” sometimes conveys that we lack our opinion. We must deny the requests made by others, if request will waste your precious time. Learn to say no to requests that don’t meet your needs, and once you do that you’ll find how easy it is. You’ll get more time for yourself, your work and things that are most important to you.

Remember, if you don’t do what you need to do first, you will end up on making a mockery of your priorities…..!!!!


- Rusheel Shukla and Prateek Dixit

#15 "Inflammatory Radcliffe"... In search of Peace and Stability

India and Pakistan, two nations born in a very unique fashion on the basis of religious identity. The countries were born because of insistence of the few political leaders. A nation of the most diverse culture divided into two by paying a huge unrecoverable cost of human life and culture, and giving rise to a hatred for each other rooted deep in the hearts of the citizens of the two countries. India and Pakistan won independence in August 1947 and it was accompanied by the largest mass migration in human history of some 10 million. Both countries got independence in 1947 but civil unrest as well as ethnic and religious discord threatened the stability of Pakistan while Indian politicians ratified a constitution, which led to the first democratic elections in 1951. The roller-coaster of India-Pakistan relations dates from the first day of division. The main reason of conflict is the region of Kashmir. India, Pakistan, and the Kashmiris, each believing they should control the region, are disputing the "ownership" of Kashmir. Three major wars have been fought over this, costing thousands of lives, destruction of the valley and unnecessary militarization. This hatred has also cost both the nations a huge cost socially and economically. If the nations would find a way to coexist peacefully, it would pave a way for them to progress socially, culturally and economically too, as there would be less/no need to incur amount on militarization programs of both the countries and in peace, culture flourishes.

Study the past if you would define the future. - Confucius

But the history taught to the new generations through textbooks and the word of mouth of the previous generation inspires hatred for our twin country. No doubt that the creation of Radcliffe border has always been and will continue to be a reminder of that unfortunate painful division. But at least we can try and present history that would have a neutral perspective to it, not inspiring hatred in the young minds. It is the ultimate truth that there is no way to change the geography or to choose our neighbors, thus it is beneficial for both to live peacefully and cooperate with each other and not encourage hatred in any form.

It is not that citizens of India and Pakistan are completely unaware of the events on the other side of the border. In today’s tech world, specially in a democratic country like ours, there are many means for knowing the other side, like the social media, news channels, etc. And one way of enhancing the understanding of the other nation’s concerns, issues, culture and heritage, of which both nations have much in common, can be to start education exchange programs. Our country already has successful tie-ups with some nations, so why not do the same with our neighbor too. The educational exchange programs will help the new generations to gain and share knowledge, helping in constructive development and both sides will get a chance to understand each others culture which is full of love and innocence. Though India is far ahead from Pakistan in the various fields like science, technology and healthcare, and there is more to give than to gain. But if it in any way helps inspire a peaceful future, then it is a worthy investment. Regarding healthcare situations, I’d like to draw attention to recent cases of polio disease in the Punjab region of Pakistan, and threat that the disease might get grip on this side of border too. It reminds us that eradicating diseases on the other side would not only benefit Pakistan but India too.

A country’s economy is one of the most important asset and any country is crippled without a strong economic growth. Also, no country in the age of globalism is self-sufficient for all the commodities. Presently, the trade between India and Pakistan is $2.4 Billion and business relations with our neighbour should be encouraged further. Business brings prosperity and development. It is worth considering that if there is a strong and profitable economic dependency between the countries, then each of the neighbour would think twice before taking any action that would have any sort of negative impact on business relations. Trade should not halt because of any frequent tension because ultimately common man suffers.

In peace, culture and prosperity flourishes. But there have been a number of ceasefire violations recently from Pakistani side. The exchange of fire heats up the situation and does severe damages at both side of border, specially to the civilians. The violations should be stopped because this recoils previous efforts and hesitates future efforts between the two of bringing peace and stability. Both countries should respect the ceasefire agreement and try to maintain peace along LoC. There should be DGMO (Director General of Military Operations, local commanders of the area) meetings regularly to maintain ceasefire. Diplomatic relations are key to maintain peace and coordination. But it is very important to empower democratic powers on both sides. People and media should not give unnecessary coverage and attention to radical people and they should be boycotted and strict action should be taken against them.

A very crucial factor in Indo-Pak conflict is the region of Kashmir and the separatist forces acting in the region. An important step needed to curb these forces, in my view, is to develop J&K. When the people of Kashmir will get education, employment, prosperity then they will not be encouraged to indulge in illegal activities and will not support separatists. Similar steps should be taken for other sensitive border areas too. This is also strategically crucial. Govt. must help in building connectivity in the region to ensure convenience to people and the connectivity would also be helpful in discouraging the undesired forces acting there.

After 68 years of division there are few signs of peace and cooperation between India and Pakistan. There are events which give us hope like the time to time release of prisoners from both sides, having cultural events of celebrities in the other country and, telecasting and appreciation of T.V. shows from the other side. People want peace, love, respect, education, better standards of living, and employment not the war, hatred, bloodshed and gunfire exchange. Pakistan must stop giving nourishment to terrorism at their homeland. Terrorists like Dawood Ibrahim and Hafiz Saeed must be taken under trial. They should be punished because they are the enemy of humanity and not of one country only. Pakistan is weak, both in strategic domains and in political and intellectual leadership to maintain equal terms with India, while India had progressed enormously in developing public institutions, educational institutes, in commerce, trade and industrial growth and scientific advancements. India and Pakistan both share common miseries of hunger, natural disasters, flooding, healthcare and so many other problems. It’s time to move from mistrust into a common shared engagement of cooperation and development. I’m sure you will find all this approaches bit unrealistic because of poisonous past. Yes ‘One hand alone cannot make the clap sound’ and Pakistan must understand this. I’m proud to say that India always finds a way and takes initiative to maintain friendly relation with Pakistan but radical elements and haters present at other side of Radcliffe deteriorate the relationship. In the end, I’d like to quote Paulo Coelho, ‘Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that their neighbor is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the same questions.’

-- Prateek Dixit and Rusheel Shukla

#14 Catastrophic Game

You deserve better than tyranny and corruption and torture chambers. You deserve to live as free people. And I assure every citizen of Iraq: ‘your nation will soon be free’....”, stated by George W Bush, the former president of United State during the Iraq war, captured in a documentary titled "Iraq's sectarian war", needless to say that these words are far different from the scenario which resulted henceforth. The U.S. war on Iraq aimed to eliminate weapons of mass destruction and the roots of Al Qaeda, of which former didn't exist at all and the terrorist group spanned the country only after the invasion.The war aimed to make Iraq a model democracy based on law, but US brought them a worst nightmare. The invasion destroyed the social fabric, cultural heritage and economy of Iraq. After the death of Dictator Saddam Hussein, the ambitious plan of US to make Iraq a peaceful country got totally failed. US is accused of creating the men of death, leaving a fertile ground for the rise of Terrorist Organisations and being the root cause of terror in the Middle East. They left Iraq when they were in baleful situation and the vacuum of power so created in Iraq, gave the extremists an opportunity to establish their empire and now the Iraq and Syria are In turmoil due to rise of new terrorist empire called ISIS.

President Barack Obama on 19th Sept 2014 signed a legislation into Law authorizing the U.S. military to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels fighting Islamic State militants in the Middle East. After reading about this decision I felt undulated. Are they committing another mistake? Are they too late to react? Is there no other solution left? So many questions were blowing up my mind.

US overthrew Saddam’s regime and defeated Al Qaeda but it couldn't destroy them. After 2010, the group resurfaced with full force. Extremists successfully freed a number of prisoners and slowly began rebuilding their strength. And today, ISIS holds considerable part of the territory in both Iraq and Syria. ISIS took advantage of the beleaguered & demoralized Iraqi armed forces who lacked motivation to fight against ISIS in captured areas. ISIS was getting considerable support from the people in those border areas who were oppressed by the former dispensation of Nouri Al Maliki. So many foreign fighters left their homes to join the terror group. The impact of ISIS on the society of Iraq and Syria was phenomenal. Documentary titled “The Islamic State by VICE ” depicting violent acts of ISIS, including sexual violence against women is both shocking and disturbing. Their brutality has crossed every limit of Insanity; and the Iraqi and Syrian society are on the brink of extinction. Terrorism experts say they are better organized and are more dangerous than AL-Qaeda.

The withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in 2011 deteriorated the security situation of the beleaguered nation. Their withdrawal didn't strengthen the government of Iraq. The United States has provided billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment to the Iraqi army, which are now under ISIS regime. The United States had already chosen to sacrifice humanitarian interests to secure its own security concerns by providing financial and military support to the Iraqi regime, but they damaged the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent citizens. The most important event which lead to the rise of ISIS is the civil war in Syria. This is the crucial factor which gave space to ISIS for the establishment of their so called Caliphate. I have expressed my concern over the Syrian civil war in my article titled 'Unrest in Syria Civil War Ongoing'. The unrest in Syria has been ongoing since last 3 years ,but did not came under international attention for a long time, and the neglection includes the period in 2012, when Obama had refused to arm the rebels to fight Assad despite repeated requests from several fronts. And now US has promised to openly arm the moderate Syrian opposition expecting b rebels to use those weapons to fight only ISIS, along with Bashar al-Assad regime.

A Swift Intervention with arms and air strikes might be easy for a great power like US, but achieving the desired political goals is completely a different matter. Interventions & engagements in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq have been long with no concrete results. Another important consideration is that today armed international interventions are likely to be condemned by many of the countries unless they are clearly in self-defense or have been authorized by the UN Security Council.

The events of invasion in the recent history of the world seem to be guided more by the self-interest of the invading country rather than by the stated humanitarian interests. It seems that US tries to get profited by providing weapons to both the warring sides and at same time tries to stay in their good-books; even if it means having devastating effects on the people. Wars do no good for anyone, but are the means of economic expenses while damaging the established structure of the society. It might also be of interest to note that US has taken keen interest in situations of unrest in the countries where it could got benefited by the huge reserves of oil, clearly an economic motivation behind sponsoring the civil wars. It is also worth mentioning that having  control over territory in Iraq would have served the dual purpose of controlling the Iran nuclear program and controlling the business routes passing through Middle East.

U.S. president Obama accepted few months ago and said that “I think Americans have learned that it’s harder to end wars than it is to begin them ”. This statement is very important because it is an acceptance of the big brother of its’ catastrophic acts. It's not acceptable to first create a habitat for fierce terrorist organizations to grow and later to fight against them , that too only when there are some visible interests in the act. The wars can be won with the help of deadly weapons but it’s always the innocent people who suffer. When weapons destroy social fabric and economy of any society, it is inevitable that terrorism will emerge. Iraq is the best example of this situation. The intervening country should help in strengthening the social, economic and political conditions of the invaded country instead of fueling the internal disturbances. The decision of U.S. to arm Syrian rebels, in my view, will prove to be catastrophe for the country and is another deadly game of the USA. All measures the U.S. is taking to suppress the violence are means to destroy the terrorists but not the terrorism.

( An armed mob , driven by an ideology , supported by a belief is more dangerous than a professional Military force)

- Prateek Dixit

(Edited by Rusheel Shukla and Debasis Dash)

#13 Selective Humanism

Since almost over a month, I was stopping myself from writing on this issue. But I cannot resist any more to express my concerns on perplexed international perspective. I'm saying this in terms of major international deadly conflicts going on in Middle East and in Ukraine as well. 7 days ago a long-term ceasefire has been agreed upon by Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, ending seven weeks of fighting that has taken lives of 2,200 people. Everyone knows that this is not the end of conflict but a temporal pause. A senior Hamas leader has said that they had carried out the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli civilians in the June. First time anyone from the militant group admitted it and that has helped spark the current war in the Gaza. Anyways I'm not writing to brief about this conflict but my concern is the farce attitude of the world. World powers are highly intrigued, but as other times have shown too, that they just focus on their self-interest only ignoring the harm of the other. The word Humanism is very fairly used to gain interest by siding some very important issues and the causes of them. The double standard attitude and biased reaction of the world on different issues stuck my mind to use this ink-horn term 'Selective humanism'.

Twitter posts, Facebook hash tags, Newspapers and what not? There was only one topic of discussion around the globe that is Israel Gaza war. The protesters, commentators, NGO workers, human rights activists - everyone have just forgot any other issue than Gaza. "Gaza under attack” was used like Israel is the only one responsible for everything. If any terrorist organization kill our people, we too expect same reaction from our govt.; and Israel did the same. I'm not a supporter of Israel but am a person irked by double standard in perspectives. My question is why did everyone forget about Syria when Israel-Gaza conflict started? Actually the world was silent on this issue since last 3 to 4 years. The uprising against Bashar al-Assad has been the biggest and longest story of what used to be known as the "Arab spring". The death toll in Syria in 3 years has reached more than 1, 90,000. We never heard "Save Syria" anywhere. Where were human right watchdogs and why they were not discussing this? But for Caza Protests everywhere, rallies everywhere, UN resolution to end Israel-Gaza fighting; in India demand to discuss this issue in parliament which in my opinion was completely senseless. Why world is silent on other issues. Israelis and their supporters complain about "selective outrage" and it is very true because a new name of terrorism expanding its feet in Middle East ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), is relatively ignored. Islamic terrorists in Iraq are killing children and are involved in human trafficking, thousands of Christians and Kurd were compelled to flee from towns, they bombed the churches and Shi'ite mosques, they mis-held women, and thousands of Yazidis had to escape to a mountain. Lot more can be said about ISIS but it is enough to verify my concern. After Gaza started, media has almost forgot to talk about Ukraine crisis. There were very few protests against kidnapping of hundreds of girls in Nigeria. So many other sensitive issues are still in world those are still covered.

Why other issues are not discussing like Israel and Gaza conflict? Is this because Israel Gaza conflict is conflict of two religious group? Where are protesters, commentators, NGO workers, human rights activists? Why opposition in India not demanding other issues to be discussed in parliament? Why are there no protests? Why the international community not taking serious measures to tackle all other issues? Why Why Why? When we ask this question we get very interesting answers. Some say Israel's retaliation is the violation of International rights but they don't want to know that Hamas is operating from schools, residential areas and even sacred places i.e. Mosques. Is ISIS operating under international laws? Is this acceptable? The number of rockets fired from Gaza are not less in number, the only difference is that Israel is capable to save its citizens. Taking a glance from Indian perspective, we know that Israel supported India in Kargil war against Pakistan. Organizations like Hamas always support the independence of Kashmir. But some political parties and people still oppose Israel. It's ridiculous.

It's a fact that any war in the world takes us years back. The shedding of innocent blood, bombing of buildings, spreading hatred are criminal acts. Those who carry out such acts have deviant beliefs and misleading ideologies and are responsible for the crime. But retaliations also cause severe damage as the bombs do not differentiate between the good and the bad people. I am reminded of the words I read in a book by Ayatollah Ali Khamene’that "Killing of people, in any place and with any kind of weapons, including atomic bombs, long-range missiles, biological or chemical weapons, passenger or war planes, carried out by any organization, country or individuals is condemned". The double standard response of powerful countries and people is unacceptable. Heavy outrage on some and unnoticed attitude toward other issues should be disregarded. Those who talk about humanity at some point and are silent at another point of time should be consistent with their reactions towards the similar chain of events. If it’s actually humanity, how can it discriminate between people suffering from similar if not same problems? I strongly disregard the nature of powerful nations and some people for showing‘selective humanity’as and when they find suitable.


- Prateek Dixit
(Edited by Rusheel Shukla)

#12 Impatient Minds

Everyone have basic flaws and it's very natural to have, but some flaws are dominant and varies in different people. A dominant flaw is a much more noticeable and here I'm pointing toward impatient attitude. Anyone can become impatient and there are so many reasons. But when we live in distressful, depressed and insecure environment mind gets easily impatient. And then we see a light of hope which we think will takes away all our agonies and fill our life with happiness, we becomes restless and any delay in that process makes us more impatient and angry.

UPA government ruled India for last 10 years. They failed to govern country in various fronts and lack in foresight and planning. Besides MNREGA, Food Security, RTI, RTE and some other good works, country faced so many failure under UPA rule. India lost momentum in GDP growth and it fell to around 4 % last year, Lots of scams shattered trust of common man on govt. , lack of goodwill to take strong decisions, and failed to attain impressive progress in foreign policy front, lake of quality education facilities, poor job opportunity, this all created anti incumbency against UPA regime. NDA led by Mr. Narendra Modi (Now PM) take advantage of this and did massive election campaign against congress and projected his idea of development. BJP promoted themselves as they have solution for every problem of country and promised to bring 'achche din' in India. His leadership quality and charismatic personality helped a lot to make people convinced to vote for his party and allies. And the same time we cannot deny the fact that congress failed to promote whatever achievements they have. The historic election campaign for 16th Loksabha election broke every barriers of caste, religion, creed and as a result NDA won a mandate for decisive leadership. Large no. of rallies, 3D rallies and strong social media campaign  rises hope among masses and people voted NDA led by Mr. Modi for their hope and aspiration. And therefore NDA formed government with a clear majority.

BJP promised a lot to peoples and rises aspiration of us. Narendra Modi's idea to make India a developed nation where everyone will have shelter to live, 24*7 electricity,  transparent govt. , corruption free system, security for female, to strengthen internal security system, to make constructive progress in the foreign policy front, to provide minority an equal opportunity, to control inflation, to modernize armed forces and police force, to encourage manufacturing in India, to provide job opportunity to youths, to improve quality of school and  higher education, to focus on skill development, to improve the qualities of health services, to reduce the fiscal deficit and to work for other various very important fronts. People started believing that this man have solution of every problem and voted for him. It is true that in last 5 years the economic condition of India affected badly as a result the job opportunity decreased. This makes youth which are the power of India vote for NDA. I know it is not possible to make India a heaven only in few years but govt. will have to deliver what they promised..

With the oath taking ceremony of Mr. Modi's govt. people started thinking that 'acche din' has arrived. Many people thinks that the India is about to change because Modiji is in power. Mr. Modi really proposed model of  high expectation to people by which many of us expecting changes with less time. Any delay to bring 'True achche din' making so many of us restless. I decided to write this article when I observed reaction of common man after 'Rail Budget'. People reacted so negatively like the Mr. Modi's govt deteriorated the condition of Railway. In this reference I'm saying the some people "Impatient Minds". The increasing inflation rates is a big problem for common man but it's not an issue which is solved in just 30 days. Opposition parties specially congress alleging the NDA to govt. of increasing the rates. I believe, how can the wrong doings of last 10 years can be improved in just 30 days. I'm not politically bias to any party but I know NDA needs 5 years to deliver what they promised. Some people started saying that 'achche din' won't come. May be some think that the petrol price should be very very cheap because modiji promised, some people think that railway fair should be very cheap and at the same time facility must be world class, some think there will be no more rcrime, all because now the govt. is changed and modiji promised to change the condition of country. This "IMPATIENT" attitude is totally wrong. We all must understood the actual situation around us, the actual condition of the country, the current economic of our country. This is just a start and any permanent change came with the regular effort and requires time. Sometimes media doesn't play their role to present govt. policies in a proper way and this impact the depressed  mind of people. It is very well know to us that it's very hard to survive with very high rates of everything but it's not due to the new govt.

Every government promises a lot of things, but not everyone of them got fulfilled. Modiji promised to bring 'achche din' which make India prosperous. Youths, women, old age people, children everyone has aspirations and hopes. But it's time to contribute to nation building because to make country and our life happy, it's not only the sole responsibility of govt. It's just the start of  new govt. and they have to do a lot to bring permanent positive change in the country. I observed impatient attitude among lot of people but this must be change. I hope there will a so many positive changes in the country and will be bring with our contribution with the government. We cannot judge any govt. by just giving then 30 days to work. Decision is taken after every five years. It's time for govt. to do whatever is in favor of country may be it's seems harsh for today. It's time to live with hope and we have to be patient with any delays in the progress. I'm sure we all countrymen with new govt. will bring 'achche din' for our lives and ultimately for our Mother India. JAI HIND!

- Prateek Dixit

#11 (Pseudo)Freedom of Press in India

It's been a very long time since I posted my last article. Recently the world observed 3rd May as "World press freedom day". I came to know about this when my sister who is a journalism student post about it on facebook. There were few comments of her friends who criticized the press. This left me with no choice but to write on this topic. Journalism is considered the biggest ideological weapon and its history is long. Newspapers have always been the primary medium of journalists since 1600, with magazines came in the 18th century, radio and television in the 20th, and the Internet in the 21st century.

History stores the extensive role played by journalism not in India but in the entire World. The Independence movement of various countries, the revolutions around the globe and social activism are helped by journalism to people to reach the destination. The freedom of this profession always tried to suppressed by the monarchist, dictators, and ruling regimes. Every ruler tries to take remote in their hands to control it. But press is effective only when it is free to express. It is well said by the Nobel Prize winner journalist Albert Camus that "A free press can, of course, be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad".  According to press freedom index India comes in the category of countries where press is in difficult situation. India ranks 140th position in terms of freedom of press. It's not a good indication in a vibrant democracy like us where media is considered so called "Fourth Pillar of democracy". Journalism is a great source of information and empowers the people if it is free from any censorship. But question is: Is it free in our country?

The Constitution of India provides the right to freedom. The right to freedom in guarantees the Freedom of speech and expression. But recently Doordarshan had edited out portions from Modi's interview created a massive controversy. It's clearly seems that National news broadcaster is still not acquired complete autonomy from MIB (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting). Yes Indian constitution enables the legislature to impose certain restrictions on free speech under some heads likes security of the country, public order and sovereignty and integrity of India etc, but to censor media for playing politics is not good for healthy democracy. When few months ago Penguin India withdrawn all copies of Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: An Alternative History from the Indian market erupted same controversy in media world over the freedom of speech. In this matter not only the government is but the people of this country equally responsible. We are actually losing an opportunity to enjoy this right. We can easily lose our mental state by just listening to other's view especially when the matter of discussion centered to religion. Democracy allows people to express their views and thoughts. Recently in general elections the picture seems opposite. Today's Netas are not cool minded as they are supposed to and like what kind of Netas born earlier. The increment in the personal attack also had broken many records in this poll season. As long as our representatives do not show signs of improvement until people can not get changed.

This could be one side of the paper but on another side media is not completely clean. Media in country did a lot to uphold the voice of people but in a decade after the technology changed the scenario it's very important for press to raise the standards through a code of conduct. There are so many news mediums are available in country but sometimes we see the content shown by some TV news channels are not as much as important or needless. In a race to raise the TRP, media is hurting their image. This should be stop and here Press council of India can play an important role. It would be better for media and the viewer if the media regulates themselves and understood the nature of content required. Many a times we saw the competition to report the event or any big happening by reporters rules out the moral values. I'm also against the entry polls surveys conducted by the news houses before the election. They are free to do that but it definitely influences the mind of voters. This distraction of mind of voters are harmful for democracy. In this election paid news are big point of controversy and this is a new threat which deepens their roots strong. In a recent judgment The Supreme Court said that "the Election Commission is empowered to probe into the allegations of paid news if the expenses for the same are not being reflected in the election return filed by the candidate". This shows that the paid news is a big problem and commendable steps should be taken to stop this. Media must not bias to anyone but they must show what is right because media is doing most important service of educating people.

Society is influenced by media in so many ways. It has played significant role in strengthening the society. Media is considered as mirror of the modern society. The purpose of the media is to inform people about current new affairs and to tell about the latest gossip and fashion and many more. Here I believe there are need to change content pattern in the media especially in print media. If we compare our newspapers with the western counterparts, we find we have more reports on politics than science and technology. The double way communication with the viewers and readers are also need of modern time. That's why social media is playing a huge role in today's world. No doubt, overall Indian press is doing exceptionally well but some issues are yet to tackle immediately to increase the credibility and to improve image of Indian media among people and the world. Media is greatly done in this 16th Loksabha election which result the highest voter turnout in Indian polling history. This is a good sign that our media and democracy are maturing. Important issues during the campaign included rising prices, corruption, economy and security, infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water were raised by media which helped voters to vote smartly. Indian democracy is on its way towards maturity and the is great responsibility on shoulders of media to play its critical role to educate people because history have this quote said by great journalist Joseph Pulitzer that "Republic and its press will rise or fall together".

- Prateek Dixit