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A Practical News Letter by Department of Journalism, Maharaja Agrasen College, University of Delhi
If journalism is good, it is controversial, by its nature. Julian Assange
There is little doubt that the new media
has opened up huge possibilities for the
Indian youth in recent years. Though the
overall penetration of new media in the
country has reached only ten per cent, it is
up to 80 per cent in the metropolises.
Beginning with e-mail in the 90s, the use of new media has spread
very rapidly in social interaction and entertainment. However, a large
part of the potential remains untapped due to various constraints
inherent in the Indian reality.
The numbers of youth using the new media are growing very rapidly.
But for the present we are talking of urban youth only. The over-
whelming section of our youth, which lives in the rural areas, remains
large untouched by the media, new or old. So when we talk of the role
of new media in the country we should be little careful in arriving at
any hasty conclusions.
The same reservation applies when we speak of the role of new media
in changing the lives of the people. The first and the biggest change
that new media affords is economic by adding technology to the four
traditional means of production – land, labour, capital and entrepre-
neurship. Here too, new media has till now played a limited role in
unleashing the potential of Indian economy. The large unorganised
sector still remains relatively untouched by the efficiencies that new
media brings to the economies of nations.
It seems that the biggest single change that new media has brought in
India during the past decade is that it has ushered in transparency in
governance. We are today a more transparent nation, and this is large-
ly due to the Right to Information and the role of the new media in
making that right effective. When we live in a borderless society, it will
itself develop a common ethics because of the public pressure. Things
are bound to change for the better in the coming years when the
younger generation fully realises the potential of new media to trans-
mit, store, and retrieve information in no time. The keypad opens up a
world of information and knowledge which gives power to the user.
I would like to very strongly urge the youth to use the power of new
media for the good of the society of which they are an integral part
and which impacts their lives. Immense power of new media should
be used not just for social interaction and entertainment, but much
more importantly for changing things for the better. Change must
begin at home, in educational institutions, and in the neighbourhood.
The new media has made it easier for the youth to make things hap-
pen. It is now up to them to make the change for the better.
October 2011October 2011
Page 2 - Eve Teasing
still running rampant
Page 4 - Who can Live
Without the Internet
Page 5 - The new age
of impatience.
Page 7 - F1 - India
in the fast lane.
‘Aakash’ is not the limitThe Indian government has launched Aakash, the much awaited tablet PC in an attempt to bridge the digital divide
On July 22nd 2010, HRD minister Kapil Sibal announced
that the Indian government would attempt to bridge the
digital divide by means of a 35$ tablet PC. The following
year, on October 5th 2011, Aakash was launched as an
affordable tablet computer priced at a neat `1750 for
Indian students.
The dream of a technologically empowered nation did
not seem far, the introduction of a cheaper alterna-
tive to traditional computing devices quashed skep-
tics and reinforced optimists.
No doubt Aakash is a landmark for modern India but the
journey to absolute technical finesse in the hands of the
masses is far from over.
The commercial variant of the tablet will be retailed
under the brand name UbiSlate and will cost a relatively
decent `3000.
Those purchasing the commerical variant won’t be
liable to the government subsidy but would be able to
avail the facility of telephonic conversations, video
chat and internet surfing via a GSM operator.
With the launch of the Aakash tablet, several other
schemes of the Indian Government wherein it was
attempting to ensure a technologically enabled nation
have come to the fore.
BOSS or Bharat Operating System Solutions is a free
Linux based operating system for India which has been
avoiding the media glare. BOSS can be downloaded from
it’s website and has variants other than a developer ver-
sion ranging from ones for basic educational needs to
advanced versions for servers and even for the Intel
atom processor.
The Indian government and the populace must realize
that the currently available resources would not be suf-
fice to ensure equal opportunity for the masses in the
years to come.
The government needs to strive for enhancement in
order to survive in the standards set by fellow nations.
Constraints with Aakash like other government machin-
ery are pertaining to distribution and questions being
raised on the quality of products. As an introduction, 1
lakh tablets are being made available for over 25,000
higher education institutions in our country, a figure if cal-
culated leads to just 4 tablets per institute in the first
round.
Further the question being raised on the 3 hour claimed
battery backup is a major down slide.
The lack of availability of proper distribution mechanisms
has since time immemorial been instrumental in the fiz-
zling out of government policies. Further the introduction
on a cheap tablet does not ensure it’s proper utilization.
The introduction of Aakash is certainly one of the most
landmark steps in the future of India but we must ensure
that this is not the only step that is undertaken.
We in India are accustomed to an extremely lax attitude
when the electronic development of our nation is consid-
ered.
It is necessary that the Aakash tablet does not meet it’s
end as the 2G spectrum and other attempts to technolog-
ically empower the nation.Twesh Mishra, Journo, 2nd Year
Subhagata Bhattacharya, Journo,1st Year
Youth and New
Media
Dr. Sunil Sondhi, Principal
Traversing down the memory lane, somewhere
around the year 2000, the world had begun to reap
the real dividends of globalization. The explosion of
the dot com bubble in the United States happened to
be a major milestone in the history of the human
race. During this time, the competition amongst vari-
ous powerhouses driving
the market rapidly inten-
sified and corporations
began to post record
profits. With phenome-
nal economic success
being achieved and with
an eye towards greater
growth, work hours
became lengthier and
jobs became more chal-
lenging. It was at this
point in time when con-
cerns were being raised
over the future of the
social wellness of the human race but just when
things started
appearing blurred,
what unleashed
next happened to
be the most domi-
nating and bizarre
byproduct of the
dot com bubble
which stormed the
entire world like a
whirlwind. It was
time for retribution
and what resulted
were popular upris-
ings in Tunisia,
Egypt and Libya
along with popular
anti-corruption movements in India and other parts of
the world. Social networking sites played a pivotal
role in such movements. There is no denying that
even today, a world which claims to be a self appoint-
ed protector of democracy and liberty happens to
indulge in widespread censoring of the press. In many
countries, the government commands an absolute
control over the media which results in the press
becoming the spokesperson and mouthpiece of the
government. In such political set ups, social media
emerges as an unbiased, independent platform which
helps people broadcast their views freely and hence
in case of a social movement it helps people to
express opprobrium openly
and encourage others to
voice opposition against
injustice.
It’s pretty evident that social
media is a very powerful tool
and in instances pertaining to
social movements it helps in
communicating information,
organizing protests, mobiliz-
ing greater support by serv-
ing as a base for free propa-
gation of ideas, exposing gov-
ernment brutalities and
wrongdoings, providing a
platform for opprobrium and expression of independ-
ent opinions etc. But
it isn’t utilized in the
most positive way
always. While social
net working sites
were used as a
weapon by Tunisians
and Egyptians to
peacefully topple dic-
tatorial regimes,
undemocratic forces
in England mis-uti-
lized them to organ-
ize crimes, spread
riots and looting.
Every technology has
its set of pros and
cons and social networking sites happen to be no
exception. The use of social networking websites in
such an extensive way, proves that people don’t just
use such sites as a substitute for physical interactions
with their friends and acquaintances.Saif Ahmad Khan, Journo, 1st Year
Social Networking - Karlo Duniya Mutthi Mein
Bridging the GapThe birth of social networking sites like MySpace, Hi5,
Bebo, Orkut, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and a host of
other such sites reiterated and reestablished the fact that
social interaction and communication are and will always
be irreplaceable, irremovable and indelible aspects of the
life of humans during their prolonged stay on Earth. On one
hand, de-regulation and globalization cornered people in
their offices and on the other hand social networking sites
helped individuals in giving birth to another life of theirs on
a platform popularly referred to as the virtual world.
Features ranging from posting messages and content to
sharing photos and videos became immensely popular
within no time.
2
I think journalism is a great way to do public service, to have an impact on your community. Bob Schieffer
Stepping out of that doorway may not be as easy
for Eve as it may be for Adam. Modernization is on
every Indian’s mind and women empowerment is
one of the main focuses of Indian society. However
the audacity of eve teasing is still running rampant
in the country, especially in the capital itself.
While this may seem to be a fun bustle for the male
members of our society, it’s almost as earth shat-
tering and nerve racking for the females out there.
Not exaggerating the facts, eve teasing and its
impacts have not only been taking away their con-
fidence and self-esteem but also the lives of many
juvenile girls.
The sounds of catcalling, wolf-whistling, humming
of songs, and even uncouth comments are now
familiar for the ears of those girls who go out in the
city. This anarchy has not only put a fear in the
minds of the young girls but even their parents are
scared to send their girl child alone on the streets.
The mindset of the people is such, that eve teasing
is encouraged by the girls themselves when they
wear western clothes or go out in the night. But the
fact is that, even girls wearing traditional dresses
are victims of this, and so are those who go out in
daylight.
The blame goes to those boys who are not scared
to pass suggestive remarks, feel a girl up in public
places or even about out-and-out groping.
We live in a society where believe it or not, both the
girl and a boy are brought up with two different set
of rules to lead a life. Censoring their girl’s move-
ments, putting different time restrictions is a patri-
archy followed by almost all parents.
In spite of this, eve teasing has not been curbed but
on the other hand has increased, making life more
difficult for the girls. Downright sexual harassment
implies the level of male mentality which shows
how much they are frustrated never mind how edu-
cated or intelligent they are.
No wonder most girls feel that disgusting and sink-
ing feeling when they have to travel in congested
buses or metro. Totally favoring the step taken to
reserve coaches in metro for ladies, many are saved
from degrading glares, lewd gestures and uncalled
attention and they now feel safe to commute.
Sexual harassment is now growing at an alarming
rate, with innumerable cases going unheard of. Girls
are too scared to report or as in most cases the
offender zooms off, leaving no evidence behind
except the poor girl who’ll have its inkling through
the rest of her life. Eve teasing is not only seen on
streets but schools, colleges, malls, bus stops and
even institutes are not free from this social crime.
So what is the solution? Just sit back and take it as
just another part of life, thinking that “boys will be
boys”? Ignore the cheap guys who sing “choli ke
peeche kya hai” when you are on your way to col-
lege or “munni badnaam hui” as the latest pick up
line? Or else lock your girls up in the houses to keep
them away from public glares?
The first and foremost duty is of the mothers, who
inculcate the values and morals in their sons so that
they respect women or not becomes an option for
them. It’s not intentional, but following up on our
traditions, India, since a long time has been a male
dominated society and it will take a long time to
change the mindset of people. Mothers should
teach their sons to value women and treat them
with respect as they would like their sisters and
mothers or perhaps themselves to be treated.
On the part of women, it’s a highly debatable point,
whether or not they should react to humiliating
comments and unruly behavior by men or should
they ignore them completely.
Girls, when alone should and must always carry
some sort of weapon, perhaps a pepper spray or a
knife and they should know how and when to use
it. Never should one walk through a lonely or a dark
road, as precaution is always better than cure. They
should always avoid potential harassers and better
not react when facing a large group.
Speaking up is the only way that is going to help
solve this major problem facing the society as a
whole. Not only should the women be the ones to
react and agitate, but it is the duty of our society
and media to spread awareness concerning this
ghastly glitch.
There should be more lady police cells in every area,
and women should report the crime without any
fear or humiliation.
The women rights organization helped to pass ‘The
Delhi Prohibition of Eve-teasing Bill 1984” and there
are lot of laws which sentence punishment to the
guilty.
Avoiding this issue is not the remedy, nor is eve teas-
ing a joke. It’s a highly unethical and rampant prob-
lem, and without any ardent measures it cannot be
resolved. The dignity of a woman comes at stake
and what may seem like a minute of fun for a boy,
becomes a lifetime of humiliation for the girl.Ridhima Shukla, Journo, 3rd Year
Eve Teasing Rampant Everywhere
Is being a girl a punishment? Does being
a girl means losing her own self respect
and still working for her family, for others?
Does it means to spend her life in just four
walls of her house?
The questions above being asked are
because of the IRRATIONAL and UNDESIR-
ABLE behavior of men in and outside the
homes which every second girl has to face
daily in her routine life. That kind of unex-
pected behavior is
known as Sexual
Harassment. SEXUAL
HARASSMENT is
intimidation, bully-
ing or coercion of a
sexual nature, or the
unwelcome or inap-
propriate promise of
rewards in exchange
for sexual favors.
Sexual harassment could take place any-
where, at any time, by anyone and in any
form. It could happen at public places,
school, educational institutes, workplace,
even at home. Sexual harassment can be
verbal (comments about your body,
spreading sexual rumors, sexual remarks
or accusations, dirty jokes or stories),
physical (grabbing, rubbing, flashing or
mooning, touching, pinching in a sexual
way, sexual assault) or visual (display of
naked pictures or sex-related objects,
obscene gestures).
Often, sexual harassment incidents fall
into the category of the "merely annoy-
ing." However, many situations can, and
do, have life-altering effects particularly
when they involve severe/chronic abuses,
and/or retaliation against a victim who
does not submit to the harassment, or
who complains about it openly. Indeed,
psychologists and social workers report
that severe/chronic sexual harassment
can have the same psychological effects as
rape or sexual assault.
Sexual harassment is ILLEGAL. If a girl is
being harassed then she need not to be
afraid and should fight against it. She
could opt for following steps:
Say “No” Clearly: Tell the person who is
harassing you that his/her behavior
offends you. They may not realize how
hurtful their behavior is and may need a
clear message from you to stop.
Complain to the Authority: File a written
or verbal complaint to the
highest authority like the prin-
cipal, teacher, manager, boss
or police specifying the whole
situation with accurate time
and date.
File a Complaint With a
Government Agency: In India
there are not many laws
regarding the same. Those
found guilty can be punished under sec-
tion 294 and section 509 of IPC. Recently,
in 2006, Sexual Harassment of Women at
Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and
Redressal) Bill, 2006 was passed.
According to India's constitution, sexual
harassment infringes the fundamental
right of a woman to gender equality under
Article 14 of the Constitution of India and
her right to life and live with dignity under
Article 21 of the Constitution.
Even after so many efforts of Government
of India the cases for sexual harassment
have seen no decline. The people for our
help i.e. the cops and Government
employees are now themselves seen as
harassers in many cases. The provisions
against sexual harassment contain several
loopholes which can be exploited easily by
the harasser in his favor. Clearly the provi-
sions and laws need to be more compre-
hensive to provide justice to those who
have been victims and protection to those
who could be potential victims.Barkha Sethi, Journo, 1st Year
Know your rights, Let none infringe
them
The posters carefully pinned all
over the college – on every floor
and notice board, were not easy to
overlook. Neither the message they
conveyed was anything unheard of
before.
Since the college relocated to the
Vasundhra Enclave campus, stu-
dents have continually been adapt-
ing themselves to the new area that
was destined to be neighboured by
the Dallupura village and a govern-
ment school.
Quite expectantly girls could feel
the glares at themselves while mov-
ing in and out of the college premis-
es (sometimes even within the
same). The constant hounding kept
on mounting up and seemed to
continue forever. Moreover, not
only girls but some of the boys were
also jeered at and in one case even
beaten up. Everyone had seen
these things happening or even
been through it themselves yet
somehow people were hesitant or
perhaps, did not care enough to do
something about it.
Amidst this everyday affair, a small
group of students realised the need
of hour by approaching various
teachers and the Principal who
gladly rendered valuable assistance
to them.
Hence, accompanied with the
approval of the college authorities
these students got themselves busy
with distributing pamphlets and
putting up posters, spreading the
word about unity and presenting
everybody with an opportunity to
come together and finally face the
common problem which had been
losing rebuttal due to a lack of soli-
darity.
With only three days given for pro-
motion, it was unbelievable to see a
large number of college students
acknowledging their effort by
attending the assembly on 8th
September that was organised by
the same lot of considerate stu-
dents. An online group was also
readily formed on the social net-
working site Facebook by the name
Let’s Unite, Fight Abuse which
proved to help reach out to more
number of people.
During the event around 250 to 300
students witnessed speeches by our
honourable Principal Mr. Sunil
Sondhi, Miss Geetanjli Chawla and
Mr. S. K. Tiwari from the teaching
staff. While Mr. Sondhi advised to
be wary of one’s wardrobe Miss
Chawla asked everyone to pay
attention to their gesticulation i.e.
how one carried oneself publicly.
She also emphasised on the impor-
tance of moving around in groups
and asked everyone to be aware of
the geography of our area so as to
take different, appropriate routes in
time.
As a result of this event, a sexual
harassment cell that is associated
with the University of Delhi has
been reactivated in the college with
six voluntary student representa-
tives. It also offers a helpline to all
the students to freely report about
any misbehaviour faced by them or
happening around them.
It is never too late to take action
and bring about a change but don’t
even wait for too long else it may
get way too late.
Special acknowledgement to Rajat
Rawat, Garima Pant, Garima Tiwari
and Ashutosh Kant Prabhakar.Anushri Saxena, Journo, 2nd Year
Wind of Change: Let’s Unite, FightWind of Change: Let’s Unite, Fight
AbuseAbuse
October 2011October 2011
Eve teasing is not only seen on streets but
schools, colleges, malls, bus stops and even
institutes are not free from this social crime.
3October 2011October 2011
I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon.Tom Stoppard
Planting trees has clear social
and ecological benefits, but it
is not a long-term solution to
equipping our society and
economy to deal with climate
change. The danger is that we
could actually think we're solv-
ing a problem. It makes us feel
good. It makes us feel warm
and fuzzy, like changing a cou-
ple of light bulbs. But the reali-
ty is it's not going to have a sig-
nificant effect.
I do not promote trees as the
only solution to climate
change. What everyday people
can do stop global warming is
to cut down on electricity and
gasoline use, support renew-
able energy and yes, plant
trees. We can find pluses and
minuses to all the offset
options, but the worst thing is
to do nothing.
I'm sure the people attending
the G8 summit didn't need a
separate limo each to pick
them up. But to then claim that
the problem is dealt with by
planting a couple of trees or
whatever is worrying.
Someone need to tell them
that a car trip avoided through
use of public transport, walk-
ing or cycling is worth any
amount of 'damage control'
whether through tree planting
or otherwise.
It's simply not
possible to plant
enough trees to
have a signifi-
cant effect on
global warming.
The matter of
fact is that they
won’t last long.
Even if the trees
do survive, if we
have climate
change and a 2C
or 3C tempera-
ture rise, then how do we
know those trees are not going
to die early and break down
into methane and actually
make the situation worse.
Apart from tree plantation,
there are a lot of things to be
done. We should keep a check
on our carbon emissions,
reduce our ecological foot-
print, initiate rain water har-
vesting, promote renewable
sources of energy and ensure
proper waste disposal.
In the end I would just like to
say that ‘Telling people to plant
trees is like telling them to
drink more water to keep
down rising sea levels’Shakeb Wajeeh, Journo, 1st Year
Is Planting Trees Enough?
In the early years of Indian Cinema a
scene used to start with a middle aged
woman dancing near a tree and then all
of a sudden running
inside her house giv-
ing some loud
expressions on her
face without any
sound and BANG the
movie ends.
That is what we call
History of Indian
Cinema which has
become 80 years old
now. It has witnessed
many changes over a period of time.
From movies like Do-Bigha Zameen and
Mother India to Peepli Live and Delhi
Belly, from black and white to color and
from mute to Dolby Digital.
Today cinema is no longer seen as a
vague source of entertainment. It has
now become a mirror of the Indian soci-
ety. Movies now are a part of personal
creative imagination, and are based on
real life issues resulting in them to be
thought provoking.
It is widely agreed that cinema and
movies are the passions of every Indian.
One can hear Bollywood songs in every
second Tea-Shop; the fashion statement
that a movie star portrays on a 70mm
Screen has loads of Followers. The
attraction and inspiration of cinema has
been alike over the ages. From Manoj
Kumar’s ’Desh Bhakti Mode’ where giv-
ing life for the nation was everything to
Aamir Khan’s ‘Rang de basanti’ where
characters had no hesitation in accepting
that they don't like this country and
want a serious change in society. The
essence of patriotism can be instilled by
movies. And even the audience relates
to them!
Earlier what attracted audiences most
was action and expression of characters,
but now all
what cinema
believes in is
‘Visual
Appeal’.
Even the
themes of
the stories
have
changed.
Cinema
started with
having mythology and Family based
Drama’s, the story line used to kept sim-
ple which consist of two characters one
good and another bad with loads of loud
desi songs, that is what entertainment
meant to be.
But now the story line is based on a par-
ticular theme or the theme is only for a
particular character of the movie in
which the same character shows various
shades of grey.
Cinema today is no longer a mere means
of ‘Entertainment’ rather this term is
taken over by ‘Infotainment’. The idea of
Infotainment is to reach out masses by
providing them full-on entertainment
with loads of information at the same
time. It is no longer made for some spe-
cial set of people of the society rather it
is made for the mass audience so that
one can easily relate to it.
In between, a time came when most of
the movies were based for a specific sec-
tion of society with more specific
themes and language. Now the basic
idea of Film makers is to hit the mass
audience even at grass-root level with
whole "Mirch masala" and the stereo-
typed bollywood style. The purpose is
not only entertainment but also to do
equal justice with the theme and the
motive of the movie.
Movies used to be shot on elaborate
sets in film studios but now with the
increase in budget of films, movies are
shot globally, so a person sitting on the
couch gets to know about different
places and cultures. And this is certainly
not the end; the transformation is also
seen in the field of comedy. Humor earli-
er was slapstick and was only meant for
‘Bone-Tickling’ but now cinema has got
more exposure than ever and so do its
humor. Comedy now is more Satirical
and is meant for ‘Mind-Tickling’.
There is no doubt that emotions on the
silver screen are hardly noticeable now
but the message they give is much clos-
er to reality. If cinema shows what socie-
ty is it also has the power to change
what society thinks.Labhanshi Sharma, Journo, 1st Year
Changing Face of Indian Cinema - InfotainmentChanging Face of Indian Cinema - Infotainment
over Entertainmentover Entertainment
A recent campaign was started by actor Imran Khan
in support of lowering the drinking age in the city of
Mumbai from 25 years to the age of 18. It leads us to
the questions like ‘is it safe for the drinking age to be
lowered?’ ‘Is the young India responsi-
ble enough to handle hard drinks?’
In a country where 50% of the popula-
tion is under 25 getting alcohol rarely
poses a problem. Bars and nightclubs
regularly supply under 25’s with alco-
hol as most of their clientele is filled of
this age group.
A major argument against this law is that a person is
allowed to vote by the age of 18. He/she is allowed
to enlist in the military, and is also allowed to marry.
Therefore by making the legal drinking age 25, the
lawmakers take a slightly hypocritical stand as elect-
ing a government or marriage is definitely a bigger
responsibility in comparison to drinking alcohol.
Another major stumbling block towards this law is
the social perception towards alcohol. Alcohol is
seen as an evil in the society and teenagers tend to
bend towards a non-conformist means of expressing
themselves. Alcohol provides them with this outlet.
It has been proven that in countries like Greece, Italy
and China a lower drinking age is directly proportion-
ate to lesser alcohol related problems than countries
with a higher drinking age. This
can be due to peer pressure, the
forbidden fruit syndrome, socie-
tal pressures etc.
The best way to thus prevent the
rampant abuse of this law is to
lower the drinking age. This will
make the consumption of alcohol public which can
be easily monitored by the police, security guards
etc. Also it no longer would be a forbidden fruit as
the curiosity one associates with drinking alcohol will
no longer apply which in turn would further reduce
underage alcohol related problems. It is therefore
imperative to allow the youth of this country to
decide what is best for itself. Thus the drinking age
should definitely be lowered from the age of 25 to
18.Shashank Nair, Journo, 1st Year
LOWER DRINKING AGE TO LEvEL WITh ThE AGE FOR MARRIAGE
India is slowly growing, growing and growing faster on the population
curve. And so far, there is no such serious provision to stop the mounting
curve. Even the economic development curve is going towards a steep rise,
and same is the case with India’s literacy rate
and other ‘important’ developing topics. But
a curve is precipitously declining, and that
curve is for the “rate of tigers”.
The tigers in India were, at one time, consid-
ered to be among the most valued and
healthy ones in the world. But now, if ever you
walk past the Jim Corbett, you will hardly
notice a tiger. And against my words, if you do
get to see one, then consider that the lady-
luck is with you.
The word important was marked because conservation of tigers and other
endangered species is not considered an issue here. In India, government is
engaged in trying to deal with corruption, economy and oversea relation-
ships but not the topic which is in grave danger due to its negligence. Flora
and fauna of a country is considered to be her valuable assets but here, they
are pathetically falling into danger due to India’s economic development.
The Bengal tiger population of India has fallen to an estimated 40,000, and it
is listed as an endangered species. The destruction of the tiger's forest habi-
tat, trophy hunting, commercial hunting, and killing in order to protect
domestic livestock have all been contributing factors in the decline of these
magnificent animals.
A major concerted conservation effort, known as Project Tiger, has been
underway since 1973, initially spearheaded by Indira Gandhi. The fundamen-
tal accomplishment has been the establishment of over 25 well-monitored
tiger reserves in reclaimed land where human development is categorically
forbidden. The program has been credited with tripling the number of wild
Bengal tigers from roughly 1,200 in 1973 to over 3,500 in the 1990s.
However, a tiger census carried out in 2007, whose report was published on
February 12, 2008, stated that the wild tiger population in India declined by
60% to approximately 1,411. It is noted in the report that the decrease of
tiger population can be attributed directly to poaching
We, the future of tomorrow, can make a revolutionary change in govern-
ment’s scheme of things and put the ‘tiger issue’ at the peak of their plan.
Together, we can stop the untold damage we have been doing to them, just
because of our greed for power, prosperity and prestige.
If at all, we are successful, we can create a revolution, an extraordinary upris-
ing which can change the Indian perception towards tigers. And after all,
Tiger is the national animal of India. If we do not act soon, the government
would have to find a new national animal.
Falling Number of Tigers
The Second Innings of LifeToday there are 77 million old people in India out of which many are living in old age homes and very
small number of old citizens live in their own house. The official statistics reveal that large segments of
the elderly in India are illiterate, out of work force, partially or totally dependent on others and suffer-
ing from health problems or physical disabilities. A review of the Indian government’s Five Year Plans
shows very limited and inconsistent concern for the elderly.
The only welfare measure for the elderly considered by the govern-
ment until the Seventh Five Year Plan was the running of old age
homes. The Eighth and Ninth Plans, however, incorporated fairly more
specific and comprehensive welfare measures for the elderly such as
provision of old age homes, day care centres, medicare and institu-
tional services. However, the issue of older persons’ learning has not
been given any importance in the government policies and programs.
Apart from this NGO's and helpage India is working to provide aid to
some old citizens.
While playing the second innings of life they need love and care. Those hands had never shaken when
they gave you help so why can’t your hands hold their shivering hands . There are many families exploit-
ing the elderly just like a burden in this age of honor they work just to count few more days of life.Aysha Anam, Journo, 2nd Year
The Delhi government running a plantation drive
Choosing an electoral repre-
sentative is a far greater
responsibility than drinking,
then why is the age for
Voting 18 and Drinking 25?
4
I can't think of any job other than journalism where the newsmakers come to you. Bob Schieffer
The history of the Internet dates back to
the 1950s and 1960s with the develop-
ment of computers. The Internet was cre-
ated by the Advanced Research Project
Agency (ARPA) & U.S. Department of
Defense for scientific and military commu-
nications.
The ARPANET was
decommissioned in
the year 1990 and
later in 1995 the
Internet went
Commercial when
National Science
Foundation (NSF)
Network was decom-
missioned, removing the last bit of restric-
tions over the commercial use of Internet. It
is estimated that in 1993 the Internet car-
ried only 1% of the information flowing
through two-way telecommunication, by
2000 this figure had grown to 51%, and by
2007 more than 97% of all telecommunicat-
ed information was carried over the
Internet.
According to surveys conducted by the
Internet world stats team, Internet was used
only by about 16 million people in the year
1995 whereas now the numbers of users
have grown to over 2000 million. India had
just seen the introduction of the Internet in
1995 and by 1998 India already
had 1,400,000 users whereas now
there are about 100,000,000
users in the country, comprising
about 5% of the total Internet
using population world-wide.
Earlier, it used to take nearly a
minute or even more to load a
website but now it hardly takes a
few seconds at times less.
The uses of Internet has grown
from simply checking mails,
browsing for information; to lis-
tening to music, play games, watch
videos, chat with friends or even making
new friends, nowadays even shopping is
possible through the internet apart from its
traditional use. Emergence of Social net-
working sites has been a major boon to the
Internet as a whole as it not just created
many new users of the web but also got
people to stay connected, find long lost
childhood friends and so on.
Youngsters today cannot live without the
Internet as it provides them a source of
everything they need from chatting with
friends to knowing about the latest happen-
ings around the town and the new movie
releases of the week. It’s just not possible
for working professionals to live without the
internet as whatever their work maybe will
anyhow use the services of the Internet, in
the form of sending mails, connecting to
people globally for their work, whatever it
maybe Internet provides the cheapest and
most effective means to stay connected &
communicate with people.
As far as my view of the internet goes, I
don’t think it
would ever come
to an end as there
is something new
in the world of
technology every
single day; the
development of
Internet is both an evolutionary and a revo-
lutionary process. Subhagata Bhattacharya, Journo, 1st Year
Friends , family and relatives are an important factor of life. We like to stay in touch
with them and social networking sites are contributing extremely well in connecting
with each other. Facebook , twitter, myspace and orkut are the most common sites
used by the people. These sites have introduced us to a new world called “the virtu-
al world”. Facebook has topped among all the social networking sites, having more
than 800 million active users. The virtual world has bound people with itself, even in
real world conversations include the topics of virtual world. For instance, one friend
tease the other friend for getting more likes than him/her for an uploaded photo.
Status updates render all the information of current happenings of our lives.
Himani Vishnoi (19 yrs), student says, “ it has been a year since I am on facebook and
I enjoy all the activities available on fb. I have around 200 friends on fb and I don’t
know most of them personally, but with few of them I’ve become very friendly and
know many things about them, like their interests, likes and dislikes .”
People become good friends with each other through chatting, though they never
meet each other. Such relationships are called online relationships. “It has been one
an a half year and I am in an online relationship with Vineet . we are quite comfort-
able in our relationship, we chat with each other regularly for 5 to 6 hrs. Fortunately
he is from Kerala and lives near my hometown Kochi , so we are making plans to meet
each other and I would like to introduce him to my parents.” says Pooja (20yrs), phar-
macy student.
Internet and social networking sites also compliment real life relationships .
Internet is cheaper than the mobile phones and hence to spend more time with
each other real life couples have joined these sites too. Online relationships are
converting into real life relationships as well. Bency Aniyan says , “I met my
boyfriend Sijo on facebook. We chatted for six months and since we both lived
in Delhi, we decided to meet. Then we kept on meeting each other. Now it’s
been 4 years to our relationship.” Indeed online relationships are the latest trend
to get a guy/girl of your choice , by being little aware and beware of the fake
users on social networking sites you can enjoy an interpersonal communication
with anyone you like.Sakshi Khanagwal, Journo, 2nd year
Online Relationships - Expanding Horizons
The cyber space has provided
us with the grand prospect to get
our love on net. All you need to
do is join a social networking
site, come in contact with the
people having same interest (but
of course different sex, depends
on your sexual orientation) and
finally if you get a perfect match
then get into a relationship. As
simple as that.
So finding a match is no more
that hectic job to carry on. In
short, all you need is a pc and
access to net. And there you go
my buddy, happily ever after.
This contemporary era that’s
standing on the mainstay of
technical i ty,
has given birth
to this popular
culture of love
on net. This
trend is no
doubts more
well-known in
the youth. But
people from
other age bracket, are also not
left unmarked from its effect.
This popular culture is emerging
in intensity and number. It has
really got golden coins in its
account leading to its success.
One of the plus points in respect
of easy accessibility has already
been discussed above.
Apart from the easy accessibility
of the sites there are certain
other factors that act as icing to
the cake. Eager to know what the
other positive points are? Be
patient guys, for this you need to
read more.
We all are the sufferers of the
hectic schedule of this busy life
style. We always run out of time.
In this tangled life style, it really
becomes difficult to take time
out for our beloved. But online
dating acts as key to unlock this
problem. These sites aid you as a
time saver. Just a click and all set.
Then another element that adds
to the beauty of the show is the
availability of numerous options.
The web provides you with copi-
ous alternatives, and in the con-
sumerist era you get a fine
opportunity to make a rational
choice.
This online dating stuff is not a
product of Indian culture. Our
nation is under the great influ-
ence of the western lifestyle and
love on net is the effect of the
same and it has got some flaws
also in its part.
As mentioned earlier it’s an influ-
ence of the western civilization, I
will be here putting something
about the same. In most of the
parts of the North America, peo-
ple not only engage in online
dating but also get married
through net
but this pace is
also seen in
the case of
divorces. The
rate at which
people get
married, on
the other hand
break their
relations on a much higher note.
This is so because what is pre-
sented online perhaps is nothing
more than a bogus identity. The
person you are in contact with is
sitting on the other side of the
box; you never know what the
real intentions are.
In this case I think the Indian tra-
ditional marriage system is far
better. This form of marriage
records lesser number of break
ups. The one using the net is not
a fool in any sense. The youth
today is an intelligent species
with rational approach. They are
all in sane to make out whether
to keep this love till net or have
to work on it in the real grounds.
It’s all a matter that depends on
the level of maturity the person
possesses.
Every concept has two sides and
mostly one side over shadows
the other. It entirely depends on
you dear that which side catches
your eyes.Neha Vashist, Journo, 3rd Year
Love on NetFinding a match is no more that hectic job
October 2011October 2011
“When I took office, only high
energy physicists had heard of
the world-wide-web….now
even my cat has its own page”
Bill Clinton
Who can Live Without the Internet
Youth, the forerunner of society is
the most radical feature of any civilized
nation. For a country which needed Rajiv
Gandhi to realize the potential of this
section of its populace, India has
steadily achieved the tag of a youth
powered nation. Today our nation is
transiting to a future oriented setup
where the availability and acceptability
in the coming years is a deciding factor
while voting for an electoral candidate.
To be precise, democracy might never
have reached the Indian shores if it
were not for the young. Instigated by
works on social equality by the likes of
Marx and Lenin, it was the youth that
took upon its shoulders to rid the
country from the
clutches of British
India. Maulana
Azad the
youngest man to
be elected the
president of the
Indian National
Congress, India’s
first Prime
M i n i s t e r
Jawaharlal Nehru
and the firebrand
Bhagat Singh
were some of the
young faces who
heralded the
Indian struggle
for independ-
ence.
To this date it is this section of society
that has been the harbinger of change.
The recent uprising against corruption
led by 74 year old war veteran Anna
Hazare would have been fruitless if it
were not for the youth who vouched
for his movement. A democratic pro-
cession which resulted in the partial
forfeiture of the legislative has been
the most compelling argument for
youth forte driving the nation.
When studied with a neutral bias,
democracy in our country seems to
have been ridiculed to the core. Over
the past 60 years, youth which has con-
sistently comprised a majority of the
electorates has been a neglected lot.
Election manifestoes and policies were
centred on basic amenities and reli-
gious appeasement policies. Today
after considerable appeasement to
other sections of society, political
organizations have commenced con-
centrating on the future leaders of the
nation.
The emergence of young India is of
such mammoth magnitudes that polit-
ical parties are centring their mani-
festoes on this stratum of electorates.
The Delhi University elections were a
recent phenomenon where major
political parties were at loggerheads to
woo young voters. The clout of the
opinion of the youth is such that
results of the Delhi University elections
are considered as the oracle for the
coming state elections.
While considering the international
scenario, the uprising against
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak in
Egypt is another indication of the
changing world scenario. A ‘status
message’ on facebook.com by a jour-
nalist was suffice to ignite the minds of
thousands of protesters at Cairo’s
Tahrir Square. A majority of the inter-
net users belong to the youth and
internet users in Egypt are no different.
The use of new media coupled with
the physical dominance and revolu-
tionary zeal was sufficed to counter the
dictatorial regime of Mubarak.
Coming back to Indian scenario,
democracy is incomplete without the
will of the masses and today the mass-
es demand a younger leadership
whom they can bank upon. Gone are
the days when a set ideology was
enough to brainwash young minds.
The youth today is educated and
adamant to react.
The rise of literacy has further empow-
ered the younger generation.
Thoughts of social equality and the
essence of democracy have finally
seeped into the minds of young India.
The Indian youth today refuses to be
taken for a ride.
The availability
of the Right to
Information is a
powerful tool in
the hands of the
revolut ionary
young.
Today the
empowered and
educated young
are obdurate to
fight for their
rights. Schemes
like MNREGA
are highly
a p p r e c i a t e d
whereas a bill
such as the gov-
ernment version of the Lok Pal Bill is
vehemently opposed. The youth today
understands the value of a single vote
and is obstinate to elect an eligible rep-
resentative.
In the coming years, youth and democ-
racy will share an impermeable bond.
The involvement of this section will
multiply as political establishments
would tend to cater to the needs of the
future leaders. We as the future of
India need to realise our potential as
the harbingers of change and our abil-
ity to lead the nation to a positive
direction.Twesh Mishra, Journo 2nd Year
Youth and Democracyhe alone, who owns the youth, gains the future -
Adolf hitler
5
Confrontation sometimes is the best kind of journalism as long you don't confront people just for the sake of a confrontation. Don hewitt
The business of selling words to readers and selling read-
ers to advertisers, which has sustained their role in society,
is falling apart. Gone are the days when people had fewer
options for consuming news; getting the newspaper deliv-
ered to their door was the easiest but today the scenario has
changed traditional media tools(NEWSPAPERS,MAGAZINES)
around the world are struggling to survive while competing
with websites and 24-hour news channels that offer news
comparable more quickly. The world is becoming increasing-
ly driven by technological advances and the news industry is
transforming rapidly in unexpected ways.
The newspaper/magazine reading demography has shrunk
to only those who can’t or don’t want to stare at a screen,
and that demography continues to shrink. More and more
people are turning to social networks first to get the news.
And popular bloggers are reaching incredible numbers of
people.
Today people don’t have to search deliberately for news, it
comes to them. Widespread availability of the Internet by
just pressing a key on the mobile phone, convenient and
fast, allows users to multitask are all a contributing factors.
The Internet has led to a whole new wave of interactivity
that traditional media tools are unable to offer. This genera-
tion has become more outspoken and is looking to exchange
and debate ideas, rather than just accept what news is given
to them by the media. With print newspapers, the only
interactivity readers have would be writing letters to the edi-
tor in hopes of getting them published. With the Internet,
users can directly post comments on articles and electroni-
cally send in comments to the editor to generate discussion.
When online users post their views on a topic, their ability
to express their opinions make them feel like they are part
of what shapes the presentation of news.
Blogs, a form of interactivity, have had a significant role in
attracting readers to go online – more and more Internet
users are going online to post their thoughts on stories or
events, giving them a feeling of power and the assurance
that their voices are being heard.
Of all the “old” media, newspapers have the most to lose
from the internet. The newspapers itself is banking aggres-
sively on the assumption that people will opt for the elec-
tronic version over the print copy. And maybe in future they
will start their online subscription like the New York Times
and Wall Street Journal. Also social networks have become
a staple in the internet landscape as the social networking
phenomenon allows people to "put their lives online".
The industry is facing a few key issues including decreasing
revenues/circulation/readership, a secular shift. Internet is a
medium that supposedly matches buyers with sellers and
proves to advertisers that their money is well spent.
Classified ads, in particular, are quickly shifting online.
Rupert Murdoch, the Beaverbrook of our age, once
described them as the industry's rivers of gold—but, as he
said last year, “Sometimes rivers dry up.” There has been
27.2% decline in advertising from 2009.
The usefulness of the press goes much wider than investi-
gating abuses or even spreading general news; it lies in hold-
ing governments to account—trying them in the court of
public opinion. The internet has expanded this court.
Anyone looking for information has never been better
equipped a keyboard and internet connection is all that’s
needed. People no longer have to trust a handful of nation-
al papers or their local city paper. News-aggregation sites
such as sources from around the world.
Nobody should relish the demise of once-great titles. But
the decline of newspapers will not be as harmful to society
as some fear.
HOWEVER ONE CANNOT IGNORE TRADITIONAL MEDIA
Traditional media are instantly recognizable: Chances are,
the average person can recognize city’s newspaper rather
than the most popular blog in the area. Traditional media
have been around longer than social media, and many have
built recognizable and credible brands.
Traditional media still reach vast audiences: As long as a tra-
ditional media outlet is still publishing or airing, chances are,
it continues to reach a large enough audience to keep it
viable. This is why many online stories take off only after tra-
ditional media talk about them.
Social media feed on traditional media: Bloggers often write
about what’s going on in traditional media, whether it’s a
new TV ad or a story that ran recently in the news.
If you land an interview in traditional media, you’re likely to
catch the attention of social media as well. Furthermore,
appearing in traditional media gives you something to post
about in your own blog and in social networks.
Traditional media gives exposure: Because traditional media
are recognizable and often seen as credible, getting expo-
sure through them gives you instant status and credibility as
well. On the other hand, being interviewed on a blog or web
TV may not have the same effect.Nupur Sharma, Journo, 2nd Year
Changing Face of MediaA cause of concern, but not for panic
Magnificent, larger than life advertising has for long
remained a signature component of popular cinema in India.
Popular means of advertising films since the era beginning
from the early 1930s were banner paintings either in the form
of a collage or over-sized cutouts of actors and actresses being
hung on the wall of the cinema hall. From the mid-1930s,
there were various kinds of transitions in the art of film hoard-
ings- the only form of film publicity available
in that era, and quite popular.
The hoarding artistes did roaring business till
few years ago — painting film advertisement
boards, cut-outs of politicians, Republic Day
parade tableau vehicles, hoisting painted
plywood pieces and cloth banners and dan-
glers to announce many a programme.
Today, they are struggling to make ends
meet.
Then technology took over and advertisers
chose digital vinyl hoardings covered with
thin polythene sheets, throwing many a tal-
ented artist out of work. Painting a hoarding
was a collective job, with the master drawing
the outline and giving finishing touches and
his apprentices filling in the details.
However, the preference of advertisers for
computer and plastic technology has driven
the helpers into despair.
From the early days of Indian cinema, film publicity played an
important role in creating a constituency that would respond
to the charisma of the screen. Artists who created properties
for stage plays and films were employed to write banners as
the practice was called- that is, to create larger-than-life
images on cloth that were displayed on theatres. Later on,
banners gave way to hoardings, mounted on wooden frames
that were displayed not only at theatres, but also in prominent
urban spaces.
The period from the 1920s to the 1990s was a time when Hindi
cinema developed its own distinctive visual language and pro-
duced its most magnificent images.
Film banners owe a great deal to important moments in mod-
ern Indian history: the moment of popular performances. Early
banners- and hoardings- followed the visual grammar of the
film and carried, along with the textual announcement of the
film details, images of well-known actors. The banners were
influenced in other ways as well- especially in terms of the
composition of visuals. Initially, these were offered as add-ons
to early silent cinema- as producers and distributors attempt-
ed to woo and win their audience.
There is a popular belief that Indian Cinema or Bollywood, as
we popularly call it, is largely inspired by Hollywood. This may
be in tems of storyline but not in terms of advertising of films.
Hollywood posters switched from illustration to photography
at an early stage and they also tended
to use a lot more textual information.
In India, by contrast, the focus
remained on painted images for most
of the 20th century, and that's what
made Bollywood so special.
Additionally, if you look at the way
banners, billboards and cinema dis-
plays were created here -- that was
such a unique system as well. In
Hollywood, the studios commissioned
designs which were reproduced every-
where in exactly the same way. But
here, you had dozens of painters
across the country, using publicity stills
to create their own handmade ver-
sions. I don't know if there were many
other countries that had a similar
wealth and diversity of images.
Given the importance of the ‘extra’
features in rendering a film attractive and inviting, hoardings
came to feature- almost mandatorily as it were- the comic
actor, the flamboyant dancer, the name of the music direc-
tor……
In the 1980s, many commercial movie producers moved to
photographic images, though sex and horror movies continued
to use painted images with gruesome monsters and nubile
nymphets. The result may have been some very pulpy and
entertaining images, but unfortunately Bollywood's long tradi-
tion of hand-painted images seemed to have ended sordidly.
When trends changed in this decade, veteran poster artists
retired and the younger generation took to mass-produced
photo-collages, and later, digital images. Then there were also
those whose workshops churned out large banners and cine-
ma displays which were, in turn, threatened by the introduc-
tion of vinyl in the 1990s. Today only a handful have survived
across all of India. Ayushi Sareen, Journo, 2nd Year
Death of the Art of Banner PaintingIt’s the dawn of new age of impa-
tience with youth at its epicenter.
Young minds, on which the heroes of
the past counted upon, boast to be the
future of the nation. The question is
‘Are they sufficiently capable, trained
or dedicated to the causes they raise?’
There is certainly a void for doubts.
Here, I would like to focus on young
‘Would be- Journalists’.
With advent of new devices and tech-
nology, sharing instantly is possible.
Social networking sites help us to
share content in our mind with mil-
lions of people around the globe with-
in seconds. Big powers come with big
responsibilities. While using the
advantage of sharing, we often neglect
the responsibility part.
Oftenly, those after big news or issues
share things without knowledge of the
subject, its background or its impact.
To create a buzz and to get the ‘It’s dif-
ferent’ tag, people share things and
make out conclusions without any
analysis on their part. It’s ironic to see
that those who are supposed to be
helping others in building an opinion,
do not even have any opinion of their
own. They either share the popular
belief, or the opinion of their parents
or some influencing friends and per-
sonalities and sometimes, an extreme
viewpoint to prove they think differ-
ent. The problem remains that they do
not think different, just pretend to be.
In the age of learning ethics and
morals, young journalists are seen bad
mouthing about politicians, social
activists, religious leaders and known
personalities. It occurs to them an easy
way of outbursting their anger and
being in focus. Young writers have
started to write to impress, rather to
express, which seems not a good sign.
Nowadays, online sources are
obsessed with news. However, with
increasing competition, their stan-
dards are improving. Sources are grow-
ing more reliable and qualitatively bet-
ter. But, using them as a soul source for
news and facts gathering is not the
need of time. Site visiting or studies of
scenario or research in same or similar
environment are very rare in online
news and article writing. I have seen
some of my friends writing about
poverty alleviation, farmer suicides
and rural development, while they
haven’t seen a village in their life.
While pointing fingers at a person or
two, they do not hesitate in generaliz-
ing their statements against religions
or groups of people, of which they
have exactly no idea, exaggerating
their freedom of speech.
Youth is full of enthusiasm, innovation
and zeal to break shackles of narrow
mindedness.But, this by no way means
disrespecting different religions, cul-
tures and believes. We are blessed to
be in a country where many legendary
youths lived an inspiring life. Kartar
Singh Sarabha, Ganesh Shankar
Vidyarthi, Bhagat Singh and hundreds
more while served for the cause of
independence, had a great intellectual
side. Their actions and deeds were
backed by ideologies, justified logics
and dedication.
We must be open to critics or those
who make counter points, not mere
for modesty, but for self improvement.
So let us make sure, when we’ll be
sharing things next time, it’s not for
the sake of sharing faster and more,
but it is more reliable, credible and
accurate content.Ankit Dwivedi, Journo, 2nd Year
The New Age of ImpatienceBe good, don’t try to prove it
The government of India has launched
SMART ARD or AADHAR CARD, a 12 digit num-
ber that will be issued by the unique identifica-
tion authority of India (UIDAI) to all residents
of country.
Since 2010, enrolment companies have initiat-
ed the Aadhar process which requires a huge
investment of both cash and kind. The Indian
government and UIDAI Authority are issuing Aadhar cards only to permanent resi-
dents of India. In my view, the Aadhar cards must also be issued to NRI’s (Non
Resident Indian) as a proof of them being Indians. Any Indian citizen above 5 years of
age is eligible for applying for the Aadhar card.
The form for the Aadhar card is free of cost. Along with a duly filled form, one
requires a photocopy of the address and a photo identity proof. Photostat machines
have been installed at the enrolment centres itself for the convenience of those
applying for the cards.
The card will act as an identity proof that would comply to the standards of present-
ly available technology. The issuing process involves 5 stages - document verification,
biometric scanning of 10 fingerprints, biometric scanning of eyes, a photograph. The
UID identifies individuals uniquely on the basis of demographic and biometric data;
thereby giving a means to clearly establish identity for public and private agencies
across the country. It would further facilitate lower costs for financial services.
It is obligatory for banks in India to follow customer identification procedures prior to
opening new bank accounts. The citizens of India have high hopes from the UID, but
this is followed by complaints of miscommunication, unavailability of enrolment
forms, misbehaviour of the volunteers and employees at centres issuing the cards,
charging for forms which are meant to be free of cost, laxity on behalf of customer
care executives who do not receive phone calls and huge rush. State governments are
struggling to achieve the UID targets and last year Delhi government announced that
all the residents of Delhi would be getting UIDs by the end of year 2011. But only 27
% of delhites have been registered for the UID card and only 15% have received them.
UIDAI also provides the options for checking the status for UID card. The promise of
the government was to provide UID cards to every individual after 90 days of regis-
tration but the number of complaints of not getting them even after 120 days of reg-
istration are rising. On the whole the UID card is an effective security authenticator
and the government has introduced this concept in order to facilitate automated and
electronic transactions thereby reducing the burden of workers at various organiza-
tions.
But the number of complaints received during the procedure of obtaining a UID card
is multiplying day by day. Irrespective of all odds, there is hope that the government
would be able to provide the UID Cards by enhancing machinery and reducing com-
plexity. Mishika Bangia, Journo, 1st Year
Aadhar Card : A Drive to Unique Identity
October 2011October 2011
6
Ask a little girl about marriage and you’ll be
surprised to know how much she has to tell. She
has decided how would she get married,in what
fairy land, what kind of dress she would wear,
she is just confused about the boy.
But the choice would of course keep on chang-
ing until she actually gets married. As she grows
up, she dumps some impractical ideas and
adopts some new ones, still living to the fact
that she would get married some day.
The point I am trying to make here is that the
fact that the idea
of the concept of
a committed
r e l a t i o n s h i p
known as mar-
riage has been
instilled her
mind from the
very beginning of
her life and can-
not be ignored.
We in the Indian society have always been told
that marriage holds much more importance
than any other relationship, and a live-in rela-
tionship is a violation of this very thought.
Live in relationships or cohabitation is a relation-
ship where two people who are not married
decide to live together.
The whole debate about whether a live-in rela-
tionships is right or wrong is narrowed down to
“We want it and that is what matters, why
should we care about people who do not matter
to us?” by the people who practice it. But such a
relationship is built up on the pillars of money,
individualism, liberty and not on commitment
or sacrament.
Talking about the Indian scenario, although live
in relationship has been legalized by the SC ,the
idea is considered highly incorrigible by the
masses.
Mention it to your grandparents and you’ll know
what I am talking about and this is not just
because of the generation gap factor but due to
various social and ethical reasons.
Live in relationship is considered highly immoral
from religious points of view. If a man and a
woman are accepting each other’s wants and
responsibilities, then they as well get married,
instead of ruining the very concept of marriage.
Such a form of relationship destroy the Indian
family system.
Generation today is becoming increasingly inde-
pendent and they like to live according to their
own views and needs but that does not mean
that whatever they do may necessarily be cor-
rect. Such a concept took form because of high-
ly promoted western culture and in some
instances from the Indian media too. The mak-
ing of ‘Salaam Namaste’ was undoubtedly a very
bold step taken by the Indian film industry.
Although it has become a common practice in
sprawling metropolitans like Mumbai, it is not
accepted in conservative societys of the Indian
sub continent. Live in relationship is leading to
threaten the concept of marriage.
While married couples have a better
financial,social and economic security, a partner
may walk out from a live in relationship at any
point of time if he/she realizes lack of compati-
bility. You need to adjust in both the cases to live
together,so why not get married instead and
when you have children,that child has both
his/her parent’s name!Hansa Verma, Journo, 3rd year
Love Beyond Marriage, Live-in Relationship
In the morning of August 16, 2011,
when Anna Hazare was arrested from
Supreme Enclave housing in Mayur
Vihar phase-1, thousands were waiting
to greet him at the gate of Tihar Jail.
Majority of these people were in the
age group of 15-35. Even now with the
image of the India Against Corruption
team on the decline, the sentiment of
the people has not changed.
As a citizen, one always appreciates
India, a country whose tremendous
beauty lies in its
culture and
diversity.
Looking at
India’s history,
one feels proud
of its rich cultur-
al heritage and
its vast pool of
learning and
scholars it has
produced. But
this is only one
side of the coin.
The other side shows
India in a state of
decay, be it in politics
or society, art or cul-
ture. This is when a cit-
izen can see corruption
surrounding each & every aspect of his
life. Corruption is not only at the higher
levels, but its seeds are sown in the
lowest of all levels. For instance, bribing
a traffic police officer on-duty, when he
‘Challans’ for a traffic violation, or pay-
ing some extra money to go around the
usual scheme of things at any govern-
ment office.
India is very fortunate to have around
65% of its population under the age of
35. The youth is a source of talent for
the whole world. And it has the power
to turn India from a developing nation
to a developed one. From the field of
Astronomy, Computers, Media, Politics,
Sports to Social Issues, youth has taken
over each job with responsibility. Over
the past few months the role of the
youth in the anti-corruption movement
has also been immense.
A movement can become a phenome-
non when the roots of the problem can
be found and eradicated. In the case of
corruption the roots are neither politi-
cal nor judicial. The root is social. For
the movement of anti corruption to
turn into a social movement the citizens
of India need to
overthrow the
concept of
‘jugaad’. These
negative values
are like an infec-
tion. They spread
from one person
to the other.
However, the peo-
ple who can still
remove this infec-
tion from their
systems are the
youth.
So, it is not not a
question of supporting
Anna or opposing the
government, the vital
question is to evolve a
system so that we can remove the virus
of corruption from within.
As clichéd as this statement may sound,
it has more meaning right now than
anytime else. The youth is the future of
the country and they must prepare to
carry the threshold of the country. They
must do everything necessary to ensure
a bright future for their coming genera-
tions.
The youth should undertake an oath to
never indulge in the malpractices of
corruption.Dipankar Gupta, Journo, 2nd Year
Karan Dewan, Journo, 1st year
Youth on the Forefront against CorruptionGone are the days when dog used to be a man’s best friend.
Now, in fact, even man disqualifies for the dog’s place. Missing
a tinge of recreation, wish to play a game or read your
favourite book? Just plug in your computer system and you are
only a click away from all that you desire.
It is undoubtedly fascinating how computers have taken over
the way we do a major chunk of our activities and how much
easier it has made things for us. We can accomplish numerous
tasks with the help of various softwares in no time.
Only one decade down the twenty-first century and we are
already defying the traditional tools for writing, reading and
performing other such kind of chores. Instead of pen and
paper, all we need is a keyboard. Man has never been as com-
patible with anything as he is with his computer.
Make notes for yourself, tabular charts for school, manage pic-
tures, and create presentations in a much more organized way
through Microsoft Office. Not to mention multitasking which is
very commonly done by everyone.
Despite its wide utility, this increasing dependency on
machines is sure to make space for long-lasting concerns. This
includes health concerns – both mental and physical– develop-
mental concerns, time-management concerns etc.
One does not feel like moving around. The solution to almost
all of his problems narrows down to his beloved desktop. And
why would it not be, computers are designed and continually
upgraded to keep up with our requirements. An average
human spends ten hours in a day on his personal computer.
This is more than the average requirement of sleep which is
only eight hours. Some may also point out that due to this elec-
tronic phenomenon, human effort goes missing as we count on
internet too often to find out even the minutest of information
about anything. And in this process, we lose on the supposed
magic of ‘personal-experience’.
But, of course, this is VERY subjective as not everyone believes
in magic but to move on and to go with the flow. Change is
always opposed. Anyway, people cannot completely rely on
computers and for the record, they do not.
Humans created computers and after all, it is just a machine
and is bound to be erroneous. Thus, human supervision would
always be valuable. Hence, technological development is
directly proportionate to human advancement. Using comput-
ers may not be as detrimental as it is perceived. However, the
amount of time and the purpose for which a computer is used
matter a lot. There are exercises and a list of right postures to
counter eyes’ stress, body and especially neck pain. Yet, it is
always recommended to make the most out of out available
technology in the best possible way instead of just squander-
ing our time away on nothing. Why take chances!Anushri Saxena, Journo, 2nd Year
Rising Importance of
Computers
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S.
award for achievements
in newspaper journal-
ism, literature and musi-
cal composition. It was
established by
Hungarian-American
publisher Joseph
Pulitzer and is adminis-
tered by Columbia
University in New York
City.
Prizes are awarded year-
ly in twenty-one cate-
gories. The 2009 Prize win-
ners and finalists were
announced April 20. The
prize was established by
Joseph Pulitzer, a journalist
and newspaper publisher,
who founded the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch and bought
the New York World.
Pulitzer left money to
Columbia University upon
his death in 1911. A portion
of his bequest was used to
found the university's jour-
nalism school in 1912. The
first Pulitzer Prizes were
awarded on June 4, 1917,
and they are now
announced each April.
Recipients are chosen by an
independent board.Pulitzer
awards are the Nobel of
Journalism, after its first
announcement in 1917.
This award is an honour of
Journalism and it’s
Dimensions, and given in
following categaries
Journalism:
"Public Service
"Breaking News Reporting
"Investigative Reporting
"Explanatory Reporting
"Local Reporting
"National Reporting
"International Reporting
"Feature Writing
"Commentary
"Criticism
"Editorial Writing
"Editorial Cartooning
"Breaking News
Photography
"Feature Photography
"Letters and Drama
"Biography or
Autobiography
"Fiction
"Drama
"History
"Poetry and General
Non-Fiction
Pulitzer Prize : The
honour of Journalism
October 2011October 2011
Any work of art that can be understood is the product of journalism.Tristan Tzara
“The youth is apt to invent than tojudge, apt for execution than for
counsel, & more apt for new projectsthan for settled business”.
7
In America the President reigns for four years, and Journalism governs forever and ever. Oscar Wilde
Olympics are just around the corner but the
condition of hockey is something you can be
sorry about. The national game that earned 8
gold medals for the country failed to
make it to the beijing olympics last year, for
the first time in 80 years. The image of prepa-
ration for the London Olympics also does not
seem to be bright.it is in the purest form of
an accident waiting to happen.
There are numerous factors that are responsi-
ble for its ill state. Infighting in the hockey
controlling bodies continues to be one of
them. The functioning of indian hockey has
been severely hampered since 2009. Nothing
changes in indian hockey except the guard
and same thing happened when indian hock-
ey federation (IHF) was de-recognised by
Indian Olympic
Association. Many say
it was result of internal
battle of power and
politics. A new body
Hockey India(HI) was
formed which received
the patronage of
International Hockey
Federation (IHF) at that
time. But IHF went to
the court of law to fight
their cause. But
ego satisfaction is nor-
mally a short cut that
destroys everything in
the long run,the same
IHF has now warned,if not threatened, to
jeopardise India's participation in london
olympics if the dispute regarding the gover-
nance of the sport is not settled. Taking a
serious note of this threat, finally, sports min-
istry has intervened and has indulged hockey
federation to work out a formula for one gov-
erning body for the sport. With just 3 months
left in sports mega event,meeting are still
happening at the tortoise speed. Government
is also responsible for the present critical situ-
ation of hockey in the country. Players dont
are not fortunate to have even basic facilities
like accommodation, shoes, astro-turf
grounds, world class coaching facilities, finan-
cial support and rewards for their encourage-
ment.
Everywhere it is cricket which is beating the
drum. All the sources of media shows only
cricket. Powerful politicians, glamour world,
wealthy corporate world-everyone wants to
associate with cricket in some form or anoth-
er. The result is that hockey is not getting the
proper expansion in India. Families are not
interested getting their wards in this classical
stick sport. The lack of monetary encourage-
ment continues to be a big hurdle.
Money is a big issue that gives cricket an
edge over hockey. But recently a oasis of
hope was seen in the form of victory in finals
of asian championship. A totally young and
fresh team won the tournament without the
likes of Sandip Singh, Sardara Singh,
Shivendra Singh, Tushar Khandekar and Arjun
Halappa. It was a great achievement. The
new coach Michael
Mobbes did a fine job.
But the next big thing
is the olympics quali-
fiers which is probably
the toughest tourna-
ment with teams like
China, Spain, Korea,
Malaysia, Japan,
Canada in the competi-
tion. The recent show
in asian championship
final has given us an
idea that a combined
and dedicated effort
can result in a splendid
performance in
London.
But for this different government agencies
like the Sports Authority of India, Hockey
India, Indian Olympic Association, Sports
Ministry, media and masses should come
together to revive our national sport. The sys-
tems should not be allowed to break the
momentum in the middle of the good ride.
Government should declare handsome
reward for olympics qualifying.
Federations should start work at the war
pace. Best facilities and occupied seats in a
stadium is all a player needs to perform for
his nation.the united effort can demolish the
hurdles.Lets hope that the sticks break the
shackles.Mohit Pasricha, Journo, 2nd Year
Sticks and shackles A D ev i l i n t h e Ge n t le m a n’ s Ga m e
This October festivities were the flavour of
the month in India. The whole country
looked immersed in the joy and celebration
of long list of festivals that adorned the
month, starting right away from ‘navratras’
to ‘Durga puja’ and ‘Dussehra’ till ‘Diwali’.
But this year, the festivities had lasted a little
bit longer in the country as the whole of
India had been lighted up even after the fes-
tival of lights was over! This month the coun-
try experienced a new high, the high
of speed! The high of music! And the
high of booze!! Because the ultimate
festival of speed, the most captivating,
the most pulsating, the most awaited
s p o r t i n g
event, The
FORMULA 1,
made its
grand entry in
India on
October 28
and it lasted
till October
30!
Yes, the ulti-
mate fantasy
of all speed junkies in India became a
reality as India hosted its first ever F1
race in Greater Noida at the Buddh
International Circuit (BIC) later in the
month, marking the 17th round of this
year’s F1 Championship which had
Sebastian Vettel written all over it
owing to his phenomenal run in the
championship so far. The Red Bull
champ was just a point away after the
Japanese GP qualifier, to be crowned as the
F1 World Champion for the second time
consecutively.
The Indian Capital got its’ first ever taste of
F1 on October 1 when the last year’s cham-
pion team Red Bull conducted its show car
street event at the Rajpath to mark a prel-
ude to the Indian Grand Prix, leaving the
huge crowd which gathered at the venue
asking for more. The Australian racer Daniel
Ricciardo went full throttle in his Red Bull
2006 model and showed his histrionics with
the car, giving a
sneak preview
of what lies
ahead.
With India
becoming a
growing hub of
major sporting
events after
s u c c e s s f u l l y
hosting world’s
two most pres-
tigious sports galas, The Asian and The
Commonwealth games, one would have
imagined that F1 was always around the cor-
ner. But with F1, India did not have it as easy
as the other events because the seeds of the
fruit that we reaped were sown more than a
decade back and it took long years of careful
nurturing and effort to actually bring the
greatest motorsport of the world to India.
The inaugural Indian GP had been 13 yrs. in
the making and had its share of pit stops and
black flags. Initially the future of motorsport
in the country looked quite uncertain main-
ly because the changing governments kept
playing a spoilsport; moreover lack of
awareness leading to slack in sponsorships
made the matters worse and F1 became a
distant dream.
The race to the podium teed off in 1998 with
Kolkata leading the way but later crashing
out due to monetary hurdles. Soon in 2003,
Mercedes GPHyderabad was in the driver’s
seat but the then CM Chandrababu Naidu
failed to win the vote bank. Finally it was
Jaypee Sports International Ltd, the organis-
ers of Indian GP, who won the rights and at
last Greater Noida saw the chequered flag,
making F1 dream a reality. Gaurav Arora, Journo, 3rd Year
Ayushi Sareen, Journo, 2nd Year
F1 - India in the Fast Lane
A boy is playing his final match in a tennis tournament some-
where in Ahmadabad, his family wishes to see him play live as
the match is being televised live on a national sports channel
but soon they realise the vinegary truth that they would not
be able to watch their boy play live as India is playing England
in a one-day cricket match so the cricket channel is set in the
precedence list in cable network and the national sports chan-
nel is not aired. Family settles with sixes and fours and decides
to celebrate India’s win with their son’s victory.
This all seems like something which is common in contempo-
rary race of television and media but the despair or the prob-
lem for the cricket loving family who sacrifices their son’s
match for the cricket match arises when they get to know that
the match was fixed and every aspect, ups and downs of the
game were decided before the match started. This is just a fic-
tional and a hypothetical story but we can’t ignore the fixing
angle which is referred to in the story. The gloomy side of the
cricket is back this time but with a renovated name “spot fix-
ing”. Welcome to this new category of fixing which is quite
easy to comprehend, one has to just fix some fraction of the
game or the game is fixed in parts. This reduces the risk of get-
ting caught and then they make great money also off-course
after slaying their ethics and character. There is a lot of debate
and conjectures on, where it started from and who master-
minds were behind this devil in the gentleman’s game. Lately
the issue got surfaced in media, when three Pakistani crick-
eters Mohammad Asif, Salman Butt, Muhammad Aamer were
accused of spot fixing in a test match against England. Later a
case was filed in London court and a few weeks ago trials com-
menced. Majeed a bookie who is also an accuse in the entire
episode made headlines by stating that he has got relations
with many international cricketers including big Indian names
like Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh. No doubt the effort by
Majeed to drag the names of Indian cricket stars failed big
time but certainly sowed the seeds of qualm in minds of fans
and followers. A game which is like a religion in this country
and in the neighbouring state of Pakistan must be respected
by players. Those 11 men when in ground be it in blue, green
or yellow jersey for their respective nations of India, Pakistan
and Australia enjoy the stature of a deity. This following must
get the respect which it deserves; the trust must not be bro-
ken even it requires stringent laws like life-long ban or capital
punishment.
A relation between a cricket, player and follower is based on
mutual trust. Players’ authorities and every individual
involved must strive for a clean honest patriotic and fair game.
Then only whenever a cricketer will step out in the ground all
hearts would pray for them without even a slight hint of scep-
ticism that what they are watching after spending money and
time is not a work of fiction and all the characters are not
imaginary and resemblance to any cricket match is not co-inci-
dental.Abhishek Choudhary, Journo, 3rd Year
October 2011October 2011
BUDDH INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT
TRULY INTERNATIONALThe Indian GP had created quite a buzz all around the
world and had caught the imagination of the daredevil
drivers as well, as the speed demons, Schumi, Alonso,
Hamilton, Webber, Vettel among others had already
made it public how much they wanted to vroom their
monster cars to the podium in India.
Jaypee Sports International Ltd. left no stone unturned to
make BIC a permanent destination on the F1 season cal-
endar. The BIC was prepared as the most challenging cir-
cuit for the drivers, giving even the hardest circuits like
Monza, Spa, Silverstone and Suzuka a run for their
money.
A state of the art infrastructure was brought up in and
around the circuit. The BIC, which boasted of having a
seating capacity of over 2 lacs, had an elaborate F1 village
behind the main grand stand with official team merchan-
dise which was put on sale. But the main attraction of the
destination was the ‘entertainment zone’ which had
been prepared to provide an insanely thrilling mixture of
speed and music, where Queen of Pop, ‘Lady Gaga’ burnt
the stage at the opening ceremony of the Indian GP,
ensuring a larger than life experience.
Despite all odds, India hosted one of the most glamorous motor sports on the planet
Positon Driver Team
1 Sebastian vettel Red Bull-Renault
2 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
3 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
4 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
5 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
7 Lewis hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
8 Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari
9 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
10 Sergio Perez Sauber
Results
8
Printed by: Shri Sai Anand Printers Pvt. Ltd, 73- Patparganj Industrial Area, Delhi
The first thirty minutes after a person exits the Srinagar
international airport, a blurred scenario is presented in
front of him. The scenic beauty and tourist attractions are
immense, but the whole city has army men at every fifty to
hundred meters.
At present, Kashmir is as calm as any other place in India.
But the losses of the people in Kashmir have been
immense and a tourist needs to look behind the curtain to
assess the current situation.
After the formation of the Union of India and the Dominion
of Pakistan, Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir, who was the
reigning monarch faced a major dilemma, as to which
country to accede to.
In the month of August 1947, the Maharaja's forces fired
upon demonstrations in favour of Kashmir joining Pakistan,
burned whole villages and killed innocent people. This was
followed by formation of rebel groups in Poonch district
which were aided by Pashtuns from Pakistan. The aim of
this guerilla campaign was to frighten the Maharaja and
force him into submission. However, the Maharaja sought
Mountbatten's advice who asked him to seek help from the
military forces in India. The Indian army drove out the
insurgencies from Kashmir but in return a provisional
accession to India was made which would be changed by a
plebiscite after both the neighboring countries would with-
draw their forces from Kashmir.
Abdul Satar (R) comes to Kashmir for two months in a year
in search of work. Both the countries had problems inter-
preting that treaty and no effective withdrawal of forces
was made. 1965, 1971
and 1999 saw wars
between the two
countries over
Kashmir. Till date there
has been no withdraw-
al of forces.
"If Kashmir was not
disturbed then till now
it would have been the
Switzerland of the
world".
Majority of the people
in Kashmir have
tourism as their basic
form of livelihood.
In 2010 the whole state was closed down for a period of
four months. However, current the state of tourism has
improved but not as it was prior to 1989. This is the year
from which militancy started in Kashmir.
Imtiyaz, who is the owner of a houseboat called 'New
Sansouci' on Dal lake talks about how strong-willed the
people of Kashmir have been. "The people here are very
clean at heart. Even if they don't get food for days togeth-
er, they wont turn to unlawful acts of stealing", he said
when asked about the state of tourism in Kashmir. He
added that season for tourists lasts for only five months in
a year and rest of the year they have to look for alternative
means of income. "This helplessness of the people is exact-
ly what extremist groups like the 'Hooriyat' are capitalizing
on". He says that if a person who has to feed a family of
five, cant help but accept some money that the extremist
group offers, just to throw a stone at a uniformed-man.
This is what happened all through 2010. However, stone
pelting was replied by gunfire and more than 200 people
lost their lives. Imtiyaz adds that majority of the people
killed were aged between 15 to 21.
The whole issue in Kashmir has resulted in people migrat-
ing to other parts of the country,
in order to sustain their lives
peacefully. However, some peo-
ple choose to stay back to pre-
serve their cultural heritage and
their basic right.
Shahnawaz, a horseman from
the district of Pehelgam talks
about his early life when he lost
his parents to a bomb blast. For
the past 12 years, from the age
of thirteen he has been being a
guide to tourists who sit on his
horse and see the hills of
Pahalgam. "I had got an opportu-
nity to start my own carpet business in Daryaganj, New
Delhi. I went there for a year but i came back as the terror-
ist activities reduced in the state". Shahnawaz proudly
added that he had completed his schooling along with
earning for his family of two sisters and a grandmother.
The last two hours after a person enters the Srinagar inter-
national airport, the whole scenario in Kashmir becomes
clear to him. To get in on a flight from Srinagar, a person
has to go through four long rounds of security checks and
baggage checking, both through x-ray and by hand. The
idea is not to let any of the infiltration flow to the rest of
the country.
Both Shahnawaz and Imtiyaz had the same reply when
asked what do they want for their state. They said that
Kashmir should be left alone to its original inhabitants. At
the end of the day they want to go to sleep knowing that
tomorrow they get three square meals and do not get shot
down. Dipankar Gupta, Journo, 2nd Year
Kashmir: Not Just an Issue"Bombay ka fashion aur kashmir ka mausam...kabhi bhi badal sakta hai."
October 2011October 2011
The afternoon of 20th October 2011 rang abuzz with anticipated news.
Muammar Gaddafi, dictator leader of Libya since 1969 was assassinated by
rebels at his home town of Sirte, the colonel’s last stronghold in the burn-
ing Libyan revolution.
The year 2011 seems to be showering liberty on major autocratic states.
The over throw of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia which resulted in
fuelling emotions for dissolution of Hosni Mubarak’s regime in Egypt fol-
lowed by Gaddafi’s violent death in
Libya has forced the world to start
counting down the days of remaining
28 recognized autocratic regimes.
Gaddafi became the de facto leader of
the country on September 1, 1969
after leading a group of young Libyan
military officers against King Idris I in a
coup d'état. After the king had fled the
country, the Libyan Revolutionary
Command Council (RCC) headed by
Gaddafi abolished the monarchy and
the constitution and proclaimed the
new Libyan Arab Republic with the
motto "freedom, socialism, and unity".
In 1977, Gaddafi renamed the Libyan
state to Socialist People's Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya, where Jamahiriya is a term
coined by Gaddafi, usually translated as
"state of
the masses". Under Gaddafi, per capita
income in the country rose to more than US
$11,000, the fifth highest in Africa. The
increase in prosperity was accompanied by
a controversial foreign policy, with increased
political repression at home.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Gaddafi openly
supported international terrorism as well as
independence movements, including Nelson
Mandela's African National Congress, the
Palestinian Liberation Organization, the Irish
Republican Army and the Polisario front,
which led to a deterioration of Libya's for-
eign relations, culminating in the US bomb-
ing of Libya in 1986.
After the 9/11 attacks, however, Gaddafi
began to distance himself from terrorism,
and during the 2000s, Libya's international
relations were mostly normalized, the US rescinding its designation of
Gaddafi's Libya as a state sponsor of terrorism in June 2006.
Gaddafi's final appearances as the leader of Libya on the international
stage were his eccentric 100-minute speech to the United Nations on 23
September 2009, and his attendance at the G-8 summit in Italy in July
2010.
Gaddafi’s internal policies were commendable, public education in the
country was free and primary education compulsory for both boys and
girls. Medical care was also available to the public at no cost.
What failed Gaddafi were his international policies and his deep resent-
ment towards any form of conflicting ideas. Gaddafi’s support for terror
establishments and dictatorial
regimes well out of his ambit
was puzzling for other nations.
Libya under his rule had been
continuously charged with
funding radicals for destabiliz-
ing nations. Such vague was
the policy that in 1981 Gaddafi
was found talking about assas-
sinating new American presi-
dent Ronald Reagan and in
October 1981 when Egypt's
President Anwar Sadat was
assassinated; Gaddafi applaud-
ed the murder and remarked
that it was a punishment.
Libya was accused in the 1988
bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland which killed 270
and resulted in UN sanctions being imposed in 1992. These sanctions were
waived in 2003 when Libya agreed to
compensate the families of the vic-
tims with $2.7 billion in Libyan
funds.
Libya was even thought to be
involved in attempting to radicalize
Māoris against New Zealand. In
Australia, there were several cases of
attempted radicalisation of
Australian Aborigines, with individu-
als receiving paramilitary training in
Libya among several other instances
where Libya was the home ground
for international radicals.
Gaddafi’s unaccountable expenses in
destabilizing other nations resulted
in unemployment and resentment
amongst the populace of Libya.
On the whole, the Libyan dictator
dug his own grave, the very tactics
adopted by him to grab power resulted in him relinquishing it and eventual-
ly being hunted down in the sewer pipes of his birth place by the very people
whom he once ruled. Twesh Mishra, Journo, 2nd Year
Muammar Gaddafi Finally Loses Ground