Indian Entertainer: January 2016

Tuesday 26 January 2016

Tragic Death Of Teen Due To Manual Scavenging In Tamil Nadu

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Image Courtesy: newindianexpress

Tragedy In Tamil Nadu
A couple of days back, a 19 year old teen lost his life to manual scavenging while trying to unblock a sewer line in Villupuram in Tamil Nadu. It was the second such incident in the state within a week. Before that, four people lost their life due to being asphyxiated in a similar task. The police have arrested three people in connection with the latter incident.

In both the incidents, it was reported that the workers had no safety gear on. However, it is contested by the municipality officials and they further claim that these deaths were due to accidents and not due to non-adherence to procedures.

Despite the passing of THE PROHIBITION OF EMPLOYMENT AS MANUAL SCAVENGERS AND THEIR REHABILITATION ACT, 2013, by the Indian Parliament more than two years back, the practice continues unabated in major cities across the country. It replaced an earlier act enacted in 1993, which had proved to be ineffective and had not seen a single conviction in 20 years.

The Key Provisions Of The New Act Included:

Prohibition of employment of people as manual scavengers, the manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks without protective equipment and the construction of insanitary latrines.
Rehabilitation of manual scavengers as well as their families and providing for their alternative employment.
Mandatory conversion or demolition of insanitary latrines by the owner himself. If he fails to do so, the local authority will convert it and recover the cost from the owner.
Offences under it to be cognizable and non-bailable and may be tried summarily. Moreover, it provides for harsher punishments (upto 5 years for repeat offences) and higher penalties as compared to the previous act.
No person, local authority or any agency shall engage or employ, either directly or indirectly, any person for hazardous cleaning of a sewer or a septic tank. In fact, it will be their duty to use modern technology to clean sewers, septic tanks and other spaces within their control.

Fatal Employment

Take the case of Mumbai for example, which The Logical Indian also exemplified some months back. 30,000 people are employed as ‘conservancy workers’ by the Mumbai administration to unclog sewer lines with the use of their hands and some primitive tools. Due to the continuous exposure to poisonous gases, 20 sewer workers die each month and 80% die before they reach 60, a study by Tata institute of Social Sciences showed. The only thing they can do to safeguard themselves against these toxic gases is to lower a candle in the manhole to know if there is sufficient oxygen for them to enter it.

Appauling Numbers

The problem is far from being city-specific. The Socio-economic caste census released in 2015 shows that as many as 1, 80,657 households are engaged in this degrading work for a livelihood. Maharashtra (63,713) tops the list with the largest number of manual scavenger households, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura and Karnataka. A common feature is the denial of the existence of manual scavenging by the state and city administrations all across the country. The numbers are enormous, but have reduced when compared to the roughly 8 lakh people engaged in the activity as per the 1961 census. In 2014, Supreme Court noted that – “Of these (people employed as manual scavengers), over 95% are Dalits who are compelled to undertake this denigrating task under the garb of ‘traditional occupation’. The manual scavengers are considered as untouchables by other mainstream castes and are thrown into a vortex of severe social and economic exploitation”.

A Grim Situation For The Manual Scavengers

Despite the enactment of sever laws, to end it is not so easy. For instance, several women in villages who sought to leave manual scavenging told Human Rights Watch that local authorities failed to intervene when they faced threats from the households they served. As a punishment for leaving the job, they were denied access to community land and resources or threatened with eviction, sometimes even with the backing of village councils and other officials. Threats of violence are also a reality for people thinking of giving up the act. In cities, local government officials themselves employ people to work as manual scavengers. Those who carry out these jobs say they are resigned to their fate due to their lack of education. But a casteist society, an indifferent administration and political class also aid to the continuation of the dehumanization of the sewer workers.

A Welcome Step By The Ministry

Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot said in July 2015 that 2500 manual scavenger families, who clean human excreta with bare hands, had been identified so far. He added, “The government has given these families Rs. 40,000 aid money and is also given them skills training so that they can pursue alternative jobs. The Safai Karmachari Vitt Vikas Nigam is also extending credit to them so they can go for permanent jobs. We have started intervention work in Lucknow, Haridwar and Varanasi, and will be extending intervention to other States.”

The Indian Entertainer appreciated the work initiated by the honourable minister in this regard, but also disappointingly notes that the effort is too little and too slow. As a National Advisory Council resolution in 2010 noted – “Manual scavenging is the worst surviving symbol of untouchability”. Clearly, more needs to be done in this regard to remove this blot.

-Gaurav Shukla

Video: ITBP’s 1st 500 Female Squad To Guard Our Indo China Border

Image Source: Defenceforumindia

• ITBP(The Indo-Tibetan Border Police) is ready with its first female squad of 500 trained personnel to be deployed on Indo China border.

• The women, in the rank of constable, were inducted in border-guarding force after 44-weeks of training.

• Female squad will now be sent to frontier areas for final acclimatization before being deployed at ITBP posts.

• ITBP has a total of 1,661 women personnel in its various ranks and branches of work with the maximum number of 1,033 being in the constabulary ranks.

Read the detailed coverage at Times Of India

First TRAI And Now Wikipedia At Loggerheads With Free Basics

 Image Courtesy:wikimedia huffpost

The whole Free Basics controversy have brought different stake holders of the Internet at loggerheads. With TRAI recently castigating Facebook over Free Basics, TRAI has proved they are not someone who could be brushed aside by popularity. Recently Wikipedia has also distanced itself from Free Basics much to the delight of the proponents of Net Neutrality. We spoke to one of the staunchest critics of Free Basics, Mr Udaya Prakash, founder of a startup based in Bangalore. We asked him about Free Basics, the actions taken by TRAI and Wikipedia.

■ What is Free Basics & Net Neutrality?Free Basics intends to provide it is an open platform that gives Indian developers the opportunity to make their services and websites available free of cost to those who cannot afford internet access. Not all websites and apps that will be made available for free, which goes against the principle of Net Neutrality. Net Neutrality in simple terms would mean access to internet without discrimination.

■ How could Free Basics go wrong?The new users grow up thinking free basics is actually Internet. It would kill competition and breed monopoly as competitors will not be allowed. No new social network or messenger service can come up to challenge Facebook if free basics is widely adopted. As no competing services are allowed in the platform. There will be two internet lanes. One for the poor people, another the regular internet. The poor internet unlike the regular internet will be heavily regulated by Facebook and will not be neutral. There by defeating the fundamental law of the web, where every data is treated equally.

■ TRAI has cracked the whip on Reliance over Free Basics, your thoughts?TRAI took the commendable step for hearing out people’s opinions on Free Basics, its merits for continuation and enforcement. Facebook had tried to gather support for Free Basics by requesting its users to send a mail to TRAI showing support. However TRAI has rebuked the whole process as the email’s in support did not talk about differential pricing. It had wittily said the emails in support were not the answers to the question TRAI and critics of Free Basics had raised. TRAI had asked Reliance to suspend Free Basics operations and issue a compliance report for the same. It shows TRAI is actually listening to activists and condemning Zuckerberg is proof that TRAI doesn’t treat policy decisions as a popularity contest.

■ On Wikimedia distancing itself from Free BasicsWikipedia have distanced themselves from Free Basics which comes as a shot in the arm for the critics of Free Basics. Free Basics have found the going getting tough by everyday on establishing Free Basics in India. For Zuckerberg’s next billion users, China is not an option whilst India is a necessity. And for Free Basics to spread to other developing countries, how India reacts or rejects will be pivotal.

The Indian Entertainer commends the activists for raising their voice and also lauds TRAI for their consultative approach and the bold stance they have taken. The Indian Entertainer is firm on their stance against Free Basics and are certain about the catastrophic consequences of the same.

Government Spending On Ads: How Much Is Enough?

 Image Courtesy: elections indianexpress

It is generally believed that there is no dearth of money with the government. If the resources are not guzzled down in corruption and are instead spent efficiently on deserving sectors like education and health, the results can be spectacular. One hideous form of corruption which doesn’t often come into the limelight is the outrageous spending by governments on advertisements. Successive governments at state and national level have spent huge amounts of money on policy publicity and showcasing their own achievements. Let us take a look at some numbers and think where the line should be drawn for such expenditure.

■ All Political Parties crave publicity
Recently data on advertisement spending have emerged from the states of Maharashtra and Delhi. The BJP-Shiv Sena led Maharashtra government spent Rs 6.61 crore on advertisement in the period between April and December of 2015. This was almost 50% more than what the previous Maharashtra government led by Congress-NCP had spent in three full years. The previous government had spent Rs 4.25 crore between 2011 and 2014.

The Finance Minister of the state, Mr. Sudhir Mungantiwar, has defended the expenditure and said that it should not be seen as advertising and should instead be looked at as the cost incurred on establishing a dialogue with the public. “Keeping the information within the four walls of Mantralaya (Secretariat) is of no use. We need to disseminate this information to people and create awareness about the various government schemes.”

While publicizing a policy or a govt scheme among people is desirable, the advertisements generally tend to glorify the government or an individual. This is evident from the fact that out of Rs. 6.61 crore spent, Rs. 3.28 crore were used to celebrate the first anniversary of the Devendra Fadnavis government. It would have been much more prudent to instead spend that money in instalments throughout the year as and when new schemes were launched.

The Aam Aadmi Party-led government in Delhi has been even more generous in its advertisement spending. In the 11 months from February 2014 to January 2015, it has spent Rs. 60 crore in various forms of advertisements. In its budget last year, the government had put aside a whopping Rs. 526 crore for advertisements. Although this is only 1.3% of the Rs. 40,000 crore budget of Delhi, the amount still looks way too much for a small state.

AAP leader Ashutosh defends this expenditure and says that the government needs to inform people about its policies and that is why there is a publicity budget for communicating with people. He also tells that for the first time a separate department for publicity and advertisement has been created in the Delhi govt, and that the expenditure may be less than what the individual departments used to spend earlier.

While the success of the anti-corruption helpline in the early months of the govt or the recent odd-even scheme of pollution control can be attributed to the massive advertisement blitzkrieg, other ads targeted at the Prime Minister or the Delhi Police are definitely not called for. Advertisement done from the taxpayers’ money should only be used to make them aware of the government’s schemes, not its achievements or propaganda.

The Central governments have also been extravagant when it comes to publicity and promotion. According to the response to RTI application filed by Factly, the UPA-I govt spent an average of Rs 312 crore per year during its five-year tenure. The amount more than doubled to Rs. 696 crore during UPA-II rule. The present NDA govt at Centre has spent Rs. 993 crore during its first year.

■ The Way Forward
Clearly there is a need for regulating such disproportionate spending on advertisements. There should be an upper cap on the amount a government can spend on publicity. Every year a small percentage of the annual budget of the state/Centre can be earmarked for promotional activities which should cover every form of advertisement a government can give: print, television, radio and outdoor.

The Judiciary can keep a watch on the expenditure and issue guidelines from time-to-time, like it did few months back when it restrained ruling parties from publishing photographs of political leaders or prominent persons in government-funded advertisements. Further, governments must explore other means of publicity like social media, which is cheaper than conventional platforms and has an ever-growing outreach.

The Indian Entertainer community encourages the governments to exercise self-scrutiny in their advertisement spending and look for smarter ways to reach out to people, to ensure that every penny of the taxpayer’s money is spent on things that really matter to him.

– Abhishek Mittal

Monday 25 January 2016

[Watch/Read] Khabar Lahariya: First Newspaper Run Entirely By Women

https://youtu.be/C0o_SCKrbRM
Source: khabarlahariya,

Khabar Lahariya (News Waves) is an eight-page weekly newspaper in local languages, produced by a collective of rural women journalists in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It is the first multi-edition newspaper in the country run entirely by women. A team of over 40 women across eight districts sells 6,000 copies every week. The newspaper has more than 80,000 readers across 600 ‘media-dark’ villages in the two states.

This weekly rural newspaper is written, edited, illustrated, produced and marketed by a group of women – most of them from marginalised Dalit, Kol and Muslim communities. The publication began in 2002 in the Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh in North India. The newspaper has six active editions in Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Lucknow, Banaras, and Sitamarhi (Bihar). Each week, 6,000 copies of Khabar Lahariya are sold across 600 villages of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, reaching a readership of 80,000. In March 2004, Khabar Lahariya received the prestigious Chameli Devi Jain Award – an annual award for outstanding women journalists from Media Foundation, New Delhi. In 2009, it won international recognition by being awarded the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize, a prize honoring outstanding contribution to literacy.

Their website: khabarlahariya

In Pictures: Few Volunteers Gave A Stunning Makeover To The Borivali Railway Station

‘Maintenance of railway platforms is of primary importance not only for city dwellers but for those who come from outside,’ says Mona Shaw, an architect and a Make A Difference (MAD) volunteer as per a reprort published on DNA

Ticket windows, pillars, stairs and overhead bridges of Borivali Railway Station were painted with beautiful colours and representations.

The work of MAD at Borivali Station will be inaugurated by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

The Indian Entertainer community thanks and appreciates the concerned volunteers who stepped forward and did something remarkable. We hope the daily commuters would also sincerely play their roles in keeping the station and the city clean.

Indian Cities Are Getting Hotter And 2015 Was The Hottest Year : NASA Reports

Image Credit : washingtontimes || Originally Published on indiaspend

With 2015 now the hottest year since records started being kept 135 years ago, Delhi, Mumbai and other Indian cities have heated up substantially since the 19th and 20th centuries, data from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reveal.

Mumbai’s average annual temperature has risen 2.4 °C since 1891 and Delhi’s average annual temperature has risen 0.3 °C since 1930, as the following chart indicates:

Source: NASA

An alternative study from Berkeleyearth.org, a US non-profit that analyses climate science, appears to confirm the larger trend seen in the temperature rise in India: A rise of 2.2 °C over 200 years.

Source: BerkeleyEarth.org

Finland, Spain experience greatest warming

NASA took data from 6,300 weather stations around the world and compared it to a baseline, which is the average temperature from 1951-1980 (and can be taken roughly as 14 °C). In 2015, the temperature deviation from the baseline was 0.87 °C, making it the hottest year since last year (2014), when the global temperature was 0.74 °C above the baseline.

Source: NASA

The 10 hottest years on record have now all occurred after 2000 and deviations from the baseline have increased at a rate of 0.03 °C for every year from 2000 to 2015, indicative of a larger trend of global warming.

Finland and Spain had their warmest years ever while Argentina had its 2nd warmest year. In the long term, the biggest temperature increases have occurred around the poles, while temperatures around the equator haven’t changed much, according to this r eport on PBS.org.

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA

A closer look at the map also shows there is no region untouched by warming. “Further affirmation of the reality of the warming is its spatial distribution, which has largest values at locations remote from any local human influence,” a NASA statement said.

Most of the weather stations around the world are in the northern hemisphere, where most of the earth’s land mass is located. This means we do not really have a good idea of how the southern hemisphere, which is mostly ocean, has heated up. So, global warming could be underestimated, according to this report from realclimate.org, a commentary site on climate science.

Could El Niño play a role in global warming?

It would be easy to blame human activity and greenhouse gases for the warming, but according to some scientists, while that may not be possible for a single year, it does adequately explain the longer trend.

“[A] specific year [being the warmest]…is not attributable to greenhouse gases per se…but the long-term trend … is attributable,” said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies in 2015.

A role in warming the world, and parts of India, in 2015 can also be attributed to the complex phenomenon called El Ni ñ o, a vast ocean-atmosphere climate interaction in parts of the Pacific ocean, linked to warmer sea-surface temperatures. IndiaSpend has reported how El Niño in 2015 brought a more intense heatwave in northern India and a weaker monsoon.

The fact that there were record hot years, such as 2014, without an El Nino is seen as further evidence of global warming.

What could the warming lead to?

More flooding in Europe, water shortages in Africa, droughts in Asia and wildfires in North America.

These are some of the effects that could result if the earth’s warming continues, the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change, a United Nations agency responsible for investigating the effects of global warming, predicted in a 2014 report.

Countries around the world took their most significant step yet at COP21, the Paris climate change conference. (IndiaSpend has reported on India’s position at the summit here.) Agreeing to keep the rise in global temperatures in 2030 to under 2 °C from pre-industrial times, while striving for a 1.5°C rise, will go a long way, but, to borrow a proverb, the proof will be in the pudding.

Sunday 24 January 2016

Rohith Vemula’s Suicide: Right Answers For The Wrong Questions, Series Of Events Explained

■ Some insights, reports into Rohith’s suicide

1.) Rohith Vemula, a PhD student from Hyderabad University, committed suicide with a suicide note which did not incriminate anyone but had certainly hinted at being discriminated.

2.) The suicide was preceded by Rohith being expelled from hostel and also his scholar discontinued. The scholarship was crucial for his and his family’s sustenance.

3.) There have been many reports of discrimination and suicide at the University of Hyderabad, there have reportedly been 10 suicides out of which 9 have been Dalits.

4.) Various political leaders and documents have pointed out to political pressure in getting Rohith expelled which many allege led to his suicide.

5.) Demands of holding the Vice Chancellor accountable have been gathering quick and fast, besides widespread condemnation against Union HRD Minister Sri Smriti Irani for having written letters to the VC of the university for the expulsion of Rohith among few other students.

6.) An FIR has been filed against an BJP MP among others under the prevention of atrocities against SC/ST act.

■ Some unverified facts from either side of the story

1. There was a clash between ABVP and ASA which was the reason for Rohith’s expulsion.

■  ASA had a meeting protesting against Yakub Menon’s hanging, ABVP members came to oppose the meeting and were thrashed.

■  The clash was not at all during the protest against Yakub’s hanging. It was during the screening of “Muzaffarnagar Abhi Baki Hai” when ABVP disrupted the screening and the clash took place.

2. ABVP leader had to be hospitalized.

■  He was beaten up by ASA goons during either 1(a) or 1(b).

■  He was admitted for having acute appendicitis.

3. The university decided to rusticate Rohith and 4 others.

■  It was solely the university’s decision after several rounds of inquiry. While the first set of inquiries found them innocent, the second found them guilty.

■  Union Minister and local MP Bandaru Dattatreya wrote to HRD ministry that ASA is a group of casteist and anti-nationalist people and its members assaulted the ABVP leader. HRD Ministry wrote 5 letters to the University and as a result, they were expelled from the University on the basis of the same inquiry which has earlier given them a clean chit in the whole matter.

4. Regarding Rohith’s caste

■  A police inquiry has revealed that Rohith does not belong to the Dalit community. Under such circumstances, the FIR under the prevention of atrocities against SC/ST act is invalid.

■  Rohith’s mother has produced a caste certificate to the police. She has vented her anger on the questioning of caste of a victim despite showing the certificate.

5. Regarding expulsion

■ (a) Expulsion was a disciplinary action against students indulging in violent politics.

■  Expulsion was a casteist action against members of ASA who were protesting against casteism.

■ Let us brush aside politics

Rohith was a PHd student from Hyderabad Central University, having pursued PHd in itself makes him one of the few promising youngsters of our country, given the very few people who have the privilege or having earned the opportunity to pursue higher education. This promising life came to an abrupt halt when he committed suicide, with the suicide note dealing the anguish on how an individual is reduced to his nearest identity among many other things. There have been questions and counter questions and different opinions on the whole issue. But not all the questions and subsequent answers serve the purpose. Swathes of politicians have visited Hyderabad University, questioning their sincerity and intentions would deflect us from raising more important questions.

■ Prime Minister could have taken a step further

Prime Minister was spot on when he spoke about Rohith’s suicide, politics aside, a mother has lost her child and it deserves condemnation and action. It would have been reassuring had the PM spoken more and earlier on the issue. However the PM has done or said little to assure on if the guilty will be brought to the books. The high chances of the guilty belonging to the ruling party itself could be a reason for the moral dilemma which the Prime Minister is facing.

■ Universities should foster innovation and free speech

Universities and institutions of higher education are supposed to be a place for innovation, free speech and mutual respect. Rohith’s suicide is symbolic of lack of all three. Presence of active associations and student wings of political parties is a welcome sign, but such presence should not impose on each other, rather, should hear each other out for the purpose of common good. India is going through a demographic dividend where there is a vast population who are in a productive age. If fissure’s are allowed to widen in this demographic dividend on caste, ideology or religious lines, we as a nation could bypass the benefits what the young population have to offer for the country, benefits that could very well alter the destiny of India for good.

■ Let’s face it and own up to it

9 out of 10 suicides at the Hyderabad University have been Dalits, students and teachers have often complained of condescending behavior and discrimination towards Dalits in the University. Dalits have already had a past to forget, as a society we ought to come together and give them a helping hand, support and encourage them to rise above the red line. The best way for the country to move forward, is to move forward together and shoulder to shoulder as equals. As a country we can’t term ourselves progressive and developed by leaving behind or looking down upon the Dalit community or being silent when others do so. Democracy is about being a voice for the voiceless, it is about empowerment of the weaker sections. For a democratic country like us, both government and the people have a responsibility in being the voice for the weaker sections. Let us take a pledge, reaffirm ourselves and reassure others that no matter which caste or religion one belongs to we would treat each other with mutual respect and help the disadvantaged and the underprivileged. Institutions and administration should be given clear instructions to prevent discrimination; besides, a massive media campaign on the lines of Swachh Bharat should be launched to end this menace of caste discrimination.

The Indian Entertainer demands all the people who played their parts in the suicide of Rohith to be held accountable. We appeal to all across the board, boundaries, caste, class and religion to unite to fight against discrimination of our own citizens. Whatever we stand for let’s stand together.

Thursday 21 January 2016

Delhi: Court Directs The CBI To Return The Seized Documents, CBI Moves To HC Against Court’s Order

On 20th January, the Delhi Government said that their claims about CBI raid on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office on December 15 has been proved right in the court of law as the special court stated in favor of them.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that the court’s directive had proved that the CBI intended to raid the chief minister’s office (CMO) and the raid was not related to corruption allegations against Kejriwal’s principal secretary Rajendra Kumar.

Earlier AAP had came up strongly against the raid stating it to be politically motivated move by the center and mentioning it was not the raid on the office of Rajendra Kumar, Principal Secretary to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal but on the CM’s office itself, and took matter to the court.

As per the Indian Express “In Parliament, it was said that the raid was not on the CM’s office. We want to ask whether the Prime Minister will now apologies in front of the country? It was an attempt to discredit the government… he should apologies for the politically motivated raid. His officers had misinformed him… they took random files on the pretext of a raid,” said Sisodia.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal twitted “After today’s CBI court order directing release of docs seized from CMO, PMO owes an explanation to the nation since CBI reports to PM”

However today 21st January, CBI has moved to Delhi High Court against the direction by the special court to return the documents seized by it during the raid.
The bench of justice B D Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva has allowed the petition to be heard.

It has been observed over the years that CBI is often misused by the Centeral Government for various political gains may that be any party or government. This seems to be another such move, let us wait and watch what PMO and Delhi High Court has to say on this. We hope there is no misuse of CBI, it is already under pressure, let it be put to best use.

Rupa Devi From Tamil Nadu To Officiate International Matches In FIFA

Miss Rupa’s origin
If in the near future you see an Indian lady officiating an international football match, you most likely would be seeing Ms Rupa Devi. She is a resident and teacher from Dindigul, Tamil Nadu has been selected by FIFA to officiate future International football matches. She was the only Indian selected as part of the Asian body’s ‘Future referees’ project back in 2013 and now holds the honor of being one of India’s first women referees to officiate on the international stage.

Her education and her footballing background
Rupa devi’s tryst with football started during her college days when she played for her college team for Madurai Kamarajar University. It is worthwhile to note that she had also represented the district, state and national teams respectively. Her excellent track record in sports has not stopped Rupa from excelling in her academics, as she has an educational background in Chemistry as well as Physical education.

An illustrious track record
Rupa’sprogress to FIFA follows an envious track record which includes officiating at state and national level matches and the AFC Under-14 Football Festival held in Doha, 2013. Her run up to Doha, 2013 was aided by her refereeing experience in Srilanka, Jabalpur and Jamshedpur. All she has achieved in a short span of time, Ms Rupa is just 24 years old and she without a doubt has a lot to look forward to.

Someone did it before in 2002 FIFA World Cup
The previous news maker wrt Indian refree making their entry into global arena was Mr Komaleeswaran Shankar, hailing from Chennai, became the first Indian to officiate at FIFA World Cup 2002. Football fever has been rising rapidly, it is an untapped market largely, however football fans who follow various clubs from the European leagues is growing rapidly in number. Ms Rupa Devi is perhaps symbolic of this rising tide towards football.

The Indian Entertainer wishes Ms Rupa Devi the very best for her future and thanks her for making her country proud.

Monday 18 January 2016

Kerala Becomes The First State In India To Achieve 100% Primary Education

Kerala was declared as the first state in the country to attain total primary education by Vice President Hamid Ansari at a function held at Kerala University Senate Hall for the state-wide declaration of total primary education. The merit was achieved through the ‘Athulyam’ project launched by Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority (KSLMA). Kerala has been constantly ranked as number one when it comes to education indicators in the decennial census of India. The Vice President said that the achievement was yet another ‘feather in the state’s educational cap’.

All You need to know
The Programme was implemented in the state in two phases and was meant for people aged between 15 and 50 years who were unable to get primary level education. Every individual who completed the programme successfully got Class 4 level certification. According to programme statistics a public examination was held in June 2015 in which 2.6 lakh people appeared. The exam was held in 6,613 centres across various districts of the state and those who scored a minimum of 20 marks in English and 30 marks in other subjects were declared as winners. Those who had passed the Class 4 equivalency examination were eligible to enrol for the Class 7 equivalency examination. The 2nd phase of the scheme was launched as part of Mission 676 which referred to the remaining days of Oomen Chandy government beginning 7th may 2014. The “Mission 676”, was launched for the speedy implementation of major infrastructure and social schemes to give a push to accelerate development and to make the state a better place to live in.

Challenges
Before the scheme was launched in the state a comprehensive field survey had to be conducted. The survey was done under the ‘LEAP mission’ in selected panchayats so that total number of illiterates and school dropouts could be enumerated. The scheme got immense help from volunteers. ‘LEAP’ or ‘Lifelong Education Access Programme’ aimed at making far-reaching changes in literacy programmes with emphasis on job-oriented training and better awareness among citizens. In the second phase, dropouts and those who had not received primary education were identified and provided equivalency classes. Vocational training for the backward, awareness programmes for raising living standards, revival of folk art forms, computer literacy, and special programmes for the mentally and physically challenged, the SC’s, ST’s, slum and coastal area dwellers were to be integrated with Athulyam scheme which was a mammoth task in itself.

Way Ahead
Education indicators in Kerala are almost always starkly in contrast when compared with other states in the country. Kerala has repeatedly shown that education is the best investment in any kind of social capital for development of all institutions. With the state achieving 100 percent total primary education milestone it’s only pertinent that other states take cues from Athulyam scheme and apply it with personalised touch to their own region keeping in mind their size, expanse and needs. Not failing to Laud the state’s achievements in education and various other socio-economic indicators, Ansari said that the day was a historic one for the state.

Saturday 16 January 2016

The Man Who Tore Down Political Party’s Banners Which Were Placed Illegally, Blocking The Footpath

Chandra Mohan shot to fame recently when he tore down banner of ADMK which were blocking the footpaths. He has done the same for other major political parties who had illegally placed banners and huge cutouts. Chandra Mohan came back after an illustrious 9 years in the United states to take up people’s issues and acting on them through his organisation Arappor Iyakkam (Non-violent fight for truth and justice). He spoke to Indian Entertainer on why he came back from the US and why he took up mass movements for his future plans.

■ You tore down banners of ADMK recently and even got arrested for the same? Why did you do that?
For the record we have done the same to other party banners also, just that when we did it this time the news became viral. The placing of banners on walk path goes against a High court order which banned it. Someone had to rise up against this and we knew people will follow. We worked tirelessly in reaching out to people during the Chennai floods and just when the city was limping back, we saw these huge banners which blocked the footpath. The insensitivity fired us up even further. Banners are symbols of oppression which has to be done away with.

■ How successful was this campaign against banners and hoardings?
It is a good start, more people have shown willingness to join and come forward breaking the shackles of fear. Success is when all the people are unshackled from fear of misbehaving cadres, Success is when people know that they are the masters in Democracy and not the other way round.

■ There were videos of you and your friends Atther Ahmed and Jayaram Venkatesan getting assaulted by party cadres, how did you respond?
Yes we were assaulted and we were prepared for it, we knew the path to truth and justice won’t be an easy one. However we made it a point that we won’t hit back or even file complaints against people who assaulted us. We have chosen the path of sathyagraha and we will abide by it. No matter how badly we get hit or how many death threats we get, we will stick to our principles of non-violence.

■ You were in the US for long why did you come back?
I always wanted to something for my country and that feeling was always there. I didn’t apply for green card as well; during my last years in the US i joined the New York film institute to pursue my career in film making. Two movies which were close to my heart was Gandhi and Swades, these movies had a profound impact on me. During my first days after I came back I had noticed one incident which changed the way I looked at life. I witnessed a poor boy picking a packet of bread which was thrown out from a building and infected by fungus. An incident which continues to shake me when I think over it again. Then I became part of anti-corruption movements for long before Arappor Iyyakam.

■ What are your plans for the future?
We have set the ball rolling for a mass campaign. A campaign that will empower citizens. Next time we are not going to go after the banners; we will pass all the contact details of all police stations and other public grievance departments and officers to people. We will ask people to make complaints when political parties break the law not only for placing banners but for any public inconvenience they might cause. We have had instances where our complaints have been neglected and some instances where our complaints were deliberately neglected or rejected. Complaints on a mass scale will be hard to ignore. And if ignored there is judicial recourse to the same.

Chandra Mohan signs off with a smile on his face and determination in his eyes.

Friday 15 January 2016

Why Do ATM Pins Have 4 Digits? Know Interesting Facts About ATM’s

Much as an asset the ATMs have revolutionized the banking industry and the way people carry out their banking transaction. The very first Automatic Teller Machine went public in 1969 with due pioneered efforts from John Adrian Shepherd Barron, who was a Scottish-born in Shillong.

ATM at today’s day and age are the most can’t-do-without machine changing lives by allowing people to have cash handy in just a swipe and all that with a help from the ATM pin. An ATM pin authenticates a user to access his/her bank account on an ATM to avail the underlined facilities.

■ Usually any PIN or Personal Identification Number can vary in length from 4 to 12, according to the ISO standard, although our present practices include a 4 digit pin more often.

■ A four digit pin can vary from 0000 -9999 allowing 10,000 possible combinations making them more vulnerable to crack and if we go by the books then 20% of the pins are vulnerable to hacking.

■ Another fact untold, the most common ATM pin have 1234 and 1111 topping the list. There are still many banks in various countries which go with the length six.

■ There is something else very interesting about ATM pins, each ATM has a reverse pin detection technology called ATMSafetyPin installed patented by IIlinois lawyer Joseph Zingher where if the user enters a their personal identification number (PIN) in reverse, it automatically calls the police immediately, although user gets the money. Presently, this software isn’t in use, though.

■ Switzerland and some other countries follow only six digit ATM pin.

Ever did the thought as to why an ATM pin is of length four, stuck your cerebrum? If yes, then you are quite alert and for the otherwise responses there is a quite uncomplicated answer to that. John Adrian Shepherd Barron himself preferred six digits for an ATM pin because he could easily remember his six figure army number but it all boiled down to the fact that oddly enough when he tried to experiment this on his wife Caroline, the longest she could remember were four digits. That is when he decided to stick with 4 digit pin code.

Though, a 4 digit pin not always puts one at risk as for anyone else to access it, it’s inevitable for them to be in possession of the card at the first place.
Digits more than 4 were a task bit difficult for Caroline to recall and yes she made us all lucky making us remember only 4 digits. Thanks, to the lady by all means.