Visit and support http://awptrust.blogspot.com/ & http://www.awptrust.org/

Friends, I take pride in sharing the news about an animal welfare organization that takes care of our canine friends. Please visit their newly revamped website http://www.awptrust.org/ and their blog http://awptrust.blogspot.com/ that carries informative articles on pet care and news about pet adoptions.

The revamped website captures the essence of animal welfare and is so easy to navigate that you’ll find what you’re looking for instantly. Read the inspiring animals rescue stories – the kind that will give you goosebumps – or join the compassion squad by volunteering, sponsoring, donating or fostering. You can spend a few blissful moments watching the slide show of our puppies and kittens in the Gallery section. There are videos too, if you’d like to hear about the founding principles of the Trust. If you’d like us to keep you posted about the goings on at AWPT, just sign up for our newsletter in one quick step.

Please guys, do visit the website and the blog, drop in your valuable comments and extend your invaluable support for this noble cause!

DAMm it!

It is official, at least from India’s end! China is building a dam on its own side of the mighty Brahmaputra River at the Zangmu site. The National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) has confirmed it. So why is China building this dam? If reports are to be believed building the dam across the Brahmaputra would help China get waters to irrigate the northwestern part of the Gobi desert in Xinjiang and Gansu districts besides replenish the almost dead dry Yellow River. Another big reason for China is that the dam is believed to become the world’s largest dam with 26 turbines that could generate 40 million kilowatts per hour of hydroelectricity, two times more than the power generated by the Three Gorges Dam over the Yangtze.

But why should India get worried if China is building a dam on its own side of the river? Well, India has more than one reason to be worried! Here’s why!

The first reason is that if the dam is built then both India and Bangladesh would be at the mercy of China for water needs during dry spells. And during rainy season there is the possibility of floods!

Secondly, river Brahmaputra is very a very important source of water for both India and Bangladesh. For India it accounts for 30 percent of the total water resources and nearly half of the country’s total hydropower potential. For Bangladesh the river water is crucial for its fresh water needs and for farming.

So if China completes the dam and also gives the go ahead for more such dams in the Brahmaputra region in the future, which is on the cards it could well mean disaster for many Northeastern states in India and for Bangladesh as well.

CEC stops life threatening iron ore project in Tiruvannamalai district in Tamil Nadu

The idyllic Kavuthi Malai and Vediappan Malai in Tiruvannamalai district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu was at the risk losing its serenity and natural beauty because of a proposal by the government for mining of iron ore in the hills. The iron ore is a joint venture project with Jindal Vijayanagar Steel Limited and is a potential danger to the livelihoods of thousands of farmers living in the 10 villages around the hills which is also the home to the indigenous flora and fauna and to some endangered species.

After a long legal battle, petitions and dharnas by the villagers and activists the Supreme Court Panel (CEC) has now rejected the proposal. The CEC has restrained the Ministry of Environment and Forests from giving any clearances for the project however, the life-threatening project could get a fresh lease of life if Jindal Vijayanagar Steel Ltd decides to file an appeal against the CEC recommendations.

For thousands of farmers living around the 10 villages around Kavuthi Malai and Vediappan Malai in Tiruvannamalai district in Tamil Nadu, the news that the Supreme Court Panel (CEC) has rejected the proposed iron ore project in these hills has come as a big relief for many reasons. Firstly, the hill of Tiruvannamalai is their spiritual and worldly saviour. The hill has an ancient history and is worshipped as the very form of Lord Siva. And secondly, the hill is also a perennial source of income and livelihood and has a cultural mooring for these farmers.

The Tiruvannamalai district has no perennial river to take care of the water demands for domestic and irrigation purposes. To add to the woes of the villagers living around the hill, the water supply from the nearby Sathanur dam is available only for three months in a year. During the rest of the year and during drought, the water from the Kavuthi Malai and Vediappan Malai is the only source of water for the entire population living in the 10 villages. The irrigation ponds in these 10 villages are at the foot of the hills and serve as catchment areas for the cultivation of cash crops and two crops of paddy every year.

The hills have huge grazing space for the cattle besides being the home to indigenous flora and fauna, some endangered species like the Monitor Lizard, Pangolin, Deer and Porcupine. The firewood collected from the hills is a source of livelihood for the women in these villages. And all these were at risk with the government’s joint venture proposal to permit iron ore mining in these areas. However, the timely intervention from the Supreme Court Panel (CEC) has effectively halted this plan.

The iron ore mining project in 325 hectares of forestland was proposed by Tamil Nadu Iron Ore Mining Corporation (TIMCO) as a joint venture between the State-owned TIDCO and Jindal Vijayanagar Steel limited. And according to the Rapid Environment Impact Assessment Report (REIA) and Environment Management Plan prepared by TIMCO: “Because of mining activities, there will be an impact on forest area, flora and fauna habitation in the area. However, as per Forest Conservation Acts & Rules, initiatives would be taken to minimize the impact.”

The report also warned of occupation health hazards. “The most significant occupational health threats are noise induced hearing loss and occupational lung disease, owing to inhalation of silica dust and fine iron ore dust.”

Right from the word go the villagers in the 10 villages were determined not to let the mining happen. In a display of united and strong approach to stop this environmental degradation and livelihood disaster, a large number of villagers turned out at the public hearing conducted by the district administration held last December. They continued their fight and brought the matter to the notice of the Supreme Court Panel (CEC).

At last, common sense has prevailed and the unabated and collective effort of these villagers and some environmental activists, the project has been finally called off paving way for the implementation of a greener and healthy lifestyle for the villagers of Kavuthi Malai and Vediappan Malai. Though the CEC has restrained the Ministry of Environment and Forests from giving any clearances for the project could get a fresh lease of life if Jindal Vijayanagar Steel Ltd decides to file an appeal against the CEC’s recommendation. But the villagers and activists are in no mood to give up yet!

How safe are your kids?

Watching your kids grow could be fun! While you might be happy to see your kids being curious to know about new things it is equally important to remember that this curiosity comes with a few hidden risks. Falls and injuries are part of the kids’ growth pattern however sometimes kids can be annoyingly innovative and inadvertently invite huge risks and dangers for themselves. And as parents it is your duty to give your kids a safe environment. And the following easy and effective safety ideas for kids might just help you do it.

Common hidden hazards that kids face

Watch the toys

Safety ideas for kids start at your home! Take for instance the toys and games for kids! This is festive season and the perfect time when the demand for toys and games will be like never before. Gifting your kids some toys and games of their choice could be a good idea! However, there is a catch! Consider this: Though a majority of the toys are safe, statistics point out that millions of toys are being recalled every month for presence of the harmful lead paint or dangerous magnets in them. Hence, it is safer to know about a few things before you buy the toys and games for your kids!

First, follow the updates by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on the list of recalls of hazardous consumer products. And when you are at the stores read the warning labels on the toys for safety information. It is advisable to keep away from children the small parts of the toys lest they might choke on them! Supervision goes a long way in ensuring your kid is safe while playing with toys. And if you cannot be there for some reason educate the caregivers or grandparents who will be supervising your kids in your absence on the safety precautions. Teach your kids to safely put toys away in a safe place. This could help them avoid falls and other injuries. Check frequently for sharp edges on toys that could harm your kids.

Teaching safety ideas for kids

Now this is the trickiest part! It is not enough if you put safety measures in place at homes, teaching safety ideas for kids is equally important. Statistics show that each year around 4.5 million children get hurt in their homes. Supervising your kids is the best way to avoid falls and injuries. Put cleaning materials in a cabinet out of reach of kids. Install fire and smoke alarm detectors, and block stairways with baby gates. And when your kid reaches 3 or 4 years when he could open the gates all by himself, it is time to teach him to seek your permission before opening the doors or getting down the stairs.

Pedestrian injury is still the second leading cause of injury-related deaths in the U.S among children ages between 5 and 14. For example, it is too common for a 7-year old to dart into the street after a bouncing ball or while crossing the roads without supervision or playing street hockey. Teach them about roads safety, signals and not to play in driveways, or streets or parking lots. Remember, it is never too early to teach your kids about safety.

Car safety tips

Perhaps the most important thing that you should know is to never leave kids or children alone in the car even for a quick errand. It could be dangerous for the kids. Experts say that a young child’s core body temperature could increase much faster than that of an adult and the inside temperature in a car can reach dangerous limits in just minutes resulting in permanent injury or even death for children or kids. Facts say that the internal temperature of the vehicle could quickly reach 134°F to 154°F on days when the temperature exceeded 86°F. During 1998 and 2007, around 365 children died from heat stroke while unattended inside a car.

It is equally important to teach kids not to play in and around parked vehicles. Always lock the doors and trunk of your car and keep the keys away from kids. A car trunk is the most attractive place for kids to play hide and seek, however sometimes this could prove even fatal. Teach kids not to play in cars and how to use the emergency trunk release in new cars.

Use only drive-through services. While on school buses, educate your kids to stay seated and to keep their heads and arms inside.

World Human Rights Day on December 10 – More than mere celebrations!

The horrors of the Second World War shook the entire world! Besides thousands of precious lives lost, the world witnessed perhaps the most gruesome violation of human rights during the time. In a way the war was a wake up call for the entire world. In 1945, the founding member nations of the then newly formed United Nations came together to draft many radical laws to protect and promote the basic human rights of its citizens. In three years time, in 1948, the combined efforts of these nations paid off when the United Nations General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” declaring that respect for human rights and human dignity “is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.” Soon in 1950, the U.N invited all member States and interested organisations across the globe to observe 10^th of December every year as World Human Rights Day.

Last year, 2008, marked the 60^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The theme of the campaign was “Dignity and justice for all of us.” In commemoration of this eventful year, the UN launched a year long campaign during which all parts of its family reinforced the vision of the Declaration as a commitment to universal dignity and justice and not something that should be viewed as a luxury or a wish-list.

The World Human Rights Day is celebrated with gusto in New York City, the headquarters of the UN and across the world. The day is marked by high-level political conferences and meetings and cultural events and exhibitions with focus on human rights issues. More importantly, it is on this Day that the five-yearly UN Prize in the Field of Human Rights and the coveted Noble Peace Prize are awarded.

What are human rights?

According to the UN, human rights are interrelated, interdependent and indivisible rights inherent to all human beings without discrimination and irrespective of our nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination.

The concept of human rights has many faces. Civil and political human rights is the right to life, and equality before the law and freedom of expression; economic, social and cultural rights are rights such as the right to work, social security and education, and collective rights are the rights to development and self-determination.

Treaties and laws to enforce human rights

All governments across the world countries are obliged to express, guarantee and uphold the basic human rights in all its faces by means of laws in the forms of treaties, customary international laws, general principles and other sources of international laws.

While the core of the Universal Declaration has continued to remain the same that of protecting human rights wherever their violations occur, the social, political, economic and cultural changes over the years has created the need to have a flexible whole new network of human rights instruments and mechanisms in place which is now being recognised and developed to enforce the objective. For instance, in the wake of the economic downturn faced by many of the world countries today, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has been holding conventions and meetings to explore the human rights violations on already marginalised populations in many member countries. It has urged the countries to do everything possible to ensure that the current recession does not affect the rights to work, housing, food, health, education and social security.

Similar conventions are on to assess the human rights scenario due to climatic changes, political coups, water and sanitation issues, conventions to protect the rights of the racism victims, of the disabled, of the victims of torture, of people suffering from poverty and many other such issues.

Human Rights in India

Though the human rights issue in India has improved a lot since independence in 1947, a lot remains to be done. India is one of the founder members of the United Nations and given this status India should have scored better in human rights issues, civil and political, economic, social and cultural and rights against discrimination, but the fact is it has not.

In its annual report on “The State of Human Rights in India – 2008” the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has pointed out, debated, and discussed how India has fared in some aspects of the civil and political rights such as right to fair trial without delay, rights concerning torture, bonded labour, and freedom of religion; economic, social and cultural rights like land rights, right to food, and rights against discrimination mostly the caste based discrimination, the internal security of the country, and equal status to women. The report points out that the apathy and ineptitude of the law enforcement agencies at district, state, and national levels has been one of the main reasons for some of these human rights violations still being prevalent in India.

Custodial torture

On the widespread use of torture in India, the report has pulled up the bad policing in the country and also the lack of interest on the part of the government in protecting, promoting and fulfilling human rights. The use of torture as the easiest way of investigation has created a distance between the law enforcement agencies and the ordinary people.

Bonded Labour

India is one of the founding members of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Despite this and the country introducing the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 and legislating many other domestic laws concerning wages and working conditions, it is a fact that bonded labour is still practised in India.

With 70 percent of the population living in rural areas and 35 percent of them in appalling circumstances, the poor people borrow money from the rich in order to meet their everyday basic requirements of food, clothing and shelter. Unable to pay off the debt and coupled with the widespread caste based discrimination in practice these poor people end up as bonded labourers. Here again the various law enforcement agencies have turned a blind eye to the problem.

Freedom of religion

Being a fundamental right in the country, religious freedom is an individual choice. Sadly, it is not so! Today, the scenario is such that the religion determines the security and liberty of a person. Religious violence unleashed in the name of politics, and moral policing is widespread in India. Religion has been misused to jeopardise the right to education, to health, to sanitation and even the right to vote. And the recent terrorist attacks in the country have also spelt danger for some minority communities. The government through its law enforcement agencies has to secure the liberty and rights of individuals. The media too has an effective role to play and not just confine to filming these atrocities on print and electronic media.

The right to fair trial without delay

It is the constitutional obligation of the law enforcement machinery in India including the judiciary system to ensure that lethargy on the part of the police, the state or the centre or administrative inability or financial constraints does not delay the justice. We have been witnessing quite a lot of cases pending at the court due to one or several of these reasons and the time to time observation and condemnation of the Supreme Court of India on the need for the speedy disposal of pending cases. After all, justice delayed is justice denied! The State and the Centre should look into the drawbacks of this kind and fix it at the earliest.

Right to food, education and health

In a country that is self-sufficient in food production and with substantial food reserves, the basic right to food has not been met. The rights to education and health face similar fate in India. Almost 22 percent of the population still live in deplorable conditions due to acute poverty and hence cannot afford to enjoy the basic rights to nutritious food, quality education and health services. Despite the Ministry of Food’s initiatives like the public distribution system, midday meals scheme, government sponsored hospitals, and various other methods in place, a section of the society still do not benefit from it.

The reasons are visible and many: Corruption, caste based discrimination, gender inequality, the indifferent attitude of the various law enforcement agencies including police, courts and administrative neglect, trade barriers and the bottlenecks in internal security and the lack of will on the part of those in responsible positions continue to play havoc on the human rights scenario in the country!

Till all these problems are effectively addressed at the earliest, celebrating the World Human Rights Day will mean nothing! Educating the children and youth on the human rights issue is important. It is a welcome gesture as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will launch Human Rights Education as a separate subject at the 10+2 level from 2010-11 academic sessions. This will give the children an opportunity to understand, analyse the existing human rights scenario in the country and work towards its betterment.

What you could do!

The UN has outlined the many ways through which the World Human Rights Day could be used an opportunity to create and raise an awareness of the human rights and help protect your community and beyond. Simple campaigns like distribution of hand notes on human rights or as SMS messages to mobiles, or organising a meeting about human rights issues in your neighbourhood or publicising the efforts of real-life stories of people vying to get their basic human rights, or submitting petitions to support the rights of a group in your area, all these could go a long way in making the World Human Rights Day celebrations a meaningful one. However, the big change has to come from the government! And we, as responsible citizens have a right to demand this change! It is time for each one of us to speak up for those whose basic human rights are violated. The change has to start today and now.

World AIDS Day on December 1: STOP AIDS. Keep the promise

AIDS is a global epidemic. According to the 2007 estimates, 33 million people were affected and living with HIV/AIDS around the world. And approximately 2.5 million people were affected with HIV in India in 2006 making it the third largest in the world and the largest in Asia. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), AIDS is one of the biggest killers in recorded history killing more than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007. In 2007 alone, around 2 million lost their lives to this deadly disease, including approximately 270,000 children. Today, it is a globally accepted fact that the keys to the prevention of HIV/AIDS not only depends on advanced treatment and care but equally on spreading improved awareness on the disease, dispel the myths surrounding it, stringent laws for the removal of discrimination and social stigmas that make some groups more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, and coordinated efforts and sharing of knowledge. And to reiterate this commitment, the World AIDS Day is observed every year on December 1. This Day is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS caused by the HIV infection. On this day, volunteers, welfare organisations and governments across the world hold rallies, meetings, and public awareness campaigns on HIV/AIDS, its treatment, care and dispel the myths associated with it and stress the need for a coordinated public support for HIV infected people, children in particular.

How it all began!

World AIDS Day was the brainchild of James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter, two public information officers for the Global Programme on AIDS (now UNAIDS) at the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva. The duo conceived the idea in 1987 to dedicate a day to spread the awareness of the disease, treatment, care and the ways to prevent it. Thus the first World AIDS Day was observed on December 1, 1988 and from then on, on the same day every year.

Soon in 1996, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) became operational and took over the World AIDS Day programme. In the following year, UNAIDS revamped the programme and created the round-the-year World AIDS campaign to focus on communications, prevention and education of HIV/AIDS. In 2004, the World AIDS campaign became an independent organisation.

Theme and sub-theme for World AIDS Day

Since its inception in 2004, the UNAIDS has chosen annual themes and yearly sub-themes for World AIDS Day ever year in consultation with other global health organisations. Earlier, the World AIDS Campaign and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) had announced that for the World AIDS Days from 2005 through 2010, the broad theme will be “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.” And the sub theme for this year’s World AIDS Day on December 1, 2009 is “Universal Access and Human Rights.”

The theme has been chosen to address and call to countries to uphold the basic human rights of providing access to prevention, treatment, care and support, and remove the discrimination and punitive laws against those living with HIV like women and marginalized groups. Countries are also urged to realise the many commitments they made to protect human rights in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (2001) and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS (2006).

According to UNAIDS, some 84 countries across the world have laws and policies that actually hinder the effective prevention, treatment, care and support for HIV affected and vulnerable populations. And even today some 59 countries have laws that restrict the entry, stay and residence of people living with HIV, which is a clear case of discrimination against them in their freedom of movement and right to work.

AIDS in India – Statistics are alarming

According to National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), in India, the number of people affected with AIDS is the third largest in the world, and remains the largest in Asia. In 2006 approximately 2.5 million people in India were living with HIV. Out of this, 39 percent were women and 3.8 percent children. Sexual route is predominantly the transmission route for HIV in India with 87.4 percent of the HIV affected population affected through sex related activities. The other routes of HIV transmission includes peri-natal at 4.7 percent, unsafe blood and blood products at 1.7 percent, infected needles and syringes at 1.8 percent and unspecified and other routes of transmission at 4.1 percent.

AIDS affecting the cream of the society

The adult national HIV prevalence was 0.36% among the general population. And among high risk groups it is obviously higher. NACO statistics say that among Injecting Drug Users (IDUs), it is as high as 8.71 percent, while it is 5.69 percent and 5.38 percent among Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) and Female Sex Workers (FSWs), respectively.

More men are HIV positive than women. For every 100 people living with HIV and AIDS, 61 are men and 39 women. While a whopping 88.7 percent of all infections are prevalent in the 15-49 age group that is people in the prime of their working life, young people too are at greater risk, with the under-15 category accounting for 3.8 percent of all HIV infections.

Social stigmas, biological reasons make women more vulnerable to HIV

Women account for almost 1 million of the 2.5 million HIV affected people in India. Social stigmas like early marriage, sexual abuse and violence and the lack of equal rights to women in families, and the lack of information and knowledge about sexual related diseases is still widely prevalent in India. The choice to abstain from sex or safe sex is still far from reality. This is worse in the case of women sex workers who are stigmatised or marginalised. Poor access to quality health services have also added to the woes of women making them more prone to HIV infections.  

Law is equal for all: Rights of the HIV affected

Whether a person is affected or infected by HIV, he/she has three important rights:

(1) Right to informed consent – testing for HIV requires specific and informed consent of the person being tested. A person can move the court if testing is conducted without the consent of the concerned person.

(2) Right to confidentiality – India’s law states that if the person with HIV is afraid to move the court to vindicate his/her rights for fear of his/her HIV status becoming public knowledge, he/she can take the help of Suppression of Identity under a pseudonym.

(3) Right against discrimination – the right to be treated equally is a fundamental right and issues like denial of housing for HIV affected can be settled in the court of law.

What should we know!

As a responsible citizen of this country it is important for each one of us to understand and spread the awareness about the HIV disease. This will largely help in reducing the social stigmas and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. We should take measures to safeguard ourselves and others from getting infected with the HIV/AIDS by adopting preventive health habits and lifestyle. It is better not to have multiple sexual partners, or at least have safe sex!

Continue to donate blood. The National Blood Policy adopted in April 2002 ensures that the donor and the blood donated are safe as all materials used for blood collection are sterile and disposable. It also certifies that safe and quality blood is collected from voluntary non-remunerated regular blood donors. This resulted in a significant drop in transmission of HIV through blood transfusion. The percentage was reduced from 6.07percent in 1999 to 1.96 percent in 2006 and to 1.1percent in 2007.

Concerted global action is needed!

While this global epidemic is seen stabilizing largely due to the efforts at national and international levels, it is still at an unacceptably high levels. To help effectively pull back this level calls for concerted efforts at multi levels in countries across the globe.

Firstly, we need to act on the many political commitments made on HIV. This requires greater leadership, sincere efforts to learn the positives and keep building on the recent successes by taking account of lessons learnt, improve the financial resources required to fight the deadly virus, enhance coordination and cooperation between states in efforts and knowledge, and effectively draft new laws or spruce up existing laws for effective action to address societal determinants of HIV risk and vulnerability.

Let’s extend our whole hearted support to the HIV infected friends and help spread the awareness.

World Population Day – The key is empowering women

[The World Population Day is observed on July 11 every year. We are far ahead of July 11 this year but way behind the efforts that are required to acheive our goals of tacking the increasing population growth. In fact the efforts should be kept  alive everyday and for many more years to come for the demands are increasing everyday.]

“Think of the earth as a living organism that is being attacked by billions of bacteria whose numbers double every forty years. Either the host dies, or the virus dies, or both die.” – Gore Vidal, American novelist and critic.

The world is bursting at it seams thanks to the burgeoning global population. According to the present estimates, the world population is approximately around 6.5 billion. And India’s population alone is approximately 1.17 billion, which is one-sixth of the world population. So what’s the big deal? Well, its simple logic! When the world grows in numbers so does it problems! Bigger the numbers, bigger the problems! More people would mean more food to be grown to feed, more resources to provide quality health and education, more jobs to be created to provide employment, more cities and towns to accommodate and many such things! Unfortunately, the current global economic meltdown will not allow this to happen too quickly as it ought to be. In fact, it has already put the brakes on several important global issues the primary being health and education.

This twin-problem of increasing population and the global financial and economic crisis threatens to reverse hard-won gains in education and health in developing countries and the worst to be hit by this are women and girls, feels the United Nations. Even before the crisis happened, women and girls represented the majority of the world’s poor. And now this crisis has only aggravated their situation pushing them deep down into poverty, exposing them to increased health risks, especially if they are pregnant, and to hunger, malnutrition, and unemployment. The world cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the problems of the women as this has the ominous potential to spill over to affect the global community at large. Hence, rightly so, the focus of this year’s World Population Day on July 11 is investing in women and girls. The UN is urging member nations to continue to invest more in empowering women to help us get out of this global turmoil. This way the United Nations believes that the world will be put back on the path in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Origin and purpose of the World Population Day (WPD)

The need of the hour is to create awareness among global communities about the population crisis amid the economic meltdown and the worst repercussions it will lead to, particularly to women and girls and how addressing these issues will help the world! And the world will have to unite to act and continue to brainstorm to come out with innovative and safer ways to tackle the inequality between available resources and the increasing population! And this year’s World Population Day on July 11 seeks to do exactly this.

This year is the 20^th anniversary of World Population Day. And what started as an annual event by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989 which itself was inspired by the Five Billion Day on July 11, 1987 when the world’s population reached five billion, has now probably assumed greater importance like never before. Apart from honouring the customary way of celebrations to raise awareness of global population issues, set goals and seek ways by organising events, workshops, rallies and seminars and debates, this year’s WPD has a bigger task on hand as the world reels under the recession!

2009 WPD theme can help tackle recession-induced inadequacies and world population control

The theme for this year’s United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) World Population Day is “Fight Poverty, Educate Girls.” With banners that declare “When girls stay in school and get an education, poverty has no chance,” this year’s campaign urges every man and woman to ‘join the anti-poverty movement and educate girls.’ This year, the World Population Day aims to build awareness of the importance of educating girls to help solve the vicious cycle of repercussions starting from development issues, to poverty, to human rights and to gender equality.

The global economic meltdown has been a cause of additional concern for a world that is already facing the acute problem of increasing population. What started as a financial crisis in rich countries is now deepening into a global economic crisis that is hitting developing countries hard. Recession basically means a sense of insecurity resulting in deep cutbacks on expenditure including on existing and new investments leading to unemployment, increasing protectionism which means that more and more people employed in foreign countries and institutions becoming jobless, governments spending less on public welfare projects like education, health, nutrition, which results in disempowerment of people and women in particular. All these will only make the situation go worse.

According to the UNFPA, the key lies in empowering women and children particularly those in developing countries as they will bear the brunt of the impact of the recession. The key lies in educating girls and empowering women to meet these challenges by way of policy responses that build on women’s roles as economic agents. The governments across the world should also continue and increase investments in public health, education, child care and other social services as these will help lessen the impact of the crisis on the entire family and raise productivity for a healthier economy.

What’s at stake!

The UNFPA sponsored International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) has warned that in times of recession, the sexual and reproductive health services will likely suffer as health expenditures are cut back. However, it is a fact that each dollar invested in reducing unmet need for contraceptive services will avoid about $2-4 in expenditures on maternal and newborn health. Also at stake is the well being of the children that can be dramatically impacted due to loss of jobs for women in both formal and informal sectors. This coupled with restricted access to family planning services and health services could force them to take recourse to abortion, including unsafe abortion.

Empowered women and control of population

The UNFPA sees the reproductive health and gender issues as critical determinants of population dynamics. Fertility is driven largely by reproductive and health decisions that individual women can or cannot make, depending on the information, services and supplies that are available to them, the cultural context in which they live, and the educational and economic opportunities given to them. Empowered women can make these significant choices of spacing births by effective use of contraception, plan smaller families and healthier communities. And empowerment begins with proper education, access to better health services, and employment and economic freedom which would signal the beginning of effective population control and help reduce the impact of the global economic meltdown. Additionally, empowering women will result in improved maternal health, adequate nutrition to themselves, their children and families.

As the U.N Secretary General puts it, let us urge our decision-makers, at the national, state, district and at our homes, to protect women’s ability to earn income, keep their daughters in school, and obtain reproductive health information and services, including voluntary family planning.  Let us help advance the rights of women and girls, and empower them as highly productive members of society capable of contributing to economic recovery and growth. There can be no better investment on this day or any other.

“Devar Magan” was better than “Unnaipol Oruvan” in conveying the message directly

Last week there was this chat show on Star Vijay channel. Fans of the South Indian superstar Dr. Kamal Hassan were there asking the man himself about everything, from his latest film ‘Unnaipol Oruvan,’ the remake of the Hindi film ‘A Wednesday,’ and about his thoughts on cinema. But the one thing that really impressed me was that the show focused more on discussing the various social issues on hand and how cinema can be a responsible medium in (1) creating an awareness, (2) providing an avenue for opening up discussions and (3) finding out an amicable solution to the social issues.

Kamal was his usual self by actively taking  part in the discussion and giving out very crisp answers. As an ordinary man I loved the way he has evolved to present his views in a much clearer tone. His recent films have always carried some message to the common man and to his family of cinema makers. But the recent flick “Unnaipol Oruvan” from his own production house has little to cheer about from the perspective of a message! The film has been brilliantly made, no doubt on that but there is much confusion and ambiguity on what the film actually wants to convey to the common man! I couldn’t understand the message of the film!

Ever since the film got released it got rave reviews from all corners. Everyone talked about how brilliant Kamal was in the film and applauded Mohanlal for his outstanding performance! I fully agree! After all, Kamal is one actor who doesn’t want to give anything except the best when it comes to onscreen performances ! He is also an expert story teller but this time he has slipped in ‘Unnaipol Oruvan’ ! The fact that it is a remake of the Naseruddin Shah’s “A Wednesday” is acceptable but that said Kamal could have taken more care in bringing more clarity to the message that he wanted to convey through the film.

This film is better in terms of technology, crisp and meaningful dialogues, and even background score. Each character speaks about his/her opinion about the whats, whys and hows of terrorism! And there is an obvious huge difference in each perception.

Take for example, Kamal as the protaganist is portrayed as the representative of the comman man, his anger and reactions to the government’s incapability to handling terrorism threats and terrorists! His anger is so much that he toes the line of the terrorists’ in avenging them! Fine! But what is the exact message here? Ever since the film got released Kamal has been trying to tell people in various podiums including the talk show on Star Vijay last week that the actual message in the film was not about asking the common man to vent out his anger in the way the protagonist in the film did but the film was a sort of a ‘morning alarm’ that if terrorism and terrorists are not dealt with the way they should be then everyone might start turning out to be the protagonist in this film which needless to say will be very unfortunate! But perhaps with a little more care Kamal could have conveyed this same message through the film itself and not use the various podiums to clarify this! Nowhere in the film the comman man could get a hint of Kamal’s actual message. In fact it was the opposite. Everyone thought that Kamal was showing the ‘Netaji’ way or it was simply a case of avenging the deaths of so many innocent lives and particularly the pregnant woman’s death the protagonist’s emotionally narrates at the end of the film!

Kamal and the director could have also used the other characters in the film to convey the message of the film. Perhaps the character of Mohanlal as the police commissioner who sees terrorism as an unnecessary trouble for the law and order in the city and feels a bit jaded whenever there is political pressure that actually stops him from acting the way he wants! He kickstarts the film with a narration and perhaps could have ended with another effective one conveying this point if Kamal the story teller had felt that the protagonist in the story cannot afford to do this as he could not have seen any other logic for his act of killing the terrorists!

The other characters in the film are well etched. Take for example the Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister of the State played by veteran actress Lakshmi. She is given the power to decide on the course of action to tackle the terrorism drama that unfolds in the peak hours of a day! But the character is more worried about the political repurcussions and expresses it without any concern for the other important facets of the problem, a typical today’s politician’s reaction! She doesn’t want her name or the government’s name to be spoilt for any reason. She and the chief minister himself are more worried about how the opposition parties would capitalize on the terrorism bid if they came toknow about it! And there is the TV anchor Natasha, an aspiring journalist who cannot resist the ‘invitation’ from the protagonist to ’sensationalise’ terrorism acts to hog the limelight! And finally one of the three terrorists and their arms supplier has his own (sad) stories on how they turned out to be the dreaded ones!

So each character in the film sees the terrorism threat from his/her perspective! All this is fine but somewhere down the line there seems to be no link between all the characters, not the physical part of it but the fine thread that should be running between them in conveying the message of the film.

Devar Magan vs. Unnaipol Oruvan

I loved Kamla’s film ‘Devar Magan’ more than ‘Unnaipol Oruvan.’ The reason why I am taking this comparison is that both these films carry an almost similar message that hatred cannot be a solution to solve hatred. The only difference is that in Devar Magan the issue was confined to one village and a tussle between two groups and belonging to the same community, I guess! And in Unnaipol Oruvan it is a macro issue, a problem if left unchecked could take more ugly proportions and trouble to every one of us in the near future. But this was not effectively conveyed in the film. However, Devar Magan managed to convey its message in the best possible way! Perhaps each character in the film builds up the tempo leading to the superb climax where the actual message is directly conveyed by the protagonist. In fact one can appreciate that the actual message in the film is seen sprinkled in almost every scene thanks to the meaningful words spoken by the protagonist.

The hero of the film is Shakti played by Dr. Kamal Hassan and is a very typical ‘foreign return guy.’ He comes back to his village with his lady love much to the displeasure of his father, the chieftain of the village played by veteran actor the late Sivaji Ganesan. Shakti has his ‘villager’ shades in tact and his exposure to higher education and business acumen hasn’t taken any toll on this. Tempers run high in his native village and he understands the fact that the communal clashes in his village has been there for hundreds of years even though his ‘educated’ mind cannot accept this for obvious reasons. Time and again he disagrees with his father on this despite the fact that his father never advocated communal clashes. In fact the father wants peace all over but at the same time he is forced to spend more time and energy in appeasing his own men from reacting to the teasings from the other side. He is clueless at times but at the same time cannot afford to withdraw himself from the issues in the village lest the entire village will become a victim to the bloody communal clashes!

At one point, the hero does something stupid to please his ladylove and this sparks off tension between the two groups resulting in one his men losing his hand in a bloody duel! Shakti rushes him to the hospital and feels guilty that he was responisble for the man losing his hand! But the men around him including the victim are unfazed and see it as an opportunity for revenge! The hero is disturbed by this and not wanting to see any justice in their anger decides to walk out of the village. But before he could leave, the dam in the village is blasted by the opposition leading to the deaths of many civilians. Shakti begins to take care of the villagers and share their grief. The ‘villager’ in him is reborn and Shakti slowly shrugs off his ‘do not care’ urban mentality and stays there.

After his father’s untimely demise, Shakti is forced to take the place of his father to lead the divided village. And Shakti handles each situation after that in the best way he can to avoid hatred and bring over a sense of security and peace to the village. The leader of the opposite gang builds a fence dividing the village and putting the villagers to great hardships. To solve this problem Shakti arranges for the marriage of one of his men with the daughter of a man belonging to the other side of the village. But on the day of the marriage the groom disappears. Sensing trouble for the man and his daughter and his own village folk, Shakti marries the girl thus sacrificing his own love who was living in the city. The fence dividing the village is broken off and the villagers rejoice.

With no option left, the leader of the gang makes his escape to abscond. Shakti rescues the family of the opposition gang leader from his own men, advises them to show restraint and humaneness and takes care of them. The police issues arrest warrant against the opposition gang leader for his past crimes. However, the notorious leader lands in Shakti’s own godown and attacks him. He is hell bent on taking revenge and the superb dialogues in the midst of the duel carries the crux of the character of the protagonist and the message of the film. However, in the ensuing bloody duel to save himself Shakti accidentally cuts off the opposition gang leader’s head. Though it was done only for self protection, Shakti laments that he himself who advocated peace and non violence has been forced to commit a murder. He surrenders to the police. Another classy scene that conveys the message of the film in a directly way is when Shakti turns down the requests of his own men who come forward to surrender on his behalf. The parting words are excellent and conveys the whole message of the film: “For how many more years you will bear this brunt of revenge and take responsibility for others’ blunders. Go on with your individual lives, educate your children and be happy.” I have only managed to convey 20 percent of the impact of this film through this description. If you can watch the film with subtitles then you will be able to appreciate the essence of the film.

Unnaipol Oruvan differs here. Each character has its own justification but these are not powerful enough to make the viewer understand that the film actually advocates non-violence. Perhaps a direct message from one of the central characters of the film excepting the protagonists who for obvious reasons cannot see the correct logic behind his acts or the screenplay could have been more powerful to convey the message ina more direct way. The film is good and superior on all standards and one could have no second thoughts about it but the fact remains that the message the film wanted to convey hasn’t been conveyed well!

Are we really independent?

Every Indian out there knows that the country achieved independence from the British rule on August 15, 1947 and this year marks the 62^nd year of independence! Many of us also know from the history books in our schools the recorded sacrifices that were made to regain the sovereignty of our motherland! Equally familiar is the fact that on this day the country celebrates this landmark achievement in its usual customary and colourful ways! The National flag is hoisted in the national capital of New Delhi, and at the various state capitals and union territories. The Prime Minister lists the achievements of the country since the last Independence Day, raises the current and important domestic and sometimes international issues, and urges fellowmen to come together to solve it! Various cultural events are held, and special shows to honour the martyrs and the surviving freedom fighters are staged. And so another Independence Day quietly comes to an end, the very day our forefathers and great leaders of pre-independent India dreamt of. But for us it is just another national holiday, a mere show of pomp, special shows on television, everything but an occasion to celebrate the spirit of independence, and relive and revive the spirit of fighting!

Why should we fight today? And against whom? Or what is there to fight for? Well, in my opinion we should ask ourselves why we have stopped the fight! After all, we have so many nagging problems, big and small, around us! Isn’t? Unfortunately, today we have ‘learnt to live’ with these problems and as long as they don’t ‘severely’ make a dent on our personal lives, we just don’t care! But have we ever wondered where we have gone wrong? I know this will kick start the blame game! There is corruption, red tapism that slows down development, and there are no good politicians, no leaders, no vision, no resources, and so on! But do we also realise that we too are responsible for this dismal state of affairs? Everyone knows that there cannot be a change overnight but I hope we will agree to the fact that there has to be some beginning somewhere!

Independence vs freedom

What is independence and what is freedom? For most of us political independence is freedom enough! The term ‘independence’ and the sense of ‘being independent’ has outshined the freedom struggle fought by our leaders and countrymen. What they sought was an independent India and more than that the ‘freedom’ to govern ourselves and not to be dictated by some foreign force! Sadly, we have achieved the political independence but only some degree of real freedom. Real freedom is what will turn our country into a strong and united India! And every one of us should be fighting for it now!

Take for instance the personal freedom, a freedom that can be exercised by one individual without violating the other person’s freedom. In a nutshell, the freedom to express my views, do my own things without hurting others’ sentiments, and feelings and sentiments. It is a part of the civil liberties that protect an individual from the government of the residing nation setting limits for it so that it cannot abuse its power and interfere unduly with the lives of its citizens. Now how many of us can proudly say that we enjoy complete personal freedom in our ‘independent’ country?! I am not questioning here the rights of the government in upholding the law of the land or punishing the guilty and extending protection to its citizens. Every government has the right to do that! But this is more about the apathy, of the government and a few individuals and groups, in the name of caste, religion, tradition, and gender that directly or indirectly violates my personal freedom to express my views or do my own things! It is an irony that only a select few have personal freedom which is only misused in restricting the freedom of others. There are more unwritten and unspoken laws being followed here than the customary written ones on bound books, which are almost never followed! Many of our laws are only ‘said’ in the right spirit but not ‘done’ in the right way.

Rights are not allowed to be fully exercised

Similarly we do not fully enjoy the civil rights, social rights, cultural rights and the rights to quality health, quality education, and defence to name a few. Even the right to vote has often been not allowed to exercise in the way we want it to, and needless to say the right to education is dictated by castes and money! Quality health services are denied to many. Everything comes with a heavy price tag! There can be several reasons for this but unfortunately our ‘muted mumbles’ is only making things get worse!

How many of us can proudly say that we enjoy all these rights to the fullest! Right from getting a birth certificate for our babies, to admissions in schools and colleges, and to get the jobs that we deserve, we compromise on everything. This compromise is not ‘ahimsa’ that Mahatma Gandhi stood for; this is typical ‘meek’ surrendering to the apathy of the few bad elements in the society! Of course, there will be a very few out there who would have not experienced the apathy of the officials at some point in time! But that’s only a handful of the population! A majority of us are still in the dark about our rights even on everyday issues! Even after 62 years of self-governing independent India we cannot get to exercise our rights and get things done in the way it ought to be done! Superficially, India has improved leaps and bounds in many fields. The quality of life has improved but sadly the quality of ‘living’ has not! Many of us do not even realise that in some parts of the country, far from our busy cities and our so-called social consciousness, some people are still fighting for some basic things, not with the British Empire but with the Indian government.

Wake up, India!

It is startling that we have failed to realise the gravity of the situation we are in. Or is it like we have meekly surrendered to the official apathy and gone numb to issues around us? Or is it simply because we have lost the spirit of fighting that our leaders and millions of citizens in pre-independent India displayed against the British? May be, it is a bit of all of them. The freedom struggle for independent India was not scripted by Gandhi and Nehru and other leaders alone, there were millions of people who stood up at that time to fight. The only reason was they wanted to be the masters of their own destiny, to help themselves and the country, the single most important persona that each one of us is missing today! What we need today is freedom, freedom across all spectrums and at all levels and the political independence is only just a beginning. If this happens, India will be a real force to reckon with!

Anti Poverty Day on October 17 – A responsive government, and new strategies – the need of the hour

“Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty, human rights are violated. To come together to ensure that these rights be respected is our solemn duty.“

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty or the World Anti Poverty Day as it is more popularly known is observed every year since 1993, when the United Nations General Assembly designated this day to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries.

Background of the Day

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty owes its origin in Paris, France. On October 17, 1987 more than 100,000 people gathered in Paris to honour the victims of extreme poverty, violence and hunger. From then on, individuals, and organisations around the world began to observe the day to renew their commitment towards eradicating poverty. The awareness was so overwhelming and fast spreading that in December, 1992, the United Nations General Assembly officially declared October 17 as the date for the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. 

In December 1995, the UN launched the First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997–2006). Soon after this at the Millennium Summit in 2000, world leaders committed themselves to cutting by half the number of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015. And following this, in December 2007, the UN proclaimed the Second United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2008-2017).

Themes for the Second UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (2008-2017) and 2009 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

The UN has set “full employment and decent work for all” as a theme for the Second UN Decade for the Eradication of Poverty. According to the UN, the second Decade aims at supporting, in an efficient and coordinated manner, the internationally agreed development goals related to poverty eradication, including the Millennium Development Goals. The proclamation recognises the importance of mobilising financial resources for development at national and international levels, including private investment and entrepreneurship that is vital for rising living standards.

The 2009 observance of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17 focuses on the plight of children living in poverty and the need to fulfil their rights in partnership with them and in keeping with the upcoming 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. At the 2009 observance at the UN headquarters in New York, children from various countries will get an opportunity to speak out against poverty and dialogue with others.

How this Day is celebrated

On this day, the various non-government organizations and community charities renew their call for support from the country leaders and governments to make the fight against poverty a central part of their foreign policy. “Call to action” petitions are also signed amid concerts and cultural events, and interfaith gatherings.

Poverty in India – combating key challenges

According to The World Bank’s world development indicators in 2008, the percentage of people below the poverty line in rural India is 28% and 26% in urban India. Since independence, the poverty alleviation programmes have worked reasonably well and now India’s poor percentage is fast diminishing. Having said that, it has become more important now to sustain these poverty alleviation efforts and tweak it to suit newer challenges and for better clarity and impact. According to a World Bank study, it is important to understand what factors help or hinder the climb out of poverty because each has different policy implications. Apart from basic education and training, health issues, and access to credit instruments, the study also finds that the importance of employment generation, opportunities for individual initiatives in agriculture and non-agriculture sectors and multiple sources of income as the key reasons for families moving out of poverty.

Access to education

Access to basic education, academic and technical, is the first step towards poverty alleviation. It is the duty of government to provide free and compulsory basic education including vocational training to its citizens. Equality and non-discrimination plays a vital role in providing basic education. The government can work with private individuals and institutions and NGOs in achieving this. Most important is the quality of education that is being provided and the state has to consider this too.

Besides education, the creation of jobs in agriculture and non-agriculture sectors also hinges on better infrastructure, and better access to credit and local markets. The non-farm jobs include providing initiatives such as opening a small business and having multiple sources of income to help move out of poverty. Industrialisation including small-scale, mid- and large-scale ones should be given priority. And to achieve, continuing the economic liberalisation and key policy changes assume a greater significance like never before. The identification and development of special economic zones, industrial units, and schemes should be done to generate employment opportunities for the qualified. Also, public and private banks should be made more people friendly in doling out financial aids for people aspiring to start viable business plans. Entrepreneurship should be encouraged and it not only raises the standard of living and productivity but is also a key area of employment generation.

Revamping Panchayats

The local democratic structures like the Panchayats are critical in poverty alleviation. However, this set up too needs a revamp as the existing formation and its hierarchy is based purely on caste or political affiliations, or economic power resulting in the benefits reaching only a select few. There has to be a government-backed understanding of the functioning of the Panchayats, along with the private sector and civil society.

Spruce up health services

Needless to say the quality of public health services in India leaves much to be desired. And health related issues also play a role in some families slipping into poverty. The loss or partial disability or the complete disability of the breadwinner in a family could deprive them from getting access to continuous education, healthcare and employment opportunities. Hence, it becomes absolutely necessary to provide quality healthcare and health insurance for earning members in families. The government backed by strong and flexible and people friendly health policies and the able support from the private players should take the initiative further in providing quality healthcare and health insurance to families and help them move out of poverty.

We need a responsive government, and new strategies

In short, health issues, death and social shocks are the deadliest factors that throw families into poverty. And this can be effectively dealt with only when there is a responsive and innovative government, responsive to the ground zero situation and innovative in launching new strategies to help move out of poverty. As the World Bank study report says: “…when responsive local governments and economic opportunities match individual initiative and hard work, poor people’s journey out of poverty can be greatly facilitated.” The report also ‘underlines the urgency of devising new strategies to do so – including social and health insurance programmes as well as improved access to savings and credit instruments.’

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”

And this can be best achieved only when a country strengthens and gives better access to its citizens in the areas of health, social equality, education and training, science and technology, peace and security, freedom of expression and participation and finally access to justice.

“Poverty is a denial of human rights.” This statement sums up it all. And as UNESCO said the fight against poverty must combine wide-ranging and multi-dimensional and sustainable efforts that are carried out all through the year.