Rise of asia and decline of america

“international institutions must ascribe to the ground realities of today”

              These are the words said by Indian prime minister at recently held meeting of world leaders from brazil Russia china india and south Africa in fontaleza town of brazil.ground realities as voiced out in the meeting of countries from asia Eurasia and latin America ,are though changing in every respect but still needs to be seen that whether there is strategic shift in terms of rise of third world,most of which resides in asia and fall of first world ,whose main symbol is usa?

                                                                                                                                 Asian continent is the largest continent of world with having in its ambit some major powers like china india and japan.these nations are becoming powerhouse of the world of today.while on the American side,its predominantly the united states along with Canada as major ally,which is leading the guard as a single superpower evers since the fall of ussr.rise of asia will itself means the growing might of major powers of asia in world affairs whether be it the military,economic or cultural field while fall of Americas will mean the declining prestige of usa who got its position graciously after the second world war which brought the emergence of new world order.

                                    The issue of rise of asia and fall of Americas come on table because of many recent events like india’s  launching of mars orbiter mission and testing of nirbhay cruise missile,all this entailing the technologies till now held by only western nations headed by usa or the economic control by way of trade as done by china earning huge foreign reserves or the failure faced by usa in middle east symbolized by the rise of dreadful isis.not only this,the latest human development report points out that for the first time ,combined national income of third world crossed that of first world.is all this pointing to a major change in the way the world affairs will be conducted now on ? certainly yes

                                                                                                                                           But for that it needs to be seen that in which areas there is increasing leverage of asian powers and in which fields ,they are still lagging behind.it should also be seen that what can be done to make the world a prosperous valley of humanity with the rise of neglected and upliftment of downtrodden as a goal in end and rather than mere as a support for achieving the end as of now.

                                                                                             First and foremost of all is the emergence of political unity and stability in asian nations.nothing can be an apt example of this than india.its post independence history is marked with integration of 562 scattered princely states with Indian union due to great efforts of sardar vallabhbhai patel,who is also called as iron man or Bismarck of india.not only this,india became a place where the people who were always seen to be constituting separate nations in the eyes of westerners,were moulded as a single state.while on the other hand,in united states it’s the emergence of political complacency in the system which in today’s time is marked by lameduck presidency at the end time of maximum possible two presidential terms in their governance system.the history tells us that stability is a chariot wheel in the progressive path of a country like seen by a rapid industrial progress in united kingdom in 18 th century.if it holds true in the future ,then certainly communist china and democratic india will lead the world in coming times compared to  politically complacent usa.

                            Another field is the economic one where the story of asian rise and American or europpean fall is being written.whether be it the business process outrsourcing industry or the knowledge process outsourcing or the supply of cheap but highly educated workforce ,it’s the india that leads the world.when it comes to consumer goods market,it’s the china who by virtue of its large industrial intstallations and cheap labour ,is playing dominant role in world market and when it comes to field of higher or cutting edge technology,it’s the japan which shows the way to the world.this had become possible due to huge advantage of demographic dividend as nearly 40-45%population in asia is in working age group.

                                    While on the other hand,usa is suffering from the setbacks of loose monetary policy followed by it till now.result of it was that the superpower first suffered from bursting of home bubble and later by economic depression marked by crash of lehmann brothers bank.over and above it,the contagion effect of euro crisis and increasing costs of war in middle east,made the usa one of the largest debtorsin world market.irony is that its largest creditor is china,who boasts of its huge foreign reserves ,and is an asian nationalistic power.

                                                                  Another arena in which there is significant shift in favour of asia is the international negotiations and agreements.third world led by india forced the inclusion of principle principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in Kyoto summit of 1997.copenhagen summit of 2009 marked the rise of BASIC nations which include brazil south Africa india and china.recent standoff over the issue of inclusion of hydrofluorocarbons as ozone depleting substances or green house gas is also a noteworthy step articulating the rising weight of asian nations.not only this,a major international body that is imf,have started for major changes in its governance structure with more voting rights to developing world.

                                  On the other hand,united states jealousness of protecting their private companies is now seen as the one obstructing most of  the issue of  today to be solved.for example recently due to efforst due to efforts of world intellectual property organization ,marakesh treaty signed by which there will be production of even copyright material in the formats which are accessible to visually handicapped people like Braille script.this treaty till now,not ratified by usa though most of the world’s major publishing houses are in usa..there are othr areas where problem are cropping up like usa refusal to have legally binding emission cuts or its overt attacks on intellectual property right affairs of other countries like india.all these issues make the image of America look like as an irresponsible power.

                                                                                         Fourthly it’s the market demand which is putting a fuel towards the rise of asia.multinational and transnational companies are heading towards Indian or Chinese markets from that of usa,not becaue of the presence of large population in these countriesbut because of the presence of huge middle class who is both educated as well as have grown in the age of consumerism .demographic advantage of these countries have acted as a catalyst,aiding the setting up of factories in these countries by various mnc.there are ample examples of such companies like apple,nokia or Microsoft .

                                         Other areas where there is asian rise along with declining prestige of America are internet demand and use ,geographical advantage of asia as at crossroads of major shipping lanes ,soft power capabilities because of rich cultural heritage etc.

                                                                                                   But though there are a lot of areas where  asia ismarking its resurgence,there are also a lot more other areas where still America is in clear lead and is having strategic advantage over any other country of world.

                                                                                             First such area is technology and particularly ,cutting edge one.whether be it the continental ballistic missiles or tomahawk missiles or first super computer or reaching upto moon and mars ,it’s the clear  cut lead of usa which can be appreciated.’science’ magazine observed that though the patents coming from usa haave ddecreased vis a vis to other countries but still it’s the largest one in number.india and other asian powers have always demanded for sharing of technology from usa but still its hesitation on part of America to share it without subsequent benfits in return.

                              Second area where the usa clearly leads the world even now is the military capabilities.defence expenditure of usa is the largest in world and even more than that of combination of 16 major powers around the world.an important advantage with usa is that of its dynamic relationship with the current needs.for example recently it had set up a command named cybercom to fight in cyber warfare.asian nations not only lag behind in this field sorely  but are themselves,a major dependent on defence partnership with usa like japan is a country that depends on usa for protection at times of any war or aggression.

                                                     Third is the area of brain drain which makes usa a powerhouse of intelligence from not only its own soil but from different parts of world.irony is that most of this brain drain comes from the major powers of asia that is india and chin.usa not attracts the unskilled and semiskilled labour class from third world but the professional well educated people from these areas.silicon valley in usa ,which is power center of its major computer industries ,is a symbol of this brain drain.

                  Fourth issue which negates the rise of asia and fall of Americas is the presence of disputes between asian nations.whether be it the indo china border dispute lading upto 1962 war between both or japan china islands dispute or Chinese interfence in affairs of south east asian nations or the misunderstandings in the minds of south asian nations about the big brotherly attitude of india,it’s the asia as a whole in the world context which is coughing up a large price on such disputes.while usa ‘s geographical avantage of to be away from regions of conflict makes it a peaceful country..nno war or battle with any foreign power was fought on usa soil after its independence.

                                                                                                           Fifth is the rise of inequalities which will act as a braker in the rise of asia on account of its multireligious ,multiethnic identity.recent un economic and social council report articulate these inequalities when it points out that only nearly 50000 people of asia as a whole own 40% of total asian capital.rest 60% is shared by left billions of people.it should be kept in mind the warning of Socrates that-“poverty is the mother of revolution and crime”.but if this economic inequality continues then it will breed social tensions and conflicts.whether be it the rakhine disputes of Myanmar or budhist muslim clashes in srilanka or xinjiang disturbance in china,these all points to this single fact that inequality is dangerous for asia.

                                                                                            Yet there is hope that one day asia will rise wlong with rise of whole of America and not just usa .but for that there needed to be some solutions so as to solve out the existing problems and device a way to tackle the coming ones.

                                                                                    First suggestion is to move towards the setting up of such international bodies that are reflective of needs and aspirations of people at large and not some influencive world powers.first step in that direction can be taken by reforms is united nations security council by giving permanent member status to india .second step is to make the concept of ‘one country one vote’ applicable to all institutions on the lines of recently set brics bank.this will help the world in not to ignore the voice of minority whether that minority be in economic sphere or in political weight.it should be kept in mind that barometer of progress of world is development of its minorities.

                                                                                                              Second suggestion is the cooperation among asian nations which is now needed more than ever.the view of asian leaders come out very clearly in this respect when Chinese president in 2003 visit to india made a famous statement-“b of business matters much more than b of border”.cooperation between nations if happen to be at real politik level ,then the results will be tremendously positive.for example combination of Chinese hardware computer industry with Indian software computer technology can make asia a global power in this area.such avenues in cooperation need to be explored as early as possible.

                                                                                                                                            Third suggestion is the people to people contact among nations and this should also include the movement of labour from one country to other.in other words,globalization should be in every respect and not only fo benefit of some countries.in other words of diplomacy,it’s the track 2 diplomacy which is now needed more than ever to look at the rise of all rather any continent.

                                                                         Having said that,though there are certain areas where asia is putting itself strongly like political unity and stability,economic development is by way of a large middle class market or huge demographic dividend,cooperation in international affairs like many agreements and negotiations yet in many fields like military power or technology or social cohesiveness or the centre of attraction of intelligence ,it’s the usa which is leading the guard.there can be push towards former by setting up of strong international bodies with equality at its core and by forging cooperation among asian nations along with anhaancing people to people contact in world affairs.

                                                                                          Rise of asia and fall of America is though a reality ,but its importance will be truly recognized only when it will have in its ambit the wellbeing of all including the neglected ones till now.making available an opportunity to improve upon is the only thing that matters in the progress of this world as a whole.this single concept was beautifully articulated by former president of india shri apj kalaam when he said that-

 “look at the sky.the hole universe is friendly to us and aspire to give the best to those who dream and work.”

      The world though now needs the rise of asia but not the fall of America .its hopefulthat a time will come when there will be iimplementation of ground realities in the conduct of world affairs nd that ground reality if implemented,will lead to a progressive and peaceful world whose index will be a little girl coming out of a school of an underdeveloped hinterland with a smile on her face and mind sharper than yesterday.

indian internal security challenege

“victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat for it is momentary”

These are the golden lines of mahatma Gandhi through which he tried to guide the path of human civilization towards a noble aim of peace and non violence .but in his own countryhydra of violence has raised its ugly head time and again.internal security challenge is one head of this hydra whose tentacles are well spread in life and hue of this country.it becomes imperative to look at the gradual evolution of this challenge along with the very basic question that whether Indian nation state had been effective in dealing with it?

                          Internal security itself implies the security and well being of people in all the facets of their activity whether it be economical,social or political.anything and everything that threatens the fabric of society will be termed as a challenge and any challenge has like a disease an incubation period during which it spreads and strengthens itself.response of state should also not only be a cure but a prevention alongwith so as not only to treat the disease but eliminate it.

                                                                                                                                  The issue of internal security is coming on forefront because of recent video release of al qaeda to create upsurge of religious militancy in india,publication of Islamic state fatwas in Indian languages to lure Indian youth,burdhman blasts and success achieved by Indian forces in naxalite areas leading to mass level surrender of naxalites.constant threat of aiding of separatistrs by external state and non state actors is also a reason to bring the discussion on internal security in limelight.

                                                                                                        Therefore it needs to be seen that what are the various internal security challenges as well as their evolution and nature and whether the response of Indian state through all its strategies worked or not to tackle these challenges?it should also be looked at what can be done to not only effectively resist such issues but also to prepare for their resurgence?broadly internal security challenges can be divided as purely internal or externally aided internal.

             First and foremost challenge to internal security is of naxalism.its origin Is from the 1967 incident of naxalbari village of darhjeeling district of west Bengal where a tribal youth was not allowed to plough his land inspite of court orders which then resulted in clashes and police firing.this challenge evolved as one from urban phenomenon to one centred on support of rural populace predominantly tribals.nature of naxalism can be gauged from the fact that its spread is from tirupati to pashupatinath ,covering 9 states of which 81 districts are on high alert.its stronghold is an area rich in minerals,tribals and forests with its ideology embedded in emotive issue of jal jangal and jameen.a disturbing trend is that in 2004 mcc and pwg wings fused together and its activities ranged from killing of security personnel to extortions from contractors.

                                                  Government response to this challenge is based on two pronged strategy of security and development.on development side implementation of panchayat extension to scheduled areas act and forest rights act along with various schemes like integrated area programmes and surrender cum rehabilitation schemes working wonders.on security side govt had stationed paramilitary forces in this area and strengthened police presence through modernization.govt has also opened on its dialogue front by open invitation to naxal leaders with promise of’not to leave their cadres or shed their ideology or leave arms but come to talks’.recently passed land acquisition act show the sincerity of govt to solve their grievances.

                                         Another internal security challenge come from tendency of separatism in various parts of the country.india has been uniquely endowed with so much resources that its various regions have a very little interdependence on each other.result is forging of special identity among the regions themselves.this results in further flaring up of separatist tendencies.

                                                                                                                             First and foremost prevalence of this separatist tendency can be seen in the crown of india,that is Kashmir.separatistissm evolved from a wide plethora of factors ranging from malpractices in elections specially of 1987 to overt and covert support by men and materials from other side of border.nature of this separatism has been to wage a proxy war on india as well as to ignite up the feelings of ordinary people of Kashmir.decade of 1990s mmarked by plight of kashmiri pundits and after that crackdown of security forces on the valley was an unforgettable decade in history of Kashmir.

                                                                            Govt response to this challenge have been to put firmly that Kashmir is integral part of india whose safety and security is responsibility of whole country.result is that for Indian neighbor its problem of Kashmir while for india its problem in Kashmir.govt have given maximum possible autonomy to j nd k under article 370 ,has started many skill development and job provision schemes ,and election commission has played a vital role by conducting peaceful elections in valley.indian security response in Kashmir is through the agency of army as well as paramilitary forces .but implementation of afspa has become a sign of oppression.though hope gets renewed by increasing selections of kashmiris in civil services and by increasing tourism in region yet much needs to be done.

                                                                         Second separatist tendency was seen in the food bowl of india.that is Punjab.rise of the demand of Punjabi nation from that of Punjabi suba was the main turning point in punjab’s history.its evolution is from largely a nonviolent protest marked by anandpur sahib resolution to decade of 1980s mmarked by bloodshed and violence.operation blue start and black thunder have become a sin of this struggle.in recent days,this is posing itself in issuance of security threats to major political leaders and violent attacks on some of the actors involved in past governmental response.

                                          Govt response to this challenge had been first to increase the boots on the groundfollowed by discussions with moderate leaders like inking of rajiv longowal acoord of 1985.peaceful conduct of elections to state assembly in 1992 and commemoration of 300 years of khalsa panth in 1999 marked the mainstreaming of alienated sections in this part of county.but care should be taken because rising drug menace and educated unemployment in Punjab can again rejuvenate this separatism.

                                               Third separatism challenge comes from seven sister state or state of north east.demand of separatist groups  in these states ranged from creation of a separate state to that of a separate nation.its evolution is rooted in various factors like geographical cutoff from rest of india,racial difference bcz of mongoloid features,existence as a separate kingdom at times of britishers,poor governance by govt like at times of bamboo overpopulation crisis of Mizoram in 1960s and active support from hostile neighbours.nature of challenge is quite distinct because most of insurgent groups not only fight against security forces but with each other also.separatists also force the local people to pay tax to them and that is a serious issue as it strengthen alienation.

                                                                                                                               Govt response to this challenge has been in two strands.first is to give regional autonomy like by way of 5^th and 6^th schedule and carving out separate states for example Nagaland in 1963 ,Mizoram and Tripura in 1972,arunachal Pradesh and meghalya in 1987.second response of govt is to put security forces in north east.assam rifle is the oldest counter insurgency force .govt has been very effective in dealing with separatism in north east .its success can be gauged from the state of mizoram whose democratically elected chief minister was once leader of insurgents and state is second only to kerala in literacy and women empowerment.

                                                                                               Another internal security challeng to Indian nation state come not from separatism but from a problem that is biggest challenge in today’s world.this problem is of terrorism.as per a recent survey,india has been 4^th  in ranking to suffer from ill effects of terrorism.2001 terrorist attacks on parliament and 26/11 mumbai terror attacks show the severity of this problem.terrorism in india has evolved from sending fighters across the borderto setting up of sleeper cells in country itsel.nature of terrorism has always been to hit the densely populated areas and cause as many as possible lives to be lost.a very dangerous trend of terrorism is fidayeen or suiCide attacks in which terrorists are sent with sureshot sense of impending death.

                                                                                                                                           Govt response to terrorism has been to strengthen intelligence sharing,operational effectiveness and forging international collaboration.9/11 of usa has changed the viewpoint of antiterrorism from law and order to an issue of national security.indian got has set natgrid,nsg and macaong with other agencies like ntro to tackle issue of terrorism.not only this,india is also looking to issue of cyber terrorism and had set up national critical infrastructure protection centre and computer emergency response team which works 24^7.indian support to Afghanistan rejuvenation is also a step in the direction of terror free world.

                                                                                                      Another issue of india’s national security arises from the conglomeration of communal violence and social media.every year nearly 100 persons die of communal riots while  on the other hand social media is a medium of fast spread of information with a major caveat that information can be false or true.social media thus become a space through which hatredness spreads like a wildfire at times of riot.muzaffrnagar riots of 2013 points to this challenge which was also discussed in subsequent national interation council meeting chaired by prime minister.various terrorist organizations like al qaeda or Islamic state is creating inroads into Indian disgruntled youth through the agency of social media.

                                                         Govt response to this serious issue has been to put an intelligence apparatus to look out for any vnting grievance.govt has the power to effectively monitor online communication under Indian telegraph act 1885.secular characteristics of Indian states are a very strong bulwark against such tendencies and moreover Indian democracy is strongly working as effective grievance redressal mechanism as it makes the authority replaceable ,if it fails to perform its duty.

                                                     Though it can be pointed out that there are lot of internal security challenged to this country yet it should be appreciated that most of the challenges have been worked out but in any democracy ,if there are problems then the solutions must come out not only as a respite but as a response and so is true for the challenge of internal security.

                                                                         First such solution to problem of internal security comes from the institution of ationable intelligence.this can only be possible if there is strong centre state coordination.national counter terrorism agency is one such example where not only centre and states can come too board but where actionable intelligence can also be possible.its formation can be tweaked so as to include state security appratuson its board so that states can actively collaborate in its functioning.

                       Second solution to thee problem of internal security come from police reforms.there is  no replacement to boot  on ground.following supreme court directives in prakash singh case in this  regard can go a long way  like by setting up state security commission,transparent appointment process of chiefs of central police agencies and state  police,minimum 2 yr ternure to field officers etc..need is  to implement them in spirit and not only in letter alone.

                                                                                Third suggestion to tackle the internal security problem comes from sustainable development whose effect can be felt in each nook and corner of country.this is possible through the principles of subsidiarity,decentralization,devolution,delegation along with debureaucratisation at lower levels.strenghthening of gram sabhas and ward sabhas should be the first step towards aforesaid principles.this will not only minimize grievances but will also decrease support to insurgents and separatists .mahatma gandhiji had perfectly summarized this from of development when he said”I shall work  for an india in which the poorest shall feel that its their country in whose making they have an effective voice.”

                                                    Fourth suggestion to tackle the problem of interal security comes by way of strong but effective response of security forces along with proper care of human rights.in long run ,work of security forces is not gauged from the insurgents it killed but from the disgruntled youth who have left weapons .though Indian army and paramilitary forces have always remained professional in their approach but certain laws governing their action like afspa need to be amended because its becoming a symbol of oppression.aong with it,there is an imperative need to spread the message of communal harmony aggressively among the people and restrenthen the bonds of unity and brotherhood.

                                                      Having said that ,it can be pointed out that though there are many internal security challengslike naxalism,terrorism,separatism in Punjab or Kashmir or north east  yet Indian response is quite effective in dealing with by way of strengthening security presence,renewing the thrust on development in affected areas and opening doors to dialogue to one who are willing to come to table.there can be certain improvements like in security architecture by way of police reforms or instituting actionable intelligence,thrust on sustainable development as well as political participation of one and all.

                              Internal security challenges in india has volved from a benign looking problem to a malignant tumour and this alone is a serious challenge in itself.though democracy with one person one vote and one vote one value has worked wondersin tackling all these issues yet there needs much more to be done so that our country can be a place of peace for all our citizens an irony is  that,it rescue is also in democracy as they say-

“solution of every problem in democracy is more democracy itself.”

                                        Its hopeful that Indian nation state will one day attain the dream of mahatma Gandhi whose base will be non violence and whose aim will be peace.the index of such an objective will be smile on the face of a little girl coming out from a school located in a hitherto untouched area,with her mind sharper than yesterday.

non violence and our society

                       On the blessful day of 15 august 1947 when the whole of india was celebrating the arrival of long wished independence ,mk Gandhi who was referred to as father of nation by subhas Chandra bose and respected as leader of masses was absent from those historic celebrations.he was there in the streets of noakhali of Bengal dampening the flares of communal violence.but its now quite imperative to see whether the message of non violence given to world by this great leader through his deeds has really worked wonders or has it been just ignored for the sake of greed and power?

                                                                                                                   Non violence should  not be taken as absence of violence only.its the faith in oneself that he or she can bear up the violence impounded by oppressors and even after the worst oppression will raise no hand on the oppressor.whole article of non violence lies on the very basis that ‘hate the sin love the sinner’.mk Gandhi had given this message during the Indian struggle of independence when the all known methods whether be of petitions or of individual heroic actions had failed to dislodge the colonialists.

                                                                                                                     The messae he had given,have become today more important than ever.just a cursory look at world affairs can put things in true perspective.whether be it Iraq or Syria or Ukraine or hongkong ,violence is not only practical but its combined with state policy and religious teachings.result is a disastrous outcome and its wrongness gets testified when world community gets divided while taking actions on such beastly acts of oppression.

                                           It needs to be seen that how non violence as voiced by mk Gandhi can be helpful in various facets of human life and what are the problems coming in the way of pursuance of this noble idea along with what can be done for making this article of faith a reality for not only who have faith in it but those who really  need it?

                                                         Concept of non violence gets its synergy in political sphere when that particular political entity absorbs the  notions of responsible democracy,good governance and freedom of expression.its because such a political system in itself becomes the grievance redressal machinery and governance taking into account the needs of even the last one in the row results is creation of atmosphere of confidence among the minds of minorities.contemporary world shows it in two opposite strands for example Iraq’’s political system have not been careful of the aspirations and needs of sunnni tribesmen resulting in islamic state exploiting those emotions and on the other hand recently held successful Tunisian elections where a secular party had won over the islamist ennahada party along with the acceptance of people’s verdict accepted with celebrations on both sides points to the fact that a new dawn of democracy sets in.hongkong umbrella movement,silent man protests of turkey and arab spring movements are further examples of this synergy.

                                                                                                      This synergy results in pushing towards the path of equality when it starts to express itself in social sphere.when a race,religion,creed or a group starts to show or portrait itself as supreme over other group ,then violence is bound to arise provided leaders like mk Gandhi are not there to guide the path of disgruntled masses.nothing can be more apt representation of such guidance than the abolition of untouchability via article 17 in Indian constitution.similar is the experience of usa where a person from lon oppressed black race have become president and supreme commander of its armed forces.but there are still countless cases of inequality where the goal of non vilencee can be pursued with utmost zeal.inequality of today’s  times is coming in the form of digital divide with clear demarcation in form of internat haves and have nots.the condition of women is another such sphere of inequality whose social factors has been voiced in recently started ‘he for she ‘campaign of united nations.

                                                                       Political democracy and social equality as two cornerstones of the way of non violence further leads to achievement of objective of economic equality and most importantly employment to the working age population.as the Indian phiolosphy mentions that artha or economic well being is required for moksha or liberation,so is the bitter truth that if the econimc equality is not achieved then social equality and political democracy becomes a distant dream with violence becomes a way out for those who lag behind.world of today,in economic terms,is like some islands of prosperity amidst the ocean of poverty.for example the case of asia where nearly 50000 people owns about 30% income of continent or the case of usa where 10% of people holds 50% of wealth of the country.growth with focus on service sector along with education without any focus on skilling have resulted in jobless and joyless growth.

                                                                                            The situation becomes quite hopeful and optimistic when non violence starts expressing itself in the foreign affairs.nation states of today have become much more mature in reconition of the fact that war don’t determine who is right but who is left.recent Scotland referendum as well as indo china resolution to solev border disputes through negotiations are a clear epitome of this principle but situation is not as rosy as it seems.theatre of violence has changed from outright wars between countries to the state sponsored terrorism as well as cyber warfare and espionage.the situation becomes more critical by the fact that though it was nationalism which resulted in world wars ,its regionalism which is fuelling today’s low intensity peace time conflicts deafeating the very purpose of peaceful coexistence which is a foundation for non violence.

                                                                                                                                        Mk gandhiji had not seen this coexistence and non violence as only outrer realities but also as an experience of innerseelf.this means the application of concept of non violence on the  psychological aspects of mankind.famou historian bipan Chandra had beautifully explained its meaning when he said that the greatness of gandhiji didn’t lie in the fact that he himself was hero of independce struggle but he had the ability to elevate the men and women around him to the stage of heroship.this means absorbing the idea of non violence and making it the part and parcel of life so much so that it got expressed in the form of strongness of one’s character and thoughts.nelson Mandela fondly known as madibo was one such person who had shown that gandhiann principle of non violence is as much a reality today as it was when voiced out by mk Gandhi himself.

                                                                       Though there are lots of facets of human life where mk gandhi’s article of faith that is non violence have potential to bring about a major change,yet there are many problems and obstacles coming in the way of achievement of aims and objectives of non violence.

                                                                                              Greed of power whether it be political or economical is one such obstacle which hinders the idea of non violence to gain roots in the minds of people at large.our history have been full of such incidents.whether it be the rise of fascism or Nazism in Europe or polpot revolution in combodia or the rise of military dictatorship in Pakistan ,Myanmar,Egypt ,its always the want of political and economic power that had propelled regimes to organize genocides of the opposing groups.some multinational companies in connivance with states have also been accused of waging violence to gain strong economic foothold and many African nations r victim of this neo colonialism.

                    Solution of this problem lies in democracy,effective institution building as well as presence of checks and balances in the political system of governance.along with it,the careful use of responsibility to protect principle by international community along with strong institution at international level can be an effective stop to this cycle of violence started because of aspirations of some individuals or groups.succeful Indian democracy experiment can serve as a lighthouse for world in this respect.

                                                                      Lack of an effective leadership is also a big obstacle towards the path of non violence.it means that leadership is either corrupt or inefficient or ineffective.global south is suffering from this problem more than ever.these are historical colonies who have not gained in providing a good quality of life to their citizens after independence.its not astonishing that most of global poor are living in the continents of south America ,Africa and asia.as there are three types of capital and those are social capital,economic capital and cultural capital.global south is rich in all these capitalsand that was a source of attraction for colonialists but an ineffective leadership have resulted in non effective use of these capitals.for example the continent of Africa have 50% of diamond reserves of world and 75% of platinum yet it’s the poorest continent of world.

                                                                                                                            Single most effective solution to problem of leadership comes from the agency of educationwhich should be focused not only on simple literacy but on universal primary education.it will result in peope questioning the very existence of their conditions.minimisation of greed along with education will itself results in contentment of people at large and so non violence will be the golden aim of such communities because that will make the way open for them to the path of improving their quality of life.

                                                                                                Another obstacle towards the aim of mk gandhi’s idea of non violence comes from he ineffective use of sciene and technology for masses.result is that though humankind had made strides in science and technology yet the costly technology is out of reach of common masses which resulted in vicious cycle of exploitation for example the case for industrial revolution in Europe marked with significant technology improvements like cotton gin,steam engines etc.yet the cities get populated with slums on one hand and palaces on the other.such blatant inequalities are bound to emerge as violent protests and so it happened.russian revolution was one such protest.science and technology relates with non violence via simpl concept of increase productivity and its upto effective leadership that how to divide the increased pie of the growth cake?

                                                                                             Its answer lies in the focus towards exploration of frugal technology which means use of science and technology for day to day activities in cost effective manner.for example the case of kisan call centres and sms schemes in india.economy of scale has resulted in increase mobile penetration and govt tapped up this opportunity by setting up kisan call centres from where farmers can get knowledge of weather conditions ,prices in the market etc.these ideas bring welfare of the common people and so violence as a mean for achieving ends get negated.

                                                                    Another obstacle in the path of mk gandhi’s notable idea of non violence comes from the ignorance of emerging challenges to mankind.climate change is one such challenge.gandhiji had forewarned about this condition when he said –“earth has enough for everybody’s need but not for greed.”but in pursuance of development ,we have ignored this commandent.conditions have worsened to such an extent that water wars like standoff bw Egypt and sudan over nile river or food conflicts like in Somalia are happening now and then.artcic has been melting from a long time and its ummer ice will be completely gone by 2040 and tresult is flooding in low lands and so there will be grievances which are bound to emerge as violent protests.

                                                                                             Its solution lies in the concept of sustainable development which was accepted by world community but never pursued by all.such type of development is not a theoretical concept but a treatise of practices followed all around the globe.like Israel have set up a future commission which looks at the effect of their today’s policies on future communities or the water management practice by pune municipality who have made it compulsory that new buildings in the area has to structure pipes in such a way that used water from activities of washing utensils or bathing diverted to washrooms and so saving upto 40% of water consumption.in effect such  kind of development makes the ground fertile for the achievement of non violence in practice because people will be getting their basic necessities even in coming times.

                                              Having said that ,it can be observed that principle of non violence has wide applications in political sphere by way of democracy,in social and economic sphere by way of equality,in international sphere by means of peace and in psychological sphere by means of contentment.values of sustainable development ,good governance,effective leadership ,equitable growth will catalyse the path towards non violence.

                            Gandhian concept of non violence is not without its practical application because gandhian belief itself lies in implementation of ideas and not only formulation of age old vision and so mk Gandhi had himself given the method of its implementation and have shown the phases of struggles one has to endure in its implementation-“first they ignore you.then they laugh at you.then they fight you and then you win.”

                          Its hopeful that non violence as the last article of faith and hope for the creed of humanity will bring the welfare of all whose index will be a little girl coming out o a school in the hitherto undeveloped area with a smile on her face and mind sharper than yesterday.

                                    

                                              

culture of violence

 “an eye for an eye can make the whole world blind.”

                                                                                  Mahatma Gandhi,in these golden words ,had tried to show mirror to the very existence of a problem that is pushing the human race to its doom and problem is of violence shown up in wars,conflicts,revolutions,household affairs and so on.this messenger of non violence had tried to preach through his deeds but still it needs to be seen that whether the world followed his basic teaching of non violence or if not,then how can this teaching be made true in the world context?

                            Violence in itself is the action and tendency to harm and disturb the physical as well as mental state of others.even when the world is context of definition of violence ,it’s the individual at the end who bears the brunt the most

                                                                 The whole issue of violence and bloodshed is coming on table when there is a cursory look at the affairs of today’s world.whether it be Iraq Syria Ukraine nigereia Somalia Myanmar or sri lanka ,at everywhere violence is taking place ,sometimes in the name of god,sometimes in name of ethnicity and sometimes in name of nationality.behaedings done by Islamic state is the most cruel form of violence ,putting humanity to shame.

                                                                                            To ascertain the whole concept of violence,it needs to have a look at the various causes of perpetuation of violence and along with that ,what had been done by the world community to stop this menace?the more important issue is to look at the solutions to stop this dreadful human ritual of violence?

                                                                                 The most dreadful and most common cause of violence comes from the deprivation of political rights and freedom to a group or community.it literally mena sdiscrimination by the governace of a particular nation state.bangladesh mukti bahini rise of 1971 was one apt example of this when the discrimination by Pakistani government in respect of bangle people had given rise to the birth of a new nation.islamic state of today is also the result of exploitation of genuine grievenaces of sunni tribesmen of Iraq by some unlawful elements.

                                                                                              Political disctrimination as a cause of violence ,further takes its fuel from a much deeprooted economic inequality.history of mankind is replete with the very fact that when a group of people is divided between haves and have nots,then the have nots wwill tend to look at haves as the reason for their deprived quality of life.french revolution,marked and justified by guillotine massacres was a perfect testimony to this fact.maoism of today which preaches that” power flows from the barrel of gun” is all about the picking up of arms to ward of economic deprivation.2010 incident of naxalites killing 76 indian crpf personnel is just the iceberg of brutality of this ideology.

                            Modern arms and equipments added fuel to the fire of violence.its no longer than world war1 when the britishers introduced the tanks and tianman square incident of 1989 was marked by introduction of tanks on civilian roads.its hard to forget the plight of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.antony klashnikov 47 have been now a days the most dreadful weapon in the hands of violence mongerers.moreover arms affordability of today have made the weapons available in the hands of youngsters resulting in gun fire incidents like of usa and Canada.

                                                                                                        The whole web of violence becomes murky when the countries start adopting it as a tool of foreign policy.it means that countries offering arms,technical and monetary support to the destabilizing elements in othe country.some countries practiced this openly like usa did by supporting mercenaries in cuba in 1960s and some practice it in clandenstine like pakistan’s support to terrorist activities by allowing them happen on their soil.such type of policies along with easy availability of arms ensure that violence will never ever be stopped by those who have responsibility to stop it.

                                                                     Violence can also have its new meaning in the form of high crime rates.social deprivations,unemployment,broken families,gender stereotyping and discrimination and many more are its causes.the root cause of this hole concept lies in the prejudices and stereotyping that is psychologically ingrained in the minds of a generation.dowry violenece,communial riots,untouchability are all parts of this psychological mindset.

                                                                                                    Though the situation is grim,when it comes to the issue of violence,yet still there is light at the end of this dark tunnel.but much more needs to be done to go aong the path of light in tunnel and  that too in time so that view of light not get lost in this ever inceasing darkness.

                                           Political participation of each and everyone in the growth and development of a nation state will be the most important cconcept for stopping the tendency to violate others.it is possible by way of democracy with the instreument of separation of powers among executive,legislature and judiciary along with the possible system of checks and balances among these three organs of government.regular elections will act a sgrievance redressal system and good governace will help the people to gain the fruits of very development.arab spring and umbrella revolution of hongkong ,both have the ideal of democracy dear to them.the whole vision of this political aspirations were expressed by mahatma Gandhi,if the message given by him for india,just extrapolated for world-“I shall work for an india in which the poorest shall feel that it is their country in whose making they have an effective voice……..this is india of my dreams.”

                                                                       But the political solution of violence will not hold its meaning if its economic side is ignored.economic solution of violence comes from noble principles of modenisation,equity,self reliance and growth.the gdp,or the size of cake,should not only be bigger but it should be cut into equal pieces.this is practically possible by  vocational education,on the job skill training,shg bank linkge,financial inclusion,pushing the growth of start ups,waste land regeneration along with its distribution to landless ,frugal technology use to make day to day things cheaper and of high quality,pushing for a robust security market in third world and much more.countries of today are awakening to their responsibility of caring a person from ‘womb to tomb’ and economic well being of all is emerging as main priority of today’s govts.

                                                                                  Its often said by many security experts that where there are conditions of any violence,there violence is bound to occur sonner or later.political and economic well being are one prt of solution while other part will come through an effective control on supply on arms.this needs collaboration of each and every country.defence budget of many nations is reaching upto 30% of their total expenditure.this money can be effectively directed to build more schools,hospitals .research centres and much more.first step in this direction can be taken by all nuke weapon armed countries including permanent 5 by effective disposal of their nuke weapons.then stringent control should be applied on small arms smuggling by a treaty or a convention on border posts surveillance.a license duly authorized by gove should be necessary for an exporter prior to exportr of any arms.

                                    Along with the arms control,the issue of international support to violence lso warrant urgent attention.its quite unfortunate that mena sto solve this problem are available with us in form of united nations,yet one fails to use this institution for solving the problems arising on world stage.first step towards the effective use of institution of united nations can come via reform of security council of united nations.india brazil germany japan and a few countries from Africa needed to be inducted in permanent membership.only then,its decision can gain international support.after this ,efforts should be to make this organization financially independent like by imposing tax on use of international waters etc.this institution has to take strict actions against those countires which practice violence as state policy ,first as a warning and second as a military action if needed.the whole principle of responsibility to protet needs to be in correlation with present times.

                                                                                                                                 After all the reforms in political ,economic,international affairs system,it’s the individual who has to be ground of change to effectively combat the ideology of violence.education is the most important tool of such change.the education has to teach the young students that a mere change in olour appearance and beliefs does not mean the existnec of animity.for this,it’s the capability of reasoning which needs to be there and love and affection of mother can act as vehicle for such reasoning.teaching children about the lives of great personalities,thinkers and their applicability in day to day life can bring an unprecedented change for the whole humanity.

                                 Having said that ,its quite clear that though the violence happens because of political deprivation,economic inequality,unlimited supply of arms,wrong foreign policies and individual’s psychological stereotyping yet it can be effectively combated with democracy,economic equality,arms control,strong international institions and by the agency of education.

                                                                                           Violence is a problem and most dangerous is the tendency of violence which is seen all around in modern world.this tendency is not only harmful but its fruits are also poisonous.as said by mahatma Gandhi “victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat as its momentry.”its hopeful that worl will not get blind by the poisonous dust of violence and success of humanity for the achievcement of higfhest ideal of peace will be gauged from the scene of a little girl coming out of school in remote area with a smile on her face and mind sharper than yesterday.

child labour

“you should never lose faith in humanityhumanity is an ocean.if few drops of ocean becomes dirty it does not mean that whole ocean is dirty.”

             The words of mahatma Gandhi ,though takes into account the whole ambit of humanity ,but it’s the dirty drops that hide some deep meaningwhose relevance in contrary can make the whole ocean dirtythese dirty drops can be taken in the form of hopeless future of children not only of this great country but of the whole world.child labour is one of main reason for this hopeless future and its pertinent to look at the abolition of child labour as a mean to achieve a greater end which is a purified ocean of humanity.

                                     Child labour in itself means the employment of children below 18 year age.though 14-18 years age can be considered as safe for even employment alongside education but below 14 year age employment of children is not only a blot on welfare states of today but is also a question mark over education system of our times

                                                  The whole issue of child labour and child rights gain currency with the recent awarding of nobel peace prizes to kailash satyarthi and malala yousafazai.former is known for successful efforts towards abolition of child labour while latter have been a face of motivation for the children wanting to improve upon their life through the nobel medium of education.

                                                                                                                                      The issue of child labour should be examined with the reasons of a child going to a factory for work instead of school for study along with that what steps have been taken by world community in this regard and what needs to be done?

           Poverty is the most important reason  for the children being forced into child labour.whenever a family is not able to meet even day to day minimum living standards then there is no way left for them other than pushing their children for work.nothing can be best example of poverty pushing up the child labour than the world’s largest democracy that is india.as per a recent report of c rangarajan ,35% of rural population and 25% of urban population is always in poverty.this data is at a time when poverty line is incredibly low and inflation is high and painful.due to this ,its no surprising the fact that millions of Indian children are working as street hawkers,domestic workers,in cracker factories and even in child pornography.its not only harmful but also shameful.

                                                                                             Poverty combined withneglect of education makes the existence of child labour only as an alternative.third world nations are suffering from poor quality of education as was even pointed out in recent saarc nation’s education ministers met.for example in india as per a report of pratham ngo,only 30% of children in class5 can read the book of class2.not only this,there is a problem of high dropouts.out of every 100 children enrolled for primary education only 50 continue for secondary education.the most affected strata in this is 11-14 year old girl children who are usually taken out of school and asked to work for milking of cattle or to bring firewood or to perform some household chores.

                                  High poverty and weak education quality are the push factors or only one side of coin while there is also the other side of coin in the form of pull factors.this side is marked with highle unorganized labour market.90% of workforce in the third world nations work in this sectorwhich comprise of  numerically any employment employing less than 10 workers.the most important peculiarity of this type of employment is that nature of workforce can be hidden for making profits.its quite obvious that an employer has to pay more to an adult male than a children woking for same time.no nation is safe from this greed.even usa in the years of great depression faced it so much so that president Roosevelt included abolition of child labour in his new deal policy to counter the unemployment face by young generation.

                                                                             Push factors or pull factors in the menace of child labour would have been easily tackled till now if there have been a smart bureaucracy along with political will.many nations specially of south America got so much disillusioned in their approach to this problem that they have even legalized child labour.disillusionment is visible even when a look is made on our country also.child labour(abolition and regulation) act 1986 strictly prohibits employment of below 14 age children in harmful industries but still there is very less action on ground.not only this our constitution mentions about the abolition of forced labour but that is ignored in practice.honourable supreme court of this country also expressed its disiilusionment when it ordered for a child welfare fund for every child rescued from child labour.

                                                                             This disillusionment comes as a shock when the condition of children from conflict zones are observed.for example recent reports of Islamic state shows that children are not only trained in arms but also made to works in the factories manufacturing arms.refugees from Syria or Palestine has to unfortunately make their children to work in hazardous occupations.this whole trend will become dangerous in future when these disillusioned children will pick up the wrong path dictated by extremists.

                                                                           But as per the age old idiom that where there is a will there is a way,solution to the problem of child labour is also possible.many nations have moved in this direction and many are waking up to move but it’s the humanity which has to move as a whole to counter the menace of child labour.

                                           Poverty abolition should be the first and foremost action in the path to abolition of child labour.this is possible through the equitable distribution of capital like land,money etc.the older mercantilism theory of limited wealth in world is now discarded which means wealth can be created as much as till the last man standing in row has enough to live a life of dignity.there are lots of ways by which it can be done like making shg,cooperatives,financial inclusion,skilling up of young generation,push to new start ups,widening the social security net,institutionalizing micro insurance products and much more.india,china and many other nations have taken poverty fighting on war footing.china is very successful in this regard with poverty rate reduced to only a single digit and so observed a fall in child labour.

                                                    Poverty abolition though makes a child free from the family pressures to go for labour but there needs to be an incentive for children so that they joins school and join workforce as adult skilled worker.its possible only and only if there is quality of curriculum along with its children friendileness.there should always be a practical aspect of curriculum and physical fitness thorugh the medium of sports should be actively pursued.rot learning must not be the aim of education but it’s the true learning which should light the dreams of a children.as mahatma Gandhi expressed it”we took the value of education as a land or share in stock exchange market.the girls,we say don’t have to earn so why should they be educated.as long as such ideas persist ,there is no hope of our ever knowing true value of education.”

                                        The responsibility of abolition of child labour is not only of govt or teachers but it’s the whole society that has to take part in it.society can play its role via the boycott of those products in market which are manufactured with child labour and so accepting only child friendly products.in this regard the work of kailash satyarthi holds importance who started under his bachpan bachao andolan,a scheme to mark the child friendly products.result is steep decline in sale of products manufactured through child labour.but there needs to be quite sincere about the poverty abolition or education quality first because displaced children from factories if not find the adequate means of rehabilitation then they can go back to crime or other exploitation.

                                                                                               These exploitation or achievement by way of poverty abolition or education quality needs to be tackled with the fixing of responsibility in govt depts. As its said that”the buck must stop at the desk of those who have authority to rule.”the most important is the immediate possible execution of this measure.for example fixing responsibility at the district magistrate and ssp to identify and abolish child labour in a district.local bodies should be effectively mobilized in this regard specially gram sabhas and ward sabhas.data monitoring regarding child labour should be done at regular intervals and unforewarned checkings should be done by higher authorities.rescued children should be immediately put to school after a bridge course so that they can move forward with other students.sincere voluntary organizations can be useful as eyes and ears of administration.

                              While in the sphere of international affairs,only way with which child labour’s menace can be adeuquately tackled is with the solution of various disputes going on around the world.but there are temporary solutions also.for example Lebanon nation can be a case in point which is currently housing millions of Syrian refugees.they have started a practice of opening evening schoold which means in the day time ,normal Lebanon children use to study in schools while in evening the same teachers use to teach children of Syrian refugees.this is a humanitarian concept which needs to be reproduced in all conflict zones wherever possible.

                                                                                     Having said that it can be seen that child labour gets its fuel from poverty,poor education quality,high unorganized workforce,lax bureaucracy and tension in conflict zones.it can be tackled effectively through measures aiming at poverty removal,child friendly education,awared citizenry,responsible bureaucracy and humanitarian approach.

                                                                                 Children are the real walth of a nation and abolition of chil labour is needed to make not only their future bright and prosperous but to make the world go in the direction to become a paradise on earth and it needs will of one’s own mind as said by gandhiji”be the change you want to see in the world.”its hopeful that the dirty drops of child labour will be purified and the whole ocean of humanity will gain its essence from those purified drops wwhose index will be a little girl coming out of a school located in an undeveloped area,with a  smile on her face and mind sharper than yesterday.