Nitish : Known as the Sushan Babu of Bihar, Nitish Kumar is one of the few leaders who managed to keep his corruption free image . As a young boy Nitish was good in academics and pursued engineering as a career to join the electricity board in Bihar as a Junior Engineer, from his childhood Nitish was  inspired by many senior leaders of the times like Jayprakash Narayan and Anugrah Narayan Singh. It was during the JP movement that Nitish formally entered politics and since then he has never looked back. He is not only known for his exceptional developmental work as the chief minister of Bihar but also as a Union minister during the NDA government he did make some important decisions which revolutionised those departments forever. In situations where a lot of politicians might feel uncomfortable taking decisions Nitish proved that he is one of the best decision makers whether it was resigning from his post of the chief minister in 2014 and leaving NDA or breaking the Mahagathbandhan alliance Nitish has done what he feels is right for his politics and future and even his core enemies would agree that there is no one better than Nitish in contemporary politics who can make quick decisions even if they might seem difficult.From being a Jr. Engineer in the electricity department to the Chief Minister of the state Nitish has come a long way proving that he is no less than anyone else in the evil game of politics.

The very idea had been implemented as early as the 1990s. A riveting concept which had been bought into life in hopes to ease the process of voting system and enhance technology and politics altogether. But what is i-voting?

According to the California Internet Task Force, in 1999 the definition adopted by them was “Casting of a secure vote and secret electronic ballot that is transmitted to the officials over the internet.” It had been accepted that i-voting is a sub type of e-voting. Now what is e-voting? Electronic is simply the means to cast a ballot via broader range of electronic telecommunications technology including telephones, cable, and satellite and computers without the internet.

To advance this piece of technology, bills have been passed to initiate the study of i-voting, the countries included Washington and Minnesota, Australia, France, Switzerland, and these bills were passed in the 1990s. Soon after, in 2005, Estonia finally became the very first country to implement the system of i-voting for their general elections. Did the mock trials turn out to be cost effective? The answer would be a big no, for the reason even though an infinitesimal group was involved in the testing, giving birth to what seemed as a hypothetical project requires large investments as well as piloting the new system.

So, when does India come into the picture? Gujarat was one the states in India to conduct mock trials for e-voting in 2015 but unfortunately did not turn out to give the expected success rate. In fact, recently, the Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Mr. Sandeep Saxena claimed “the concept of ‘blockchain’ technology is a two-way electronic voting system, in a co trolled environment, on-white-listed IP devices on dedicated internet lines, enabled with biometric devices and a web camera". Unfortunately, this did not indicate the freedom of voting from home. It was quite the opposite, the voters still had to be physically present on the day assigned as well as the Time and Venue. The Deputy went on to explain "two-way block chain remote voting" consisted of a two-step verification and authorisation process using a multi-layered IT enabled which would be working on the EC's e-Governance award winning Electoral Registration Officer Network (ERO Net) using biometrics and web cameras.

Upon approval, a personalized e-ballot paper will be generated which will be encrypted generating blockchain hashtag. Even though the technology is advancing for the greater good, it still needs a way to reach the expatriates and military personnel.

The advancement of technology can be seen as a boon or a bane. It can be a boon for those who do not continue to live in their hometown, expatriates and military personnel. There is a possibility the voter turnout may increase effectively. But the issue which stands in the way of its adaptation are the security concerns. The very channel or medium is prone to cyber-attacks, which is the reason why it’s commencement should include a small sector of people, which may include, Universities, Private Organisations etc. Restricting the votes to a certain section of people may reduce the possibility of cyber-attacks and in fact turn out to be a boon, especially amidst the pandemic.

"College life was a lot of fun, though problems come as fast as the cheetah runs, but its what motivates me to do the best I can"

One of the most interesting stages in life that gives you an opportunity to explore is the ‘college phase.’ Life at college is the time when the teenage years end and we all dive deep into the ocean of new beginnings and possibilities. This golden period better equips you for all the challenges you’ll face in life and creates a strong foundation of knowledge. 

My experience as a first year student of LSR and the experience of bring bubbled at home due to COVID-19 taught me one thing ,“Life is unpredictable.”

You can be sunflowers as college might be good, it might be bad, it might be weird, and it might not interest you, but expect anything to happen. 

For example, you might have a wonderful internship this moment, and be fired the very next moment. College life prepares you for all of this. It is a Melting pot, with perfect blend of joy and hardships. A melting pot where all cultures melt to give you “Exposure”.  You meet different people, you interact with them, you learn about their cultures and grow as a person. You will understand how to talk to different people, how to judge their behaviour, thus helping you with important life skills.  

You learn to sit through a boring lecture; you try to cope up with the surprisingly strenuous syllabus, and you have the opportunity to learn from some great research minds. Academia, as they say, never lets you go free. People might try to motivate you by telling that you need to study only through your school years and chill during the college life, but that isn’t true.

Another life lesson you will remember – the learning never ends. You find campus groups or student groups where you can explore your co-curricular skills along with many other students like you. You share common interests, and thus you share common ideas. There might have been a time where you would have had to give up drawing for your Board Examination Preparation. 

Trust me, once you get into a good college, you will get an opportunity to be the artist you always wanted to be through probably a fine arts campus group. You could be that director, you could be that vocalist, you could be the dancer of your dreams – college is the Santa Claus that keeps on giving all these wonderful opportunities while you’re in it. There are also campus festivals, which draw a lot of fun crowd from other colleges and let you show off your skills. You could also enjoy with the celebrities who are invited to perform, or even show off your technical prowess in a tech festival.

And obviously, the seniors. If I were asked to play a icebreaker round and had to choose between Friends and Seniors. SENIORS!, I would scream that. Seniors of your societies or even departments are the people who mould you. Seeing them is learning as they are the best influencers in College life. Even in a party, they teach you lot. How to balance everything ? 

So, one fine day when you see pictures from the college of you and your friends having a good time, you’ll definitely land up smiling silently. That’s the beauty of college life. It stays with you long after you’ve climbed those ladders of success and forgotten the name of that cute crush you used to drool over.

Life at college is a wild mish-mash of experiences, what with all sort of hilarious stuff going down in the hostels!

The life at college is a time when you can decide your career. It’s a time of dreams and innumerable paths. You can work for a non-profit organization and even gain the satisfaction of being a humanitarian. The point is that you are free to try out these new things and no one is going to forcefully control the decisions you make. Every nook and corner of the college you’d find a peaceful spot full of natural surroundings, who’s value you will only realize once you graduate from your campus. You will always remember the early morning fog, your hostel’s adorable “puppy” or even your grumpy stationery shopkeeper and the morning ice teas of Nescafe as I miss it right now.

Uncertainty: The COVID and answer to all our questions

New sessions, results, new college, societies, new city. All the dreams and hopes were shattered due to the Pandemic. And the only answer to our questions is ‘ Uncertainty’.  The on field experiences of college campus can’t be fulfilled by online classes. The loss of  morning chit chat session about politics and fashion with cheese sandwich and  ice tea can’t be fixed.  

Circumstances and Human Race has always been close relatives as we “ HOOMANS” can fight all odds and still be productive. Colleges have offered students hell lot of opportunities with work from Home culture, which made the productivity race a proton factor.

Well, we need to understand that the ‘new normal’ has to be the reality and the race of productivity sometimes needs to be balanced.  

So, remember that there will be moments that carry a lot of sentimental value and you can’t help but procrastinate about the normal life. But even the friendships you make in college life and through the online classes is the most important aspect. These people will give you strength and be your knights in shining armor all your life. The time you spend with your friends, playing Mafia, Poker, or arguing about any random topic, your regular lecture “ online bunking” to watch a new release of your favorite star, will always stay in your heart. Planning road trips for post covid, and impulsive binge watching —all these things make you more emotional. So, just adapt to situations now and hope for the best.

With the government reportedly taking a look at more than 275 Chinese apps for a potential ban, after a ban on over 100 apps has already been ordered, rumours are that PUBG Mobile could finally be banned in India. Many in the country seem set to welcome the new move, though Gadgets 360 is yet to receive a clarity on the matter. However, many fans of the game have been requesting the authorities to not include PUBG Mobile in any fresh list of banned apps.

What is PUBG Mobile?

PUBG is a battle royale game developed by PUBG Corporation, a subsidiary of South Korean video game company Bluehole. The game is available on PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Mobile. The game was created by Brendan Greene (PlayerUnknown) and released back in 2017.

The game starts with 100 players jumping onto an abandoned island and turning it into a battlefield. The last player left standing wins the match and gets the metaphorical ‘Chicken Dinner’. The game is quite fast-paced with the safe zone collapsing and wild elements like the Red Zone. It is the game that is credited with popularizing the battle royale genre of gaming.

Apart from installs, there are many Indian gamers who actively stream PUBG Mobile through their channels on Twitch and YouTube. Niko Partners Senior Analyst Daniel Ahmad tweeted that while the game has a large base in India, it doesn't generate revenue at the same scale, making around $2-3 million (roughly Rs. 15-22 crores) on a monthly basis.

Craig Chapple, Mobile Insights Strategist, EMEA at Sensor Tower, told Gadgets 360, citing the data from Sensor Tower Store Intelligence estimates, that despite receiving close to 450 crore new installs from Apple App Store and Google Play in the first half of 2020, India ranks low for player spending, generating approximately $94 million (roughly Rs. 704 crores). "For comparison, the United States' mobile games market generated close to $10.1 billion from player spending during the same period," he said.

The disparity in installs and revenues reflects in case of PUBG Mobile as well. However, Chapple said that it is still a leading example that this type of games can monetise in India.

BANNING PUBG

Although the government didn't provide the list of apps it had banned under the new decision, it is said to be considering prohibiting PUBG Mobile among some other China-backed apps and games, including AliExpress, Ludo World, Resso, ULIke, and Zili, Other developers such as LBE Tech.

It could be a part of the list of over 275 apps that will reportedly be examined for any user privacy and national security violations. However, ahead of any official announcement, the arrival of PUBG Mobile's name in the news reports has taken social media by storm.

In India, the game has generated 180.3 million downloads to date, and generated $38.6 million [roughly Rs. 289 crores in lifetime revenue. In the first half of 2020, it was India's top grossing mobile game.

Is PUBG Mobile really a Chinese game?

With the reports suggesting the potential ban of PUBG Mobile, some people have started raising comments that it's a Korean game and not a Chinese one. This is indeed true for PUBG that is meant for online gamers and is developed and published by PUBG Corporation, which is a subsidiary of South Korean video game company Bluehole. However, PUBG Mobile was created in a collaboration between PUBG Corporation and Shenzhen-headquartered Tencent Game. It, thus, has some relation with China.

Nevertheless, some industry watchers feel PUBG Mobile's China connection is weak, and Chapple of Sensor Tower says, "I would note that the PUBG IP is owned by PUBG Corp, which is part of Krafton Game Union, a South Korea-based holding company."

Would India get any impact from the PUBG Mobile ban?

One of the popular alternatives to PUBG Mobile is Fortnite. But since the latter requires more powerful hardware and doesn't perform well on entry-level Android devices, India is chiefly a PUBG-country so far. This is a major reason why many people are demanding the government to exclude PUBG Mobile from its banning plans. Many gamers are upset about its potential ban and expressing their views on social media.

 

The pandemic had resulted in a halt over everyone’s education, careers, livelihoods, but for the fraudsters in Sydney. These grifters have a fresh way to make their living now, and they chose the Chinese students who’ve been stranded in the unknown land, away from their homes as their new means of income.

The process they follow as these scam artists after choosing their victims, they tend to blackmail them to release sensitive information. In order to avoid that the victims are forces to stage their own kidnapping and make the abduction seem genuine and send this recording as a proof to their relatives in China which will help them obtain the ransom. They deliver the messages to thousands of random phone numbers purporting to be from a messenger service. It is a robocalls and says a package needs to be delivered.

On Tuesday, the police in New South Wales confirmed of eight such cases had occurred with ransom one case confirmed that the family paid $2 million and in others the price range was between a few thousand dollars to more than $200,000, of kidnapping which never took place. A young, 21-year old woman was a victim of such a scam. The video she sent to her family in China seemed genuine to them where the student seemed to be in pain and pleaded for their help in an unreleased location in Australia. A few hours later the female’s housemate information the police in Sydney on July 14, she was found be safe at a hotel where she lured by the perpetrators.

The victims in Australia return calls from someone who greets in Mandarin and ask for their basic identity information or that they have been implicated in a crime in China as the person claims to be speaking from the Chinese Government or the Chinese embassy or some other authority. In some cases, the students were also persuaded to not to contact their families for days in order to root a possibility that the student might in danger.

What seemed unusual to the police that after the ransom was paid, the victims were found safe and sound the very next day. The reason the affected students did not report this crime was that they felt ashamed of reporting it in the first place, still traumatised and frightened of the fact that their information might be leaked or that their parents won’t spare them.

"The victims of virtual kidnappings we have engaged are traumatised by what has occurred, believing they have placed themselves, and their loved ones, in real danger," said NSW Police.

According to the advocate for the international students in Australia, made a statement where the person assured that the international students have been the most vulnerable amidst this unfortunate situation. The reason of this he claimed to be was the student’s reliance on casual work and their exclusion from the government welfare.

"Students can do two important things to protect themselves against these types of crimes - firstly, be aware they exist and secondly, ask for help early if they think it might be happening to them or someone they know," advised the NSW Police.

Now there also have been new reports from New Zealand and the United States.

Ambitious, young aspirants, striving to achieve their dreams move away from the comfort of their own homes and set foot in a foreign land to start their journey. The very experience traumatizes a few, not knowing how to deal with it or whom to turn into for help. It is unfortunate to see such bilks are reprobates are on the lookout for such naïve persons to make their living through them. The Government should stringent the laws and take firm actions.

Let us talk about SEX: Moving Beyond Birds and Bees

Sexual Education, or as we like to address it with its PG euphemism, Family Life Education, is far from being accepted as a necessary component of education.

Sex education is high quality teaching and learning about a broad variety of topics related to sex and sexuality, exploring values and beliefs about those topics and gaining the skills that are needed to navigate relationships and manage one’s own sexual health. Sex education may take place in schools, in community settings, or online. Planned Parenthood believes that parents play a critical and central role in providing sex education.

In a country that reports high rates of teenage pregnancies and sexual abuse, one would think that the need for a curriculum focusing on gender equality, the importance of consent, and boundaries, would not be a matter of debate.

The reality, however, is that sexuality education for adolescents is a highly controversial topic in India. It is seen as offensive to Indian values, and concerns that it might lead to risky sexual behaviour and promiscuity.

Take the reaction when the central government in 2007 announced the launch of the Adolescence Education Programme in schools, along with the NACO, NCERT and UN agencies. Thirteen states called for an immediate ban as they felt that comprehensive sexuality education was against the Indian culture. Little has changed in the last 10 years. There is still a ban on Adolescence Education Programme in at least five states across India, and there is no uniformity in the way the subject is approached.

Sexuality education, as the UNESCO defines it, “provides opportunities to… build decision-making, communication and risk reduction skills about many aspects of sexuality…. encompasses the full range of information, skills and values to enable young people to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights and to make decisions about their health and sexuality”.

Indians, sometimes even the well-read urban kind, often tend to attach a whole lot of sensitivity to the topic of sex, regarding it with the most vicious taboo. It is thus a natural consequence that education that teaches their children about sexual well-being is met with the highest resistance possible – from parents, teachers, lawmakers and nosy neighbors, especially nosy neighbors.

Despite propaganda, and repeated favourable policies, it has been constantly rejected in various states in India. A deep-rooted sense of morality binds the sentiment of a large population from seeing the benefits and necessities of launching such an education program throughout the country. It is largely believed that talking about sexuality and its awareness may instead corrupt young adolescents.

A study was conducted in collaboration with UNICEF and the Population Council India about adolescents (the pimply teenagers between 10 and 19 years of age comprising nearly 250 million of India’s population) based on research conducted and published between 2002-2013.

They went to incredible details, but to summarize, adolescents face challenges in various aspects. Lack of education, child labor, lack of nutrition, substance abuse, child sexual abuse and a lack of understanding of their sexual and reproductive health are only some of the glaring shortcomings in their well-being.

The lack of comprehensive data on all adolescents makes it difficult to exactify the impact these problems have on them. However, here are some of the direct consequences of these issues, among the Indian youth.

Quality sexual education is imperative to a society of young adults making smart sexual health decisions and valuing consent in college where hookup culture can be prevalent. Adolescents making safe and smart decisions in their sex lives comes from having reliable information on protecting themselves and their partners.

Sexual education courses is to provide clear and accurate information to help young people make these good choices.

One of the most notable trends is that sexual education seems to be covering broad topics such as abstinence, awareness of sexually transmitted infections, the importance of respectful relationships and the need for protection from pregnancy and infection.

The many myths of sexual health commonly linger into late adolescence and adulthood, never being addressed in a classroom by a qualified teacher. Instead, they are debunked in a BuzzFeed article or after extensive Google searches. It can be a harsh reality check when you really actually experience the gravity of making decisions about your sexual health. This experience leaves many overwhelmed and confused as they enter adulthood.

Research shows that comprehensive sexuality education delays sexual initiation and leads to a fall in sexually transmitted diseases. This is critical in a country like India where rates of sexual violence against women are high and discriminatory attitudes towards women persist. For a meaningful social change, reaching out to boys and girls on issues like consent and gender equality becomes critical.

We have to go beyond looking at controlling adolescent fertility from the perspective of reducing unwanted pregnancies.

Today, 29th July, marks the 116th Birth Anniversary of the pioneer, founder and the guru of the TATA INDUSTRIES, Shri Jehangir Ratanji Dababhoy Tata, better known as Shri JRD TATA. Sir Tata was born on July 29th, 1904. 

On this occasion, Shri Ratan Tata took to twitter to share two throwback photos remembering the man he considers his role model. He is the recipient of two of India's highest civilian awards - the Padma Vibhushan and the Bharat Ratna - JRD Tata is remembered not only as a great industrialist but as the the man who kickstarted business in Indian.

According to the Tata Group, as an adolescent, JRD Tata "loved France and flying more than anything else". Sir is known as the Father of Indian Aviation for his pioneering role in civil aviation in the subcontinent with the launch of Tata Airlines in 1932. 

Co incidentally, it is on his Birth Anniversary that the Rafael planes have landed in India today at the Ambala air base.

We remember the great man he was and pay him homage on his 116th birth anniversary today. 

2020: A repeat of 2008?

With huge economic strain given the impact of pandemic, it's time we question the leaders, the economists on whether it's a repeat of the history of the great recession of 2008?

A decade after the Great Recession of 2008, the global economy indicates the resurgence of economic complacency and unpredictability of markets as we dwell within close proximity of yet another global economic crisis.

 

Now: Main Street has collapsed

The current recession is not caused by a broken link within the system, but from an external threat, a worldwide pandemic. In order to keep the disease from spreading, many governments forced non-essential businesses to close and brought in lockdown orders, bringing many industries to a grinding halt.

But luckily, the overall financial system is in much better shape this time around - in part because of some of the policy changes made in response to the 2008 the recession.

Who's to be blamed?

USA, the hegemon seems to be the reason for such escalated international tensions. 

 Indices of major stock markets have been on a gradual decline in the financial year. Some even hint at the possibility of a “global debt bubble” which would inevitably cause another global recession. 

A bubble is an economic cycle which includes the rapid escalation of asset prices followed by contraction of the asset prices due to exuberant market behavior. With USA being the superpower, dollar's strength is incredible. Slight ramifications and the world pays off. 

The ramifications of the dollar's strength are witnessed via the trade war between the USA and China. This trade war has not only impacted their relation but also other countries especially south Asian countries who were caught between the crossfire. 

The USA should not be held solely responsible for an imminent global economic crisis. The global market faces stiff uncertainty in the midst of rising tautness in the European Union, with reference to Brexit, leading to Britain opting out of EU. 

Three major economic similarities between 2020 and 2008 recession 

1. Uncertainty: Both crises share uncertainty as a key factor once they emerged in one of the two leading economies (the United States in 2008 and China end of 2019) and spread globally.

To put it simply and following Frank Knight (1921), “uncertainty” can be defined as a non-quantifiable risk. It is a risk that cannot easily be traced so that its probability of occurrence and its impact can hardly be predicted. This applies both to the new non-visible coronavirus and to the ‘‘subprime’’ virus.

2. Collapse: The initial drops in the stock exchanges of major countries (up to one-fourth of their valuation) have been analogous between both crises. And both global recessions have been successively qualified as the largest since the Great Depression.

Warnings  but  'No Measures'.

Even with clear warning signs of an imminent global financial crisis, world leaders fail to take corrective measures and seek only benefit without realizing the damage. 

Ironically, the recession of 2020 will produce well-educated unemployed labour force. Isn't that great ?

Firstly, Covid has given a huge lift to online learning both in the metros and non-metros. Online education, for instance, has got a major boost. Educational institutions, business organisations among others, have taken online education to a new level by offering classes, coaching and courses in an innovative way to keep their audience hooked at these times of lockdown. In India, students and professionals are signing up for online classes- from entrance exams. 

Secondly, we have become more hygiene conscious. Yes, you heard it right. People have started taking personal hygiene more seriously. The ritual of washing hands, sanitizing things before use, that started as a compulsion is becoming a habit. According to IANS C-VOTER Gallup International Association Corona.

Work from Home (WFH) is the third major change that has become a part of our lives. Well, honestly speaking it was never a new concept. Many IT companies in the West and even in India has been practicising it with perfection. Covid 19 has taken it to another level with almost all companies asking its employees to WFH.

So, Corona has changed our life drastically. We never saw something like this coming. Who knew  from “keys....check” to “keys, hand santisizer, masks, gloves....etc.” but changes are a part of life. We have live this way now, at least for a while. But Covid has helped us to change many things in our life, in a good way.

CYBERBULLYING

The humanitarian crisis has cultivated a ‘New Normal’ vitality for all of us. Ranging from quarantine greenhouse dates to online classes and good-byes, we all have harmonized to the culture. Technology played an integral role in maintaining the continuity as it brought new dimensions to the responsibilities of educators and mentors. 

But we need self-introspection to rethink the ethical use of technology. If Zoom is that easy to hack into, it’s likely to expect kids and teens trying to follow suit. The era where gadgets are the ‘toys’ for the kids plus the ‘Lockdown’ has increased the fear of ‘Cyberbullying.

 

Cyberbullying is defined as “sending or posting harmful or cruel text or images using the Internet or other digital communication devices”. Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies, such as e-mail, cell phone and pager text messages, instant messaging, defamatory personal Websites, and defamatory online personal polling Websites, to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group that is intended to harm. 

In India, an estimated 71 million children aged between 5-11 years access the Internet on devices of their family members, constituting about 14 percent of the country's active Internet user base of over 500 million. Two-thirds of internet users in India are in the age group of 12-29 year (Data shared by the Internet & Mobile Association of India). Data and statistics have highlighted that post lockdown, the internet has amplified the risk of cyberbullying, including online discrimination for children and young people.

 

Cyberbullying ranges from flaming to Catfishing. 

Flaming is a confrontation often happens in online spaces, which entails one or more bullies attacking a particular person for their views or comments.

Exclusion is singling-out of the targeted person and to purposefully exclude them from chats.

Cyberstalking is a type of harassment that involves one or more bullies going to great lengths to gather information about a particular person, continually frightening or threatening them, following them around social media and other sites, and potentially crossing the line into physical stalking.

Outing is the malicious release of private information about a person to embarrass or humiliate by spreading rumours about someone’s personal life, sexuality etc. through pictures, screenshots, videos.

Masquerading is creating a fake identity to harass someone anonymously or to impersonate someone else, often called “fraping,” such as pretending to be the victim or a significant other to create a negative reputation for the victim. 

Trolling is to provoke victims through the use of insults, controversial topics or off-topic posts into acting out in a similarly angry way.

Catfishing refers specifically to those cyberbullies who steal photos and information from a victim’s social media account and recreate a fake one of their own, mimicking and pretending to be the victim. 

Students with higher risk of being bullied are often targeted because of their visible appearance, 

Of all children who are bullied, more than one third reported bias-based bullying, a form of bullying that targets someone because of who they are or what they look like. Potential victims include LGBTQ youth, students with disabilities, and religious students, especially those who wear symbols of their religion. Students with a higher risk of being bullied are often targeted because of their visible appearance.

Girls and young women are targeted due to body image or sexuality, and are more often harassed over social media. Girls are more likely than boys to be victims of cyberbullying; bullying statistics show that 38% of girls who use social media report being bullied online, compared to 26% of boys.

Cyberbullying Self-Harm

If left unchecked, the effects of cyberbullying can lead to extreme stress and depression, and students who are victims may feel drawn to self-harm as a result of their experiences. 

However, the victims of bullying are not the only ones who are vulnerable to self-harm and suicidal behaviours. 

Young people who cyberbully others are at a significantly higher risk of experiencing these feelings than those who don’t.

Cyberbullying can be devastating for victims and their families. The psychological harm inflicted by cyberbullying, just like bullying, is reflected in low self-esteem, school failure, anger, anxiety, depression, school avoidance, school violence, and suicide. 

It is even possible that the damage from cyberbullying would be greater than bullying because there is no escape for the victims; harmful material could be easily preserved as well as quickly and widely spread.

For the cyberbullies, the consequences of their actions can be very severe, including being suspended or expelled from school and being removed from sports teams, clubs, and activities. Certain types of cyberbullying can even be considered criminal.

What did students do after they were cyberbullied? 

Apparently, only a few try to take revenge; the majority of students chose not to inform anyone. Some chose to get away from the cyberbully. Few try to take revenge on the cyberbully or bully others.  

Some inform parents and siblings. Few students reported to school adults (e.g., teachers, school administrators).

“If you were cyberbullied at school or at home, would you report the incident to a school counselor, teacher, or administrator?”

 ‘NO’, that’s what most of the students answer.

The secret of Cyberbullying being SECRETIVE

The fear of not being understood, made fun of kept most of the teens away from reporting to their educators. The thought of them getting into trouble either because of being at fault or for no reason made them escape from the best advice. 

‘Why are you exacerbating the problem?

Parents remarks like: ‘We are restricting your access to technology. So, No Phone, No Social Media.”

Some thought it was “no big deal.” 

The above reasons reflect the importance of teaching students about, ‘ Cyber threats’. 

What are students' beliefs about cyberbullying? Why do they think people behave this way?

Some think various factors cause the problem, ranging from feeling insecure, angry, jealous, or mean, to feeling bored or having family issues. A troubling finding, however, is that the majority believe that cyberbullies do it for fun. 

Even more disturbing is the fact that one in five perceived cyberbullying as a “cool” act. This might be explained by students' perception that technology is exciting. These students might think that using it for aggressive acts is creative. Further, they might not realize the seriousness of cyberbullying.

 For example, one student's narrative, “I bully online and it does not mean anything,” demonstrates that some fail to see the negative effect of cyberbullying or bullying on victims. The actual reason behind this perception is unclear; nonetheless, it deserves our serious consideration because this is a potentially dangerous perception.

 Some think that nothing can be done about Cyber victims. Some summarize this feeling: “No one cares. Deal with it yourself.” Some hold the belief that this is a serious problem and needs to be stopped. 

Another serious theme emerged relating to freedom of speech. One in six students considered that people have the right to say anything they want, even if what they say hurts someone or violates someone's privacy. 

So, How can we combat cyberbullying yet respect and exercise our freedom of expression? 

Although we understand that there is no absolute freedom of speech, balancing the two is the ultimate question.

One out of three students believes that what happens online should stay online which reflects a general perception that cyberspace is separated from the real world. But what we do online affects what we do in real life. 

Designing educational systems: Creating our future in a changing world

Addressing cyberbullying should be a collective effort on the part of schools, families, students, and society. Because cyberbullying happens outside of school boundaries, schools might direct such issues back to parents, saying that they have no legal jurisdiction. However, cyberbullying can be rooted in school or vice versa, even if the incidents appear to be initiated using school property. This requires schools to consider the development of comprehensive programs to fight cyberbullying, including detailed and unified policies as well as effective programs to educate students. 

Establishment of Systematic Programs 

First, schools need to establish systematic programs to stop cyberbullying. Such programs should develop strong policies on both traditional bullying and cyberbullying.

 Administrators should investigate current acceptable-use policies for technology (e.g., mobile, Internet) in the schools. Telling others such as school adults or family members remains an effective strategy for combating cyberbullying. 

It is important to establish easy and multiple ways of reporting. For example, we could create help lines (e.g., a phone line), e‐mail, or Web links, and provide a box or similar device in hot spots in schools so students can report incidents or offer suggestions anonymously.

Teaching about Cyberbullying

Second, schools should educate school adults, students, and parents about cyberbullying and provide clear procedures to follow when cyberbullying occurs.

 At the fundamental level, adults, including teachers and parents, need to keep pace with new technology to understand how students communicate and how cyberbullying happens. Effective strategies, therefore, need to be included in school adults' professional development opportunities. Schools can also provide opportunities for parents to learn such strategies.

 

Similarly, approaches to cyberbullying issues need to go beyond the one-time workshop mode for students and be part of regular curriculum learning. 

Such education can take place in different school situations, including classrooms, assemblies, and continuing education programs. For example, schools can use forums not only to mediate between cyberbullies and cyber victims, but also to offer opportunities for students to develop adaptive skills, such as dealing with emotional conflict and building positive behavioral patterns. Such forums help to build a strong rapport and trustworthy relationships between students and school adults as well as among students. 

Responsibilities associated with the use of Technology 

Students, a key group in fighting cyberbullying, need to learn responsibilities associated with the use of technology. They should be aware of the consequences of misuse of technology so that responsible behaviours can be promoted at an early age. They need to understand the dangers that exist and the importance of getting help from responsible adults when cyberbullying occurs. 

PANDEMIC & MAKING THE BEST USE OF IT 

Cyberbullying has been on the rise before lock down – some reports suggest that just 20% of bullying takes place at school now. The strain placed on mental health caused by being confined to the home for weeks at a time could be making matters worse. These unusual circumstances means that some kids may be venting their frustration online – and their classmates become the targets.

With the aim of addressing these concerns, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and UNESCO New Delhi Office developed an information booklet titled “Safe online learning in the times of COVID-19” to raise awareness of students and teachers on staying safe online. The booklet will be instrumental in keeping children, young people safe online through basic do’s, and don’ts that will help parents and educators teach their children how to use the internet safely.

“UNESCO is committed to ensure access to safe, inclusive and health promoting learning environments for all children. It is imperative that websites, digital platforms, social media platforms are free of Cyberbullying, if children have to access quality education. This information booklet titled ‘Safe online learning in times of Covid19’ highlights the negative consequences of cyberbullying and ways to eliminate and prevent the same”. UNESCO and NCERT are pleased to develop this booklet and hope that it acts as a valuable tool in creating a safer online environment.”

                        -Eric Falt, Director and Representative, UNESCO New Delhi

Pandemic and Parents : Working together

With COVID-19 closing schools in many states, children are turning to online schooling and with this comes a huge increase in device use by most children and teens. This is actually a wonderful opportunity for parents to spend some time talking with their child as to what cyberbullying means, and to talk through issues their child may be experiencing. It is also a great time for parents to establish guidelines and take the time to check-in and ensure that their child’s online behaviour is acceptable.

Younger children and tweens really should not be having “privacy” from their parents online. Parents need to be empowered to oversee what their elementary and middle school children are doing and with whom they are chatting. 

To think there wouldn’t be any cyberbullying during this time would be unrealistic, especially with so many children having excess frustration and a lot of free time. There will be children who take that frustration out on other kids. Parents need to be conscious of this possibility and schedule check-ins both to ensure their child is okay and behaving appropriately. 

With parents and children home, most households are getting back to family dinners. Parents can use those dinners not just to discuss cyberbullying but to talk about how their children are feeling in general — if they are feeling isolated, lonely or stressed. 

Although our concern is of course cyberbullying, what we are more likely to see is kids reaching out to one another as a support system. The upside to having all this connectivity is that sad and lonely children may actually have increased support.

We often see this in children who are hospitalized. They can feel very isolated. Having that virtual connection, the online social availability of their friends, really helps combat some of those feelings of loneliness and isolation. The hope would be that the social aspect of the connection that's going on in many homes right now with increased device use will outpace any uptick in cyberbullying. But it will be up to parents to make sure they are providing the guidance and supervision necessary to ensure that these online interactions are positive ones.

Human race has proven to overcome from all extremes the world has gone through may be it is a Plague, World Wars, Great Recession and many more. We have learnt lessons and we need to adapt and evolve every time and it’s a never ending process. This reminds of words of great genius Albert Einstein  that, “ Everything is Relative.”

Einstein gifted us with his inventions during the pandemic. Let us wait for the next ‘Science Genius’ from this Pandemic. It can be ‘YOU’. So, Let us work together to prevent the online propagated method of bullying.

CYBERBULLYING AND STUDENTS

The humanitarian crisis has cultivated a ‘New Normal’ vitality for all of us. Ranging from quarantine greenhouse dates to online classes and good-byes, we all have harmonized to the culture. Technology played an integral role in maintaining the continuity as it brought new dimensions to the responsibilities of educators and mentors. 

But we need self-introspection to rethink the ethical use of technology. If Zoom is that easy to hack into, it’s likely to expect kids and teens trying to follow suit. The era where gadgets are the ‘toys’ for the kids plus the ‘Lockdown’ has increased the fear of ‘Cyberbullying.

 

Cyberbullying is defined as “sending or posting harmful or cruel text or images using the Internet or other digital communication devices”. 

Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies, such as e-mail, cell phone and pager text messages, instant messaging, defamatory personal Websites, and defamatory online personal polling Websites, to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group that is intended to harm. 

In India, an estimated 71 million children aged between 5-11 years access the Internet on devices of their family members, constituting about 14 percent of the country's active Internet user base of over 500 million. Two-thirds of internet users in India are in the age group of 12-29 year (Data shared by the Internet & Mobile Association of India). Data and statistics have highlighted that post lockdown, the internet has amplified the risk of cyberbullying, including online discrimination for children and young people.

 

Cyberbullying ranges from flaming to Catfishing. 

•    Flaming is a confrontation often happens in online spaces, which entails one or more bullies attacking a particular person for their views or comments.

•    Exclusion is singling-out of the targeted person and to purposefully exclude them from chats.

•    Cyberstalking is a type of harassment that involves one or more bullies going to great lengths to gather information about a particular person, continually frightening or threatening them, following them around social media and other sites, and potentially crossing the line into physical stalking.

•    Outing is the malicious release of private information about a person to embarrass or humiliate by spreading rumours about someone’s personal life, sexuality etc. through pictures, screenshots, videos.

•    Masquerading is creating a fake identity to harass someone anonymously or to impersonate someone else, often called “fraping,” such as pretending to be the victim or a significant other to create a negative reputation for the victim. 

•    Trolling is to provoke victims through the use of insults, controversial topics or off-topic posts into acting out in a similarly angry way.

•    Catfishing refers specifically to those cyberbullies who steal photos and information from a victim’s social media account and recreate a fake one of their own, mimicking and pretending to be the victim. 

Students with higher risk of being bullied are often targeted because of their visible appearance, 

Of all children who are bullied, more than one third reported bias-based bullying, a form of bullying that targets someone because of who they are or what they look like. Potential victims include LGBTQ youth, students with disabilities, and religious students, especially those who wear symbols of their religion. Students with a higher risk of being bullied are often targeted because of their visible appearance.

Girls and young women are targeted due to body image or sexuality, and are more often harassed over social media. Girls are more likely than boys to be victims of cyberbullying; bullying statistics show that 38% of girls who use social media report being bullied online, compared to 26% of boys.

Cyberbullying Self-Harm

If left unchecked, the effects of cyberbullying can lead to extreme stress and depression, and students who are victims may feel drawn to self-harm as a result of their experiences. 

However, the victims of bullying are not the only ones who are vulnerable to self-harm and suicidal behaviours. 

Young people who cyberbully others are at a significantly higher risk of experiencing these feelings than those who don’t.

Cyberbullying can be devastating for victims and their families. The psychological harm inflicted by cyberbullying, just like bullying, is reflected in low self-esteem, school failure, anger, anxiety, depression, school avoidance, school violence, and suicide. 

It is even possible that the damage from cyberbullying would be greater than bullying because there is no escape for the victims; harmful material could be easily preserved as well as quickly and widely spread.

For the cyberbullies, the consequences of their actions can be very severe, including being suspended or expelled from school and being removed from sports teams, clubs, and activities. Certain types of cyberbullying can even be considered criminal.

What did students do after they were cyberbullied? 

Apparently, only a few try to take revenge; the majority of students chose not to inform anyone. Some chose to get away from the cyberbully. Few try to take revenge on the cyberbully or bully others.  

Some inform parents and siblings. Few students reported to school adults (e.g., teachers, school administrators).

“If you were cyberbullied at school or at home, would you report the incident to a school counsellor, teacher, or administrator?”

 ‘NO’, that’s what most of the students answer.

The secret of Cyberbullying being SECRETIVE

The fear of not being understood, and made fun of keeps most of the teens away from reporting to their educators. The thought of them getting into trouble either because of being at fault or for no reason made them escape from the best advice. 

‘Why are you exacerbating the problem?

Parents remarks like: ‘We are restricting your access to technology. So, No Phone, No Social Media.”

Some thought it was “no big deal.” 

The above reasons reflect the importance of teaching students about, ‘ Cyber threats’. 

What are students' beliefs about cyberbullying? Why do they think people behave this way?

Some think various factors cause the problem, ranging from feeling insecure, angry, jealous, or mean, to feeling bored or having family issues. A troubling finding, however, is that the majority believe that cyberbullies do it for fun. 

Even more disturbing is the fact that one in five perceived cyberbullying as a “cool” act. This might be explained by students' perception that technology is exciting. These students might think that using it for aggressive acts is creative. Further, they might not realize the seriousness of cyberbullying.

 For example, one student's narrative, “I bully online and it does not mean anything,” demonstrates that some fail to see the negative effect of cyberbullying or bullying on victims. The actual reason behind this perception is unclear; nonetheless, it deserves our serious consideration because this is a potentially dangerous perception.

 Some think that nothing can be done about Cyber victims. Some summarize this feeling: “No one cares. Deal with it yourself.” Some hold the belief that this is a serious problem and needs to be stopped. 

Another serious theme emerged relating to freedom of speech. One in six students considered that people have the right to say anything they want, even if what they say hurts someone or violates someone's privacy. 

So, How can we combat cyberbullying yet respect and exercise our freedom of expression? 

Although we understand that there is no absolute freedom of speech, balancing the two is the ultimate question.

One out of three students believes that what happens online should stay online which reflects a general perception that cyberspace is separated from the real world. But what we do online affects what we do in real life. 

Designing educational systems: Creating our future in a changing world

Addressing cyberbullying should be a collective effort on the part of schools, families, students, and society. Because cyberbullying happens outside of school boundaries, schools might direct such issues back to parents, saying that they have no legal jurisdiction. However, cyberbullying can be rooted in school or vice versa, even if the incidents appear to be initiated using school property. This requires schools to consider the development of comprehensive programs to fight cyberbullying, including detailed and unified policies as well as effective programs to educate students. 

Establishment of Systematic Programs 

First, schools need to establish systematic programs to stop cyberbullying. Such programs should develop strong policies on both traditional bullying and cyberbullying.

 Administrators should investigate current acceptable-use policies for technology (e.g., mobile, Internet) in the schools. Telling others such as school adults or family members remains an effective strategy for combating cyberbullying. 

It is important to establish easy and multiple ways of reporting. For example, we could create help lines (e.g., a phone line), e‐mail, or Web links, and provide a box or similar device in hot spots in schools so students can report incidents or offer suggestions anonymously.

Teaching about Cyberbullying

Second, schools should educate school adults, students, and parents about cyberbullying and provide clear procedures to follow when cyberbullying occurs.

 At the fundamental level, adults, including teachers and parents, need to keep pace with new technology to understand how students communicate and how cyberbullying happens. Effective strategies, therefore, need to be included in school adults' professional development opportunities. Schools can also provide opportunities for parents to learn such strategies.

 

Similarly, approaches to cyberbullying issues need to go beyond the one-time workshop mode for students and be part of regular curriculum learning. 

Such education can take place in different school situations, including classrooms, assemblies, and continuing education programs. For example, schools can use forums not only to mediate between cyberbullies and cyber victims, but also to offer opportunities for students to develop adaptive skills, such as dealing with emotional conflict and building positive behavioral patterns. Such forums help to build a strong rapport and trustworthy relationships between students and school adults as well as among students. 

Responsibilities associated with the use of Technology 

Students, a key group in fighting cyberbullying, need to learn responsibilities associated with the use of technology. They should be aware of the consequences of misuse of technology so that responsible behaviours can be promoted at an early age. They need to understand the dangers that exist and the importance of getting help from responsible adults when cyberbullying occurs. 

PANDEMIC & MAKING THE BEST USE OF IT 

Cyberbullying has been on the rise before lock down – some reports suggest that just 20% of bullying takes place at school now. The strain placed on mental health caused by being confined to the home for weeks at a time could be making matters worse. These unusual circumstances means that some kids may be venting their frustration online – and their classmates become the targets.

With the aim of addressing these concerns, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and UNESCO New Delhi Office developed an information booklet titled “Safe online learning in the times of COVID-19” to raise awareness of students and teachers on staying safe online. The booklet will be instrumental in keeping children, young people safe online through basic do’s, and don’ts that will help parents and educators teach their children how to use the internet safely.

“UNESCO is committed to ensure access to safe, inclusive and health promoting learning environments for all children. It is imperative that websites, digital platforms, social media platforms are free of Cyberbullying, if children have to access quality education. This information booklet titled ‘Safe online learning in times of Covid19’ highlights the negative consequences of cyberbullying and ways to eliminate and prevent the same”. UNESCO and NCERT are pleased to develop this booklet and hope that it acts as a valuable tool in creating a safer online environment.”

                        -Eric Falt, Director and Representative, UNESCO New Delhi

• Pandemic and Parents : Working together

With COVID-19 closing schools in many states, children are turning to online schooling and with this comes a huge increase in device use by most children and teens. This is actually a wonderful opportunity for parents to spend some time talking with their child as to what cyberbullying means, and to talk through issues their child may be experiencing. It is also a great time for parents to establish guidelines and take the time to check-in and ensure that their child’s online behaviour is acceptable.

Younger children and tweens really should not be having “privacy” from their parents online. Parents need to be empowered to oversee what their elementary and middle school children are doing and with whom they are chatting. 

To think there wouldn’t be any cyberbullying during this time would be unrealistic, especially with so many children having excess frustration and a lot of free time. There will be children who take that frustration out on other kids. Parents need to be conscious of this possibility and schedule check-ins both to ensure their child is okay and behaving appropriately. 

With parents and children home, most households are getting back to family dinners. Parents can use those dinners not just to discuss cyberbullying but to talk about how their children are feeling in general — if they are feeling isolated, lonely or stressed. 

Although our concern is of course cyberbullying, what we are more likely to see is kids reaching out to one another as a support system. The upside to having all this connectivity is that sad and lonely children may actually have increased support.

We often see this in children who are hospitalized. They can feel very isolated. Having that virtual connection, the online social availability of their friends, really helps combat some of those feelings of loneliness and isolation. The hope would be that the social aspect of the connection that's going on in many homes right now with increased device use will outpace any uptick in cyberbullying. But it will be up to parents to make sure they are providing the guidance and supervision necessary to ensure that these online interactions are positive ones.

Human race has proven to overcome from all extremes the world has gone through may be it is a Plague, World Wars, Great Recession and many more. We have learnt lessons and we need to adapt and evolve every time and it’s a never ending process. This reminds of words of great genius Albert Einstein  that, “ Everything is Relative.”

Einstein gifted us with his inventions during the pandemic. Let us wait for the next ‘Science Genius’ from this Pandemic. It can be ‘YOU’. So, Let us work together to prevent the online propagated method of bullying.

For anybody whose once normal everyday life was suddenly shattered by an act of sexual violence– the trauma, the terror, can shatter you long after one horrible attack. It lingers. You don’t know where to go or who to turn to…and people are more suspicious of what you were wearing or what you were drinking, as if it’s your fault, not the fault of the person who assaulted you…We still don’t condemn sexual assault as loudly as we should. We make excuses, we look the other way…[Laws] won’t be enough unless we change the culture that allows assault to happen in the first place.

- President Barack Obama, September 2014

It isn’t news to hear the skepticism a victim of rape or sexual harassment faces. There’s no perfect world but what I expect from this world is sympathy/empathy for the person who has gone through a traumatic experience. Everyday hundreds of reports are filed with the police of rape or sexual assault and unfortunately, this has been normalised to an extent that the news fails to astonish us. The question is, why is this being normalised?

 

Research on sexual assault and victim blame typically focuses on one of two perspectives. The first perspective focuses on the features of the observer as they influence victim blaming tendencies, which is referred to as individual factors. The “rape perception framework,” is the second perspective focus where the aspects of the victim, perpetrator, or characteristics of the assault are focused on as they influence victim blame. This is referred to as situational factors. One critical factor affecting victim blame is the societal and institutional factors. These forces refer to the border cultural influences which include gender roles, media, and rhetoric surrounding sexual assault that contribute to an overall environment promoting victim blame.

The researches, while conducting their study, a sexual assault had been divided in three categories: stranger rape, date/acquaintance rape, and marital rape. As the name suggests, stranger rape is where the perpetrator has no prior connection to the victim, not even of an acquaintance, where if the perpetrator turns out to be someone of whom the victim had a prior relation to, such as a friend, classmate, or someone she has gone on a few dates with, then it is classified as an acquaintance or date rape. Please note that “date rape” is also used to describe assaults that occur in established relationships. Finally, the sexual assault which occurs in a marriage, i.e. a forceful physical relationship consummated by the husband is deemed as marital rape.

Although Victims of stranger rape are the least likely to be blamed for their assault; victims of marital rape are much more likely to be found culpable. Even though blaming a victim of sexual trauma may seem straightforward but it varies in terms of literature. Researchers typically present participants with a scenario of a sexual assault case, accordingly, some researchers assess blame, others assess perceived responsibility, others utilize a combination of both blame and responsibility, and still others assess related constructs. Blame is defined as a value judgment of the extent to which one should be held accountable for (and perhaps suffer from) a negative event.

Some judgements were influenced by gender. The researched came up with two possible hypothesis which are contradictory, to explain the reason of discrimination. On the one hand, because rape is mainly a concern of women, they might be expected to blame less as a function of ingroup solidarity. On the other hand, “just world” ideology might suggest they might blame more: Precisely because of the greater threat that sexual assault poses to women, victim blaming may help women distance themselves from the reality that they could be victimized themselves. In a study, women were found to blame the victim significantly less than men.

Rape Myth Endorsement is problematic because rape myth scales focus on stranger rape and assesses beliefs about rape at a general rather than specific level. RME is used to assess (in some matters) the blame suffered by the victim in particular rape cases. Rape Myth Endorsement is significantly correlated with restrictive beliefs about women’s roles and rights. According to Simonson and Subich’s study, they found that after controlling for gender role endorsement, their finding that men blamed the victim more than women was eliminated; gender role attitudes may be a stronger predictor of blame than participant gender Kailash Vijayvargiya, "It [rape] is a social crime which depends on the man and the woman. It is sometimes right and sometimes wrong," Mr Babulal Gaur claimed.

It is desolating to hear from the people who are elected to improve their respective regions for good. Blaming the victim for not wearing appropriate clothes, defaming them just because they were intoxicated, judging her character by the time of night the person reaches home is not acceptable. The fact the victim experienced “frozen fright” during the incident and wasn’t in the right state of mind to defend themselves is not called asking for it. Her clothes don’t justify the statement that she had it coming, her intoxication doesn’t justify the statement that she had it coming, the time of night when she’s out doesn’t justify the statement that she had it coming. The sentence “she had it coming” is absolutely wrong in itself. She doesn’t have a significance only by being a daughter, mother, sister, she has her own identity. RESPECT THAT INDIVIDUALITY.

picture reference- http://www.thestorypedia.com/news/short-clothes-do-not-cause-rapes-men-in-short-clothes-make-the-point/">http://www.thestorypedia.com/news/short-clothes-do-not-cause-rapes-men-in-short-clothes-make-the-point/<;/a>

As countries begin loosening restrictions and easing lockdowns, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released guidelines to allow private offices in India to operate at 100 per cent capacity, but urged people to work from home as much as possible.

Not just India, several countries have released norms for employees. In New Zealand, for instance, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said that those businesses in the “position to do so” should consider a four-day workweek in order to boost domestic tourism.

Some private companies too have initiated steps to change their work culture in order to adapt to the pandemic. Tech giant Twitter, for example, was among the first global companies to allow employees to work from home. In a blog post published on May 12, Jennifer Christie, the leader of the People Team at Twitter, said “with very few exceptions”, offices would not open before September and there would be no in-person company events till the end of 2020. Later, CEO Jack Dorsey said he would allow employees the option to permanently work from home.

Due to Covid-19, it is likely that people would want to change their work environments, even after the pandemic. A Gallup poll found that three in five (59 per cent) US workers, who have been working from home during the pandemic, said they would prefer to continue even after restrictions are lifted. Over 41 per cent, meanwhile, said they would prefer to return to their workplace. At the time of this survey, 62 per cent of employed Americans said they worked from home during the pandemic.

Further, Covid-19 might also change the notion that creative work demands corporate campuses built by companies such as Facebook and Google, complete with free food, open office plans and ping pong tables, a report in the Associated Press said.

The normalcy till December 2019 is dearly missed by the people across the globe, with no restrictions, stepping out at any time of the day, be it to simply hang out with friends or to sit and have a little “me time” at the café. The sudden outbreak of the deadly virus has affected people of all age groups. The normalcy was an excuse for some to escape the toxic environment of home and take a break from the reality. Alas, 2020 wasn’t in their favour.

Since the lockdown had been implement worldwide, the aim was to eradicate the spread of the virus and eventually, the virus itself. Confining themselves at home, the mental health wasn’t given much of a thought, with the routine life coming to a halt altogether.

For children, they found comfort and pastime in extreme exposure in front of Television screens, and gadgets supporting the usage of internet. In a study it was found for such a prolonged exposure can lead to lower the child’s self-esteem with the internet proving out to lead in an addiction disorder in many. With limited external interaction, the “indoor pollution” can affect the development of a child and hence results in limited cognitive abilities. Internet is a home to cyberattacks as we as cyber bullying, henceforth, affecting the mental of a child. Therefore, the children plunge themselves in an ocean of depression, anxiety, avoidance behaviour and even PTSD. The same set of problems are faced by children who have been confined in the hospitals from being infected by the deadly virus, especially with the rise of reports in children being sexually harassed during the confinement, the child lives through a traumatic experience without anyone to turn into, apart from their family takes a toll on the child.

A drastic impact proved to be on students and adults living away from home and migrant laborers stranded in their temporary homes, for those living on rent, it put them in a tough situation for them to pay the rent before the regulation of work from home came into effect.  Most adults drove into the decoy of satisfaction by online pornography. The disruption in most people’s sexual lives persuaded the individuals to use such platform to cope up from the on-going stress of rendered jobless with a deadly virus outbreak, living afar from their beloveds, which sadly could lead to depressive symptoms.

Another age group drastically affected by this were the elderly and sick. For those who were assigned caregivers to look after the sick, now were rendered helpless and alone in their homes. Such people are also known to have a higher risk of acquiring an infection, and for those who continued with their jobs were left in wonderment if they weren’t the carriers of the infection which could affect them and their families.

This year also saw an alarming rise within the cases of Domestic Violence alone. Between March 25 and May 31, 2020, 3,11,477 complaints were recorded which were made by women. The complaints recorded within a 68-day period were higher than those recorded between March and May in last 10 years. Delhi and U.P. saw the highest number of complains, followed by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. According to the data, 86% of women who were victims to the violence during that period never sought help, 77% victims didn’t mention the dreadfulness of the situation to anyone.  Women faced Physical, Sexual and even both. The highest number of sufferers documented were the ones who faced Sexual Abuse, which summed up to about 80.6 who never dared to tell anyone. For those who had reported the incidents were 14% but only 7% reached out to relevant authorities, but more than 90% of the victims sought help only from their immediate family.

A study was conducted by a team of researchers via an online survey which was proliferated over the social media between May 9 to May 15, 2020, using an anonymous Google form. The team used items like anxiety, depressive symptoms, symptoms of internet addiction, pornography addiction, experiences of hostility, changes in food and sleep habits, social empathy and relationship quality, to construct the overall picture of social and psychological experience during the lockdown period. They also conducted 14 qualitative interviews from May 10 to May 17, 2020. The subjects were self-selected by broad social media invitations. The survey included a total of 282 Indian adults, in which ¾ of people belonged to the age group of 30 years and younger. Following the figures, 88% were educated beyond the 12th standard about 81% were urban residents.

The concluded with depressive symptoms, higher amongst those who an addiction towards pornography. The presence of depressive and anxiety symptoms was expected and linked to a higher chance of self-reported sleep disorder and changes in food patterns. For those who were connected with their loved ones and shared their vulnerabilities shoed more social empathy and better social relationships.

The researchers concluded by stating, “To our knowledge, this is the first study to look at the differential psychological impact of the lockdown across different social groups in India. Our study also highlighted a few positive aspects of the lockdown, underscoring the increase in social empathy and strengthened social bonds among Indian adults.”

Image source-https://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/hidden-symptoms-of-stress.html

US Service Workers Strike: Highlighting Racism on 20th July

A US National Coalition of labour unions and racial and social justice organisations have decided to go on a mass strike from work from July 20th , as part of an ongoing protests on systemic racism and police brutality in the United States and to pay a tribute to George Floyd who was killed in a police brutality last month. 



The organisers of the strike have demanded strict action by the Trump government to end the racism in an economy that has been choking off the economic mobility and career growth opportunities for many Black and Hworkers, who struggle to make a living amidst discrimination and are not able to rise up to higher positions at work.



The coalition has demanded for guaranteed sick pay, affordable healthcare and better safety measures for low-wage workers who don't have the option of working from home during COVID-19.

The Coronavirus Can Be Airborne Indoors, W.H.O. Says

"We have been talking about the possibility of airborne transmission and aerosol transmission as one of the modes of transmission of COVID-19," Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on the COVID-19 pandemic at the WHO, told a news briefing."

• The World Health Organization has acknowledged that there's possibility of coronavirus being spread in the air under certain conditons


• The UN body releases new guidelines on COVID-19 transmission, including new scientific evidence available on the spread of the SARS-CoV-2

The coronavirus may linger in the air in crowded indoor spaces, spreading from one person to the next, the World Health Organization acknowledged on Thursday.

The W.H.O. had described this form of transmission as doubtful and a problem mostly in medical procedures. But growing scientific and anecdotal evidence suggest this route may be important in spreading the virus, and this week more than 200 scientists urged the agency to revisit the research and revise its position.

In an updated scientific brief, the agency also asserted more directly than it had in the past that the virus may be spread by people who do not have symptoms: “Infected people can transmit the virus both when they have symptoms and when they don’t have symptoms,” the agency said.

The W.H.O. previously said asymptomatic transmission, while it may occur, was probably “very rare.” Some experts said both revisions were long overdue, and not as extensive as they had hoped.

“It is refreshing to see that W.H.O. is now acknowledging that airborne transmission may occur, although it is clear that the evidence must clear a higher bar for this route compared to others,” Linsey Marr, an aerosol expert at Virginia Tech, said in an email.

An aerosol is a respiratory droplet so small it may linger in the air. In its latest description of how the virus is spread, the agency said transmission of the virus by aerosols may have been responsible for “outbreaks of Covid-19 reported in some closed settings, such as restaurants, nightclubs, places of worship or places of work where people may be shouting, talking or singing."

The guidelines stated that understanding how, when and in what types of settings the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads between people is critical for developing effective public health and infection prevention measures to break chains of transmission. WHO said current evidence suggests that COVID-19 transmission occurs primarily through direct, indirect, or close contact with infected individuals through their saliva and respiratory secretions, or through their respiratory droplets expelled when they cough, sneeze, talk or sing. The agency also said that asymptomatic people can also spread the virus to others, although it is still unclear to what extent this occurs and more research is needed in this area.

WHO stressed that high-quality research is urgently needed to understand the role of airborne spread of the SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the absence of aerosol-generating procedures, the dose of virus required for transmission to occur, the settings and risk factors for superspreading events, as well as the extent of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission. In this article, let us tell you how airborne transmission is different from droplet transmission and what you can do to stay safe from respiratory infections such as COVID-19.

What you can do to prevent contracting respiratory infections?

In the current scenario,

• it’s always best to wear a mask while venturing out in crowded areas to keep respiratory infections away.


• Try to keep at least 3 feet physical distance and wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.


• Do not touch your face unnecessarily.


• Practice respiratory etiquette.


• Avoid crowded places, close-contact settings and confined and enclosed spaces with poor ventilation.


• Ensure appropriate environmental cleaning and disinfection.


• To maintain immunity, opt for Indian square meal and exercises like Surya Namaskar and Pranayam or any other cardiorespiratory fitness regimen. It can help your cardio-respiratory fitness and lowers blood pressure as well. Moreover, it also increases cardio-respiratory efficiency and respiratory capacity.


• To prevent transmission, WHO recommends identifying suspect cases as quickly as possible, testing, and isolating all cases (infected people) in appropriate facilities.

Only two years after the end of World War II, the French couturier presented a collection that symbolized not only a departure from previous styles, but the beginning of a new society. 

After the war period of utilitarian attires and vestiary austerity, perhaps nothing felt newer than Dior's vision. His first collection rejected the modern course of dressing established in the 1920s and 30s, which intended to liberate women from the restrictive sculptural volumes and corsets of early 20th-century fashion. Instead, he presented an image of radical femininity, achieved by tight-fitting jackets with padded hips, petite waists, and A-line skirts.

Dior became the new star of the Parisian haute couture scene and almost instantly transformed the wardrobe of the contemporary woman. The "New Look," the name by which Dior's style eventually went down in history, appealed strongly to the nostalgic mood of the post-war society.

Dior didn't want to create everyday clothes for the pragmatic woman of the fast-moving century but rather sell a dream of the good old days, when women could afford to be extravagant and deliberately glamorous. The New Look was a rediscovery of prosperity, and women across generations and social classes adopted it happily.

Feminists protested against New Look 

Not everybody was thrilled by the hip padding, draperies, pleats, embellishments, and other exaggerations proposed by Dior, however. Those were, in fact, regressive ideas, and many criticized Dior righteously for taking away women's newly attained independence by lacing them up in corsets and making them wear long skirts again. American fashion designers, who embraced modest, sleek silhouettes and whose business was blossoming during the war, were also similarly appalled by Dior's design. 

Right there, he was shot dead, like three of his accomplices who, according to the police, had also tried to escape from custody earlier.

Reality and movies?

There are moments when the realism on screen is so wonderfully complex yet simply presented that you laugh , cry , move and grow with the charachters. There is however an important question to ask oneself on what comprises as a story and the process of creating movies based on real life . Real life inspired movies evoke emotions and heighten human feelings but is there overcompensation for creativity by picking up anecdotes from lives , war ,and battles ? Is the idea of a biopic or a movie like Uri so appealing that there is hardly any space for other films left . The brutal way in which filmmakers today takeover someone's loss, tragedy or shock and create a business around it is heartbreaking more often than less. Yes some biopics are truly moving and a absolutely beautiful but is it truly a celebration of life or a success formula. With recent events in the lives of the army at Galwan where more than 20 soldiers were martyred in a court somewhere filmmakers were getting copyright patents finalised. Is this commodification of lives truly what viewers intend to see, most wouldn't. It doesn't mean that real life incidents shouldn't be displayed, they deserve the attention and representation but they have to remain to be art .It is extremely essential for the things around us to be portrayed, reflected and represented but it in no way means that every incidents as soon as it happens need to be processed into a film before those who have suffered have even processed that grief. It is a voluntary act to be comfortable with letting the world see you through your biopic but shouldn't creative realism transcend the over use of people's lives and move towards a more content generated wave of cinema that we see today. Today more and more filmmakers want to let content drive their films and not the larger than life fantasy. So its it's an act of introspection that a film enthusiast has to do , towards the kind of stories that they seem important and want to see while at the same time being sensitive to what those films represent .

On a victorious note, Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain Police has finally caught the history sheeter Vikas Dubey after he went on to play a hide and seek with the police and administration after having brutally killed 8 policemen.



Gangster Vikas Dubey is accused to have killed 8 policemen who had gone in a large team to Bikru village in Chaubeypur area of Kanpur to arrest him for a crime.



While the UP police was on a high alert to arrest him since friday, the gangster had fleed to MP's Ujjain but the vigilante police team arrested him when he was spotted praying at the Mahakal temple in Ujjain, where he had arrived after a 700-km road journey.



There are reports of his surrender after he was left with no ally to support him in his flight.



"It is a big success for the police, Vikas Dubey is a cruel killer. The entire Madhya Pradesh police force was on alert. He has been arrested from Ujjain Mahakal temple. We have informed Uttar Pradesh Police," said Shri Narottam Mishra, Madhya Pradesh Minister.



Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said he was in touch with his UP counterpart Yogi Adityanath on the arrest and the criminal would now be handed over to the Uttar Pradesh police.

Denim is a fabric that is used in clothing all over the world such as jeans, jackets, and shirts. However, the history of denim is rich and varied and dates back further than you might realize. However, the actual history of denim is shrouded in mystery. Not many people know the true history of this fabric and how it came to be in the form that we know today. 

WHERE DID DENIM COME FROM ?

Denim fabric has its origins in France. This nation, as you may know, is considered to be one of the fashion capitals of the world, so it’s no surprise that one of the most significant clothing trends of the past century came from there.

Initially, denim began life as a fabric known as "serge de Nimes." As keen-eyed readers will notice, ‘de Nimes’ bears a resemblance to denim, which is what this fabric would eventually come to be known as. It was created to be a long-lasting and robust fabric that was initially conceived in Italy. This material was known as ‘jean’ or ‘jeane,’ and it became the initial blueprint for Levi jeans.Interestingly enough, the initial attempt to replicate this French fabric in Italy was a failure. However, it was in the process of trying to do so that textile manufacturers discovered denim. 

DENIM FOR WORKWEAR

When denim was introduced, it was really popular as workwear. Long before the dawn of blue jeans, denim pants were used as workwear in a variety of applications. During the 19th century Gold Rush in California, a greater and greater need arose for durable men's workwear to clothe gold miners while they were on the job.

At this time, denim didn't have the "rebel without a cause" connotation that it would take on a century later. Rather, this fabric was used exclusively for its durability, and it was used to make long-sleeved shirts as well as pants. Denim is also easy to wash and patch, and its blue color makes it easily identifiable as workwear.

MODERN TREND

Elvis Presley, James Dean, Marlon Brando: They all wore jeans during the early days of their popularity. Being worn by either a famous singer or a heartthrob "bad boy" type does wonders for a garment's reputation, so jeans found themselves catapulted to the top of stardom alongside the men who wore them. While it wouldn’t be common for women to wear jeans until the 1960s, the ’50s were a period of bad boy looks and devil-may-care attitudes, and jeans were the focal point of all of this.

Kanye West's 2020 Presidential Bid

Hip hop artiste and producer Kanye West, took to Twitter on Saturday to announce he would be running for President of the U.S, in the elections slated to take place in November. The 43-year-old rapper chose July 4 — widely celebrated across the United States as its Independence Day — to make his announcement. “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States! 2020 vision,” West tweeted Saturday evening.

West hasn’t filed with the Federal Election Commission or created a campaign committee, and he can’t run for either of the main two political parties in the US as their candidates are already presumed: Donald Trump for the Republicans and Joe Biden for the Democrats.

However, the rapper could potentially register as an independent candidate – but he’d need to get in quick. Deadlines for registering in Texas, New Mexico, Indiana, Maine and North Carolina have already passed, and for other states the deadline is August. But West would face a bunch of hurdles in pursuing a bid this late, according to the New York Times.

Speculation about West's announcement filled social media Sunday. Some say he's running to hurt Joe Biden by trying to peel away Black voters from the presumptive Democratic candidate. Others argue the opposite, noting West could attract some of the small percentage of Black voters who like Trump or those who supported Trump because they want to "burn down the system." Some say West isn't really running, just promoting his new album. Others, probably rightly, note that West may be doing this simply for attention, much the way Trump does.

Political Policies

Outside of “unifying our vision and building our future”, West hasn’t indicated what his political policies would be, and his allegiance isn’t clear cut. Back in 2005, West claimed that then-president George Bush didn’t care about black people, but he’s since backflipped on his comments. Now, controversially, he’s shown to be a strong Trump supporter. He’s been seen wearing a Make America Great Again cap, and met with Trump many times.

On Saturday Night Live in 2018, West said “if someone inspires me and I connect with them, I don’t have to believe in all their policies”. He also claimed slavery was a “choice”, and shown support for far-right commentator Candace Owens, who said Black Lives Matter protestors were “whiny toddlers pretending to be oppressed”.

His wife, Kim Kardashian, is training to be a lawyer, and successfully secured clemency for Alice Marie Johnson in 2018 after lobbying Trump. Her family has always publicly supported the Democratic Party.

What are his chances?

With merely four months to go for polling day on November 3, West has not confirmed whether he has submitted the official paperwork required to appear on state election ballots. He is also yet to clarify whether he will be running as an Independent candidate or if he has any party affiliations.

According to a BBC report, his name does not appear in the Federal Election Commission (FEC) database for the upcoming Presidential election in November. The closest name is a candidate called ‘Kanye Deez Nutz West’, who registered with the FEC in 2015, using the address ‘1977 Golddigger Avenue, Suite Yeezus’, BBC reported.

To appear on the state ballot as an independent candidate, Kanye will be required to collect a certain amount of signatures and register in states before a deadline. While this deadline has passed in most states, there are a few where Kanye can still register, Reuters reported.

Soon after West announced he was running for President, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to his tweet, saying: “You have my full support!”

It is out there to be serious about mental health these days, specially with the numerous cases of suicides which been rising. But how aware are the citizens of India about the exodus of children who have been victims of PTSD amidst the political insurgency for decades?

Kashmir, a pulchritudinous state of India, now declared as a union territory (UT) has been a victim of the political skirmish which has, in turn, diddled the indigenous beings of Kashmir leading to death of thousands of people including family members, sexual abuse, damage to property and various natural disasters, namely- earthquake and snowstorms. According to reports, majority of the people suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). As the name suggests, the psychiatric disorder arises in wake of traumatic events. The events are digested and affect each person differently. 

In Kashmir, majority of the children are diagnosed with PTSD. The age group to which these children belong to were above 6 years of age and maximum belonged to 11-15 years of age. The children diagnosed with Abnormalities in brain electrical activity on electroencephalogram were also noted. Children with PTSD were found to perform poorly by affecting their attention, abstract reasoning and executive functioning. Children diagnosed with PTSD were detected in schools because of their behavioural changes and their deteriorate performances. Maximum minors affected belong to rural areas as compared to the urban areas.  Following the figures, 75% of the children belonged to the lower middle class, followed by middle class which entailed 25% respectively. 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder consists of risk factors which affects the children to a great extent; lower educations, lower intelligence, absence to social support, sexual harassment, lower socio-economic status, family history of psychiatry illness, multiple traumatic events- are some of the risk factors. Unfortunately, 49% of the children have been witnesses to death of a family member or close friends, followed by arrest, torture of a close relative or being caught up in cross-firing and hearing about the death of a close relative. It is absolutely unimaginable as to what the future of this country has to go through. Kashmir has been regarded as the place called “heaven on earth” but the heaven contains a hell within which largely ignored. Amidst this turmoil , the emphasis ought to be put on the psychological distress, a scar invisible yet the power of changing the entire personality of the human being, affecting the course of their actions and changing the outlook of life, for life.

The destruction of educational infrastructure, in addition to the unlawful detentions, leaves a lifelong impact on children, perpetuating a cycle of trauma, fear and bitterness. The literacy rate in Kashmir is 54.4% as compared to some parts of India, which have resulted in 65% 

The following 3 dimensions which were focussed were shown by the affected for a month which proved them to have paediatric PTSD- 

1. The affected re-experienced the event with deteriorate recollections in the form of dreams, flashbacks, with psychological and psychical distress.

2. They persistently avoided the stimuli associated with trauma that might recall the memories or events of the trauma.

3. There was also an increase in arousal in the form of hyper vigilance and exaggerated startled response, experienced difficulty in sleep, irritability.

In children older than 6 years, there was a repetitive play occurred in which themes or aspects of traumatic events were expressed. They also experienced frightening dreams without recognizable content, a dream which the minors aren’t able to express and even dissociative reactions (eg flashbacks) in which they felt the traumatic events were recurring. Such reactions may occur in continuum, and the most extreme expression of their feeling is expressed by complete loss of awareness of the present reactions.

The unfortunate events lead to persistent and exaggerated negative beliefs about the oneself, others and even the world. In other words, they express themselves by stating, “I am Bad”, “The world is bad and dangerous”, “My whole life is ruined” or “My entire nervous system is ruined”. This leads them to have distorted cognition about the cause and consequences of the events which leads them to blame themselves or others for it.

In order to recover from this the children are subjected to maladaptive method of coping. It was recorded that females prefer for maladaptive method of coping more than males who were associated with PTSD in Kashmir. Most of these patients were even aware what they suffering from and indulged in self-medication, for even somatic issues which included headaches, stomach aches, palpitations, breathlessness, anxiety, panic attacks, loss of appetite etc, which eventually leads to addiction. Popularly benzodiazepine, opioids, and cannabis. In contrast to world reports, alcohol was the used the least (4.8%).

Amidst this turmoil, the children residing in a place regarded as “heaven on earth” go through hell every single day. Not a single day can they have a goodnight’s sleep, a sleep without the fret of being a victim to the worst thought of never seeing the face of a family member anytime. three-year-old boy described the sequence of events leading to the killing of his grandfather. The minor had been subjected to extreme events, events from which even veterans aren’t able to cope up from.  

Picture reference: https://medium.com/@ovaiskarni /psychological-impact-of-armed-conflict-on-kashmiri-children-97c76e77bef1

Pandemic and Digital Divide: Sparking Mental Trauma among young minds.

The lack of technological resources in the hands of the poor has challenged remote-learning which can create a big - learning gap between the rich & poor. We can't imagine the physiological trauma of a child who craves to study but can't.

Online Classes through the gifts of technology has bridged the gap between the educators and the students but has also mirrored “ Digital-Divide” in India.

The Digital Divide: The non-accessibility of gadgets has created a historic wave of mental-health problems like suicide, depressions etc.

According to the 2017-’18 National Sample Survey report on education, only 24% of Indian households have an internet facility. While 66% of India’s population lives in villages, only a little over 15% of rural households have access to internet services.

 

Giving a global perspective, UNESCO noted, “Half of the total number of learners — some 826 million (82.6 crores) students — kept out of the classroom by the Covid-19 pandemic, do not have access to a household computer and 43 percent (706 million or 70.6 crores) have no internet at home, at a time when digitally-based distance learning is used to ensure educational continuity in the vast majority of countries.”

The psychological trauma of the class 10 student who committed suicide as she was distraught by not being able to access classes online is unimaginable. Think about the students who used to go to school for the “Mid-Day Meal”.

Web-based learning in the Indian market has increased gigantic footing as of late. Beside simply scholastic content, they likewise empower students to pick up abilities and even get ready for serious assessments. Yet, there are different sides to each story. E-learning too has a considerable amount of advantages and disadvantages.  Let’s check some points

Almost sixteen lakh kids from poor households studying in government and municipal schools within the Delhi are watching disruptions of their studies without access to mobiles, net and laptops or desktops, at the same time privileged students from private faculties are taking online classes amid the coronavirus lockdown.

From coping with basics like internet connectivity and India’s notoriously undependable power supply to more structural issues such as curriculum and teaching methods, educators have come under tremendous stress.

A teacher from an SDMC faculty in Sarvapriya Vihar said the first actual problem in implementing the plan is: “We do not even have the database for the students or the parents’ contact numbers as a way to reach out to them.”

The teacher said there isn’t even a computer in the school for teachers to feed contact details into.

A mathematics teacher from a North Delhi municipal faculty agreed that executing the plan is a huge hassle. “At the same time as my faculty hasn’t received any orders, several others I recognize had been instructed to start WhatsApp class. But subjects like maths can't study on those applications, even for those who use WhatsApp. How will one take a look at calculations?”

Online education is not equal or the same or easy for everyone. When others are discussing the technical disadvantages of E-learning like lack of interaction, less cost-effective etc, while others don’t have a phone at least, this is the hidden truth of the society. It is the condition of the Nation’s capital.

According to a study conducted by scholarship ed-tech platform Buddy4Study, of the 25 crore students affected by the lockdown, 80 percent fall in the Economically Weaker Section category. Let’s read some stories:

Kartik and his sister Mansi are students of class5 and class 1, respectively, in distinct MCD schools in Kapashera. Their mother and father sell vegetables for a living. Kartik, who wants to be a police officer, said that they've no longer received any assignments from school on their father’s phone for the reason that lockdown started out. “We haven’t been given any work; on the grounds that schools closed, it’s been a holiday for us.”

Shyam Singh, a labourer in Samaypur Badli, had no clue what WhatsApp meant while he received a call from his son Sohan’s class teacher at an NDMC school. “Madam called five days ago, and I didn’t have WhatsApp installed on my phone. Now my son has explained it to me and I’ve downloaded the app, but no work has been assigned through the school yet,” he said.

Tarun, son of a domestic employee in GK-II, cannot now use his father’s second-hand phone as it has broken. The father’s employer offered to shop for him a simple phone but realized delivery of non-essentials online wasn’t possible amid the lockdown. The owner explained: “I felt depressed, that’s why I allow Tarun to take a class with my smart hone every morning.  I feel that’s was the sole thing I could do.”

A visually-impaired pupil at a Delhi government school, who didn’t want to be diagnosed, stated: “Assignments on WhatsApp were now not possible for me. I don’t have parents and my grandparents too antique to use WhatsApp.

The interaction with school students, their parents, and teachers from government schools revealed how everybody was suffering to bridge the virtual gap — many families do not have smartphones, not to mention computers or laptops. Some said they don’t understand how to use WhatsApp, even as some parents are engaged in vital services and need to take their only smartphones with them on work.

The humanitarian crisis has brought all the officials under the microscope. How to ensure a sound transaction of online classes to students, especially poor across the country?

The Mirror of lockdown has reflected how the rooted structural imbalances are between rural & urban, rich & poor even in the digital world.

"TEST-TRACK-TREAT" is the new formula for defeating the COVID-19.

The Union Ministry on the 1st of July announced that A Doctor's Prescription will no more be required for getting oneself checked for COVID-19. 

This order has come after a lot of chaos and tension caused when many concerned individuals with minor symptoms similar to COVID-19 were restricted from getting tested.

The Health Ministry advised all the states and UT's to allow all medical practitioners to prescribe the Coronavirus test for anyone who wants to get himself checked.

It said that this will decrease the load on the medical fraternity, the mental stress amongst people and lead to unprecedented situations. 

It is to be noted that this step is being welcomed by the public as random and aggresive testing is the only way to recognize the new strain of asymptomatic coronovirus and then get it treated. 

Police misconduct is a grey area that citizens around the world in each part of the world face in their day to day lives , at varying degrees but constantly. With the death of George Floyd out in the daylight amidst many bystanders at the hands of a ruthless cop in Minneapolis led the whole world feeling choked two men in the Tamil Nadu lost their lives to custodial violence in Thoothukudi . The world around is truly not accepting and sympathetic but rather brutish. These are incidents of abuse of power but they do not exist in isolation but rather come from a space which is concealed and hidden and lies are concocted to push this matter further down .





The crimes of these men are not arson and murder but a means to livelihood in these extremely trying times of health hazard a pandemic constantly They had reportedly kept their mobile shop open beyond 8 p.m. on June 19, despite restrictions imposed by the state as part of lockdown measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. It is important to understand that compassion and humanity seems to be non existant even during such times ,one can only imagine the activities before the pandemic .



Custodial deaths have been on the increase in recent years in India. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recorded a staggering 1,674 cases of custodial deaths in 334 days (11 months) between April 2017 and February 2018, which implies over five deaths in custody per day. Unfortunately, most of the deaths are registered as suicides or deaths due to medical conditions.During the COVID-19 period, in particular, the police have resorted to excessive violence and indiscriminate use of lathis (clubs) against people .



As the citizens of any democratic nation have india too has Article 21 of the Indian Constitution states: “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law.” This is the “procedural magna carta protective of life and liberty.”

Section 49 of the Indian Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) accords several rights to the arrested person. It specifically states that there shall be no more restraint than is justly necessary to prevent escape. Section 50 of the CrPC makes it mandatory for police making arrests without warrant to inform the persons being detained about the grounds of arrest and their right to bail.



Most importantly, the arrested have a right to free legal aid and the right to consult their lawers whereas the father son duo was however inhumanely beaten up and tortured in ways that are unimaginable. On June 22, Jeyaraj and Benicks became severely ill and were taken to a hospital, where they died a day apart from each other.



A human rights violation like this cannot be allowed to happen in any civilized society. In response to public outcry, two subinspectors have been suspended and an inspector benched by the state government, and proceedings have been initiated against two head constables. However this raised so many issues on multiple levels . Is the law so complaiscant to the wishes of the enforcers that it forgets the basic principles it is to function on ? Is it the law or the enforcer that determines the end result of a breach in It. These are questions that need to be answered and understood by each citizen . There is a huge lack of knowledge about this . The death of George floyd sparked a flurry of protests while the death of these two men needed more outcry, it needed more people to speak up and challenge this brutality , sadly it didnt happen. Does this mean that people are more likely to support the cause of someone unknown to them in a another nation. Is the outcry and sentiment only tokenostic in nature if not why is there so much of lack of empathy and realization about the state of affairs in their surroundings , because in India too 5 people die due to police misconduct. The numbers reflected too are the ones that are known about there are so many that vanish into oblivion. It is essential to understand the gravity of this situation and demand change and check on abuse of power so that one day someone else doesn't find themselves battling this . It will however require a lot more than mere acknowledgement of something so heart wrenchingly cold, it requires actions towards a more responsible police and accountable police for the people not over the people.

Did you know there are board games that will educate you about Coronavirus and it’s protocols. Surprising, right ? Well here’s how they work: 

“You make me sick” Game

COVID-19 is highlighted in a newly updated board game, “You Make Me Sick,” to teach students about the immune system, infectious diseases, and good health practices. Designed by Duquesne University’s Partnership in Education, the game is available as a free download and optimized to print from the organization’s website. The game is designed for two to four players and recommended for children age 11-15 years old. The game provides a learning opportunity for the whole family and can be used by parents who are home schooling their children during the coronavirus pandemic.

Covid 19 board Game by Veer

A 10-year-old in a Delhi school developed a board game around COVID-19 and it’s now available online. A Game that reflected the time of quarantine, hand sanitiser use, social distancing, maks wearing, and more. The board has 52 spaces and starts and ends with ‘Home’, the idea being that a person who leaves home, must follow all regulations, before coming back. On the way, if they sneeze, they must wash hands, literally, and miss a few turns. They may even land on a space that asks the player to perform a yoga pose, to boost immunity. “He had five or six rules, and we helped him develop them,” says the father. Besides the board, dice, and coins, the rule book also has a list of symptoms, precautions, and COVID-19 warriors like doctors, police, vegetable vendors and other essential supplies.

Taking a strict action against the country's online security matters, India has recently banned around 59 Chinese origin apps which included popular apps like TikTok, Cam Scanner, Xender etc.

This has triggered a sort of digital cold war between the two countries who are already having tension on the borders. 

Weibo was one such app to be banned by the Indian Govt. To give momentum to the drive, The Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi has deleted his personal Weibo account.

PM Modi's Weibo account was created back then in 2015 and he was quite active on the platform with around 100 posts and 200,000 followers.

It is to be noted that China has negligible presence on Non-China based apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp etc.

PM Modi was one of the few international leaders who was using this platform apart from some of the Chinese leaders.

Money never sleeps but humans do!

India can grow two-fold by simply sleeping more!

Sacrificing Sleep is the crazy frenzy ‘Habit’ to end up making big bucks in this productivity-obsessed world. Inadequate sleep not only hinders individual health and well-being, but its effects ripple into the economy.

In pursuit of chasing money and fame, people are fast forgetting the power of sleep- a biological necessity and body’s own way of recovery. Vitamin M (money) has become the globally understood language.

Who saw a time where sleep had to be advertised? In lust for monetary increments, we, so called ‘rational consumers’ have lost sight of all rationale.

 In India, 93% of the population is sleep deprived which increases risk of mortality and causes Type II diabetes, hypertension, low mood, depression, cardiovascular diseases etc. Japan incurs losses of around $138 billion and Germany of $60 billion as a result of lack of sleep.

If the United States, starts sleeping for 7 hours on an average, the economy could grow by $226.4 billion. Think about India.

If sleep has such huge economic impacts, why then is a rational human sacrificing this luxury?

The mismatch in trade-off between sleep and productivity leads to poor sleep. So, if you engrossed to be productive, be ready to spend that hard earned bucks on repairing your health. The problem of poor sleep is not restricted only to the working class, children and teens are spending more time on their fancy gizmos This has detrimental effects on health in two alarming ways – one, the light impairs eyesight and two, it leads to ‘gadget-addiction’ for which there is no known cure.

Sleep is the only mechanism through which information gets stored from our short-term memory to long-term memory. The three stages of sleep – light, deep and REM (rapid-eye movement) or the dream stage. Deep sleep aids physical recovery and REM - memory and mental recovery. Thus, cutting down on sleep affects us mentally and physically, making the labour force more and more unproductive.

The cost of this sleep debt is then ill health and lower productivity that culminates into billions of dollars’ worth economic losses. Individuals need to proactively ensure clean sleeping habits with consistent wake up times and combined with awareness camps in educational and corporate institution.

While the recommended sleep hours are said to be anywhere between 7-9 hours, this is not an arbitrary number, everyone is known to have his/her unique ‘sleep signature’. Some can make do with 5 hours of efficient sleep, while others may need up to 11 hours. Outliers exist in all walks of life, but this doesn’t take away from the fact that globally we are tending towards a sleepier planet. Time is money, and sleep takes up a substantial amount of time. More sleep could thus mean less money earned. We sleep less in order to do more, but people need to soon realize that this madness is only backfiring.

Sleep deprivation is a vicious cycle, sleep gets cut short due to various work-related stresses, poor mental health, obesity, sleep disorders, etc. This then causes further mental distress that results to prolonged sleep deprivation. The cost of this sleep debt is then ill health and lower productivity that culminates into billions of dollars’ worth economic losses. Individuals need to proactively ensure clean sleeping habits with consistent wake up times and combined with awareness camps in educational and corporate institutions. Who saw a time where sleep had to be advertised? In lust for monetary increments, we, so called the ‘rational consumers’ have lost sight of all rationale.
 

The government of India on Monday, June 28, 2020 announced yet another astounding news across the country. All Chinese app which are available for android as well as iOS users will be banned, effective immediately, as a result of which a day later, one of the most installed apps; Tik Tok has been taken down from Google Playstore and Apple’s Appstore.

Considering the uproar against Tik Tok which was a result of the CarryMinati’s video which has been eradicated from the popular platform of YouTube, titled “YouTube vs Tik Tok.” The war between content creators comparing the mediums and unity within the community while CarryMinati’s video was reported for harassment and cyberbullying. Following this, the content was critically analysed on the app and hence, brought on a huge negativity on the platform. All this while the apps functionality was also analysed which revealed the Chinese apps were engaged activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and of India, Defence of India and security and state of public order.

For those who have installed the app “Tik Tok” have received an alert which read “Dear users, we are in the process of complying with the Government of India’s directive to block 59 apps. Ensuring this privacy and security of all our users in India remains our utmost priority.” It has also been claimed by some users that they’ve been facing difficulty whilst scrolling through their feed or they’re unable to it at all and some are even unable to upload videos and a pop-up flashes “network issue.” One explanation to this can be that the telecom operators must have blocked Tik Tok until the government’s next order.

This has also resulted in a moment of cheer for Carry’s fans who had helped trend a hashtag fancied in his name #justiceforcarry  following the removal of the video. Many also felt that the 21-year-old YouTuber predicted the End of Tik Tok.

According to the Digital Forensics, an Open Technology Fund contracted Cure53, which a Germany based cybersecurity firm, examined the Chinese apps by disuniting the app and determining its capabilities. The researchers investigated the Android version of the app, used in smartphones manufactures by Oppo, vivo etc. as in iOS does not allow the type of “superuser” surveillance to be conducted. Although it wasn’t possible to assess the apps functionalities due to the code designed to thwart the attempts to dissect the app, It managed to expose that the code manages to open a back door to the users phone, this, in turn grants the developer of the app tantamount right to the users phone, allowing to download any software, modify files and, install a program to log key strokes, have access to all the messages as well as pictures and even allows them to turn on the microphone as per their will.

This study was reported in the United States of America.

In India, the recommendation of the intelligence agencies backed by the National Security Council Secretariat supported the take of the decision which could be detrimental to the country’s security, a report which was claimed by an unnamed government official. The Ministry of Information Technology received complaints from various sources regarding the misuse of some application in transmission of data in an unauthorized manner to servers with location outside India. The Indian Intelligence agency red flagged these Chinese apps as it challenged the privacy concerns of the users. They were left with two choices, either advice people to not to use the apps or ban the use of it once n for all.

Official press released on the ban of these apps, the Ministry of Information Technology claimed, “invoking it’s power under section 69A of the Information Technology Act read with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009 and in view of the emergent nature of threats has decided to block 59 apps ( see Appendix) since in view of information available they are engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.” Adding to their statement, “upon receiving of recent credible inputs that such Apps pose threat to sovereignty and integrity of India, the Government of India has decided to disallow the usage of certain Apps, used in both mobile and non-mobile Internet enabled devices. This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace.”

The step has proved to the assurance that India is not only on the verge but it is going to prove it is “atmanirbhar.” The ban on the applications also imply the intensive invasiveness is unacceptable by India and that the relation between the two countries cannot be mended. India has officially made it’s relations with the country loud and clear.

The list of the apps banned is as follows-

Money Heist is a Spanish tv show following the lives of people some of whom are felons , however it takes up their journey beyond as a group together rather than rallying on their past . It is a tumultuous ride spanning a few days or more so hours with putting out the experience and action that takes place in each second of their heist.

Also the detailed intricacies involved with the conceptualization of the TV show differentiate it from primetime heist based programs. It indulges the views into each aspect involved with the planning an execution of a heist . The series plays around with the idea of romance with action while discussing the altering impact on the psych of people involved in high pressure situations.

It also doesnt shy away from the pragmatic results of such a high risk situations and displays the cataclysmic impacts it could have on the lives of this groups. While it certainly paints the robbers as the heroes it does not overindulge in their glorification rather puts across arguments for the viewers to assess . Moving beyond the first few seasons it seems to have taken a political stand and begins exploring the ideas of justice , democracy and citizenships .

Moreover the cinematography is also evolving with a change in the contract and budgetary increases leading to exotic locations and high impact action seen in the following seasons . All in all money heist is world phenomenon that took the world by surprise with its massive positive reception especially during the worldwide lockdowns, much so Spain where it wasn't much of a success.

Mr COVID-19 toured all length and breadth across the globe and the unwelcomed guest made us unsafe even in our own bubbled space within the confines of our homes. The ‘Invisible Virus’ brought all of us under the microscope. As the civilization was scrambling to discover the vaccine, the ease in limitations cultivated a “New Normal” vitality for me.

Experiences expresses the essence of viewpoint of life and so let us talk about how I balanced the skepticism of being unproductive and the sensibility of being productive.

When I walk down the lane of ‘small memories' with Mr. Covid-19 who has been indirectly dating me for the last 3 months, I realize that I have harmonized with this “New Culture” of Pandemic.

Initially, the reflections of “Egg me Jams” and the downpour of ‘Online Classes’ blurred my peaceful life. As hours felt like days and seconds like minutes, the inner opportunist I cried to be productive. From workout challenges to discovering the chef in me, I tried it all.

For one of us, ‘productivity’ may mean different. Someone else’s idea of productivity may not be the same as mine and therefore, it is best to find out where your productivity lies. For me ‘productivity’ was as simple as watching a movie or listening to a song and it was not limited to something huge. I realized that productivity can be dimensionless. It can be the simplest of things that give you the grandest of smiles.

But, in the race of being productive in quarantine, I grabbed all the opportunities which somehow taught me the most important lessons of life. Ranging from attending webinars to online courses of Havard University to interning with 3-4 companies at a time, I turned to be ‘ working machine’ with unrestricted labour, undefined working hours and restricted sleeping hours.

Well, quarantine helped me to figure things out and explore the work culture. The internships crafted my communication skills and enhanced my management skills. Writing and using words to form opinions has always been my strength. But, Mr. Covid-19 boosted my confidence and helped me to explore my potential.

The lane of memories gifted me a ‘Dark realization’ that I lacked “Appreciation” and “Kindness”. I was so much engrossed to win the war of productivity that the creativity to appreciate little things erased. A nature-lover like me could not acknowledge the dawn followed by morning birds chirping and I missed the brilliant blue sky which awaited me to hear the poetry of love and gratitude.

Sometimes, beds seemed to be more comforting than the world outside but it was only for “Sometimes” as I used to again dive into the ocean of Instagram newsfeed and stories. My hands never shivered while looking at the phone screen continuously. I was engulfed in this web of darkness and despondency where I sought for a reason to wake up; a reason to continue the ‘normal’ in my life.

You know, the realization hits harder and what I learnt is that, It’s okay not to do anything productive during quite routine. Don’t be stressed. It’s an opportunity to live real life with family although tangled with small cute fights.

You can just daydream about the quarantined greenhouse dates and give online goodbyes and farewells. As you have read till here and if you agree to what you read through my words,let us go on for “ Online Chai par Charcha”, as that is million times better than being homeschooled by parents on ‘ relationships’.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom has predicted that the number of CoronaVirus cases globally is set to reach 10 million this week. Global cases of the novel coronavirus surpassed 9 million and is currently at 9.3, as Brazil and India brought light on spike in infections, and the United States, China and other suffering countries reported new outbreaks. Since late last year, the virus has spread across the globe and declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, however, differences in testing mean that the number of cases may be understated for some countries. The number could in actual, have crossed the 10 M mark. The number of deaths is a more dependable indicator. The disease has hit certain countries, including Brazil, India and the US, as leaders are unable to effectively comprehend the situation. Meanwhile in Asia, where the disease began, the spread continues, although in China it seems for now to have passed its peak and the second wave of virus coming after them.

The world faces a shortage of oxygen concentrators as the number of worldwide cases of coronavirus infection nears the 10 million mark, the World Health Organization head said. The demand has crossed it's supply, which is why numerous nations are facing trouble dealing with the ongoing situation.

The Supreme Court's bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilker today gave its final decision regarding the leftover CBSE AISSCE Class 12th exams which were to be held in the month of July. The exams stand canceled now.

While, the class 10th exams were already canceled, the CBSE board has shared its decision to go ahead and declare the results by July 15th on basis on internals examinations due to the conditions caused by the pandemic COVID-19.

However, according to a CBSE OFFICIAL, the students will have an option to appear in examination if they wish to (and if the conditions would allow which is not probable)

but if they don't wish to appear then their performance of last internal examinations will be considered to grant them marks.

The board has clarified that option of appearing in the board exam will only be available to XIIth students and not for class Xth students.

This decision has bought to relief lakhs of students who were not in a mental state to give the remaining exams and also those who were in the containment zones.

Inaugurated in August of 2016, the portal of Governments e-commerce platform (GeM) hosted by DGS&D wherein goods of a common user can which includes services can be procured.  This portal focuses on purchases made by government officers. It is user friendly, self-sustaining and dynamic.

The Public procurement forms a very important part of the government activity and caters the needs of MSMEs. GeM is not only an e-commerce platform but also renders a range of services for the online businesses running in India which includes Company Incorporation, GST Registration, ISO certification, Import Export Code, MSME Registration, Trademark, Copyright, Patent, Tax Return filing, do accounting, legal and financial compliance(s).

India has faced trade imbalance which is heavily in favour of China and with the ongoing border dispute between the two countries has given rise to a nationalist sentiment which has, in turn, driven the citizens of India even more to be “vocal for local” and boycott the Chinese products and services. The Union Government has stipulated that all the sellers to specify the country of origin while registering new products, whereas hitherto the sellers with registered products have been receiving regular warnings where they will be obliterated if they don’t update the information regarding the same.

The commerce & industry ministry has seen Rs 55,048 crore worth of transactions till now, are in the approach of invoking the interest of “Atamnirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India). “Sellers who have already uploaded their products before introduction of this new feature on the GeM, are being reminded regularly to update the country of origin. It’s with a warning that their products will be removed from the GeM if they fail to update," said the Ministry on Tuesday. 

All central and state governments, related to public sector agencies are mandated to directly purchase common-use goods and services solely through GeM. A provision of indication of percentage has been enabled of the percentage of local products. Class I and Class II (local content greater than 20 per cent) local suppliers are exclusively are allowed to bid on bids which stand below ₹ 200 crores with Class (local content greater than 50 per cent) suppliers getting purchase preference.

The country’s two largest purchases are the ministries of defence and railways which are subsumed under GeM. Therefore, by September, all the goods and services which have been purchased by the Railways and Defence through the Indian Railways E-Procurement Systems, the Defence e-Procurement portal, and the Central Public Procurement portal, will have to be made through the GeM, said officials.

The encouragement towards the policy of self- reliance has led to 395,081 sellers and service providers and according to recent reports, the portal brandishes 1.83 million separate products and services. 

Yoga and aurvedic expert Ramdev , head of Patajnjili has claimed that the medicine called ‘Coronil’ will help in treating the respiratory impacts of COVID-19.“The whole country and the world was waiting for medicine or vaccine for corona. We are proud to announce that the first Ayurvedic, clinically controlled trial based evidence and research-based medicine has been prepared by the combined efforts of Patanjali Research Centre and NIMS,” he said at a press conference in Haridwar.

The medicine comes as part of a kit which consists of tablets named Coronil and Swasari Vati, and an oil called Anu Oil. Active compounds of Ahwagandha, Giloy and Tulsi are used in the new Covid-19 medicine by Patanjili.The entire kit will help in strengthening immunity with more than 100 compounds used.2 tablets with hot water half an hour after each meals is prescribed by Patanjili.This quantity is suitable for people between 15 to 80 years of age, the company says. Children between the age of 6-14 years can take this medicine, but the dosage should be half of what is prescribed for adults.

 The first trial was a clinically controlled study which took place in Delhi, Ahmedabad and many other cities. Under this, 280 patients were included and 100 per cent of those recovered, he said. After controlling the disese and its complications, the all-important clinical control trial was conducted, said Ramdev. It was a two stage trial according to Ramdev.Patanjali claims those administered the medicine were fully cured and none died. Ramdev alwo claimed that 69 per cent of them recovered within three days. He said that 100 per cent recovery was seen in seven days.The company said that data of the trial will be released as evidence in the next few days.he efficacy of Patanjali’s medicine on Covid-19 cure has not been corroborated by any independent medical body as of yet. The World Health Organization (WHO) had recently said that while several drug trials are ongoing, there is currently no proof that any drug can cure or prevent Covid-19.

On Tuesday the AYUSH ministry asked yoga guru Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved to provide as soon as possible the composition and other details of the medicine it claimed is for the treatment of COVID-19, and ordered the firm to stop advertising the product until the "issue" is examined.'Coronil and Swasari' medicine had been launched by Patanjali Ayurved with the claim that it has discovered a cure for COVID-19.

Uttarakhand Government has been asked by the Ayush ministry to provide copies of license and approval details granted for the manufacture of Coronil. Patanjali is headquartered in Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

“Ministry has also requested concerned State Licensing Authority of Uttarakhand Government to provide copies of license and product approval details of the Ayurvedic medicines being claimed for the treatment of COVID -19,” the statement added.

With not only the nation but the whole world hoping for a miracle come their way in the form of treatment for COVID-19, the hope Coronil as a potential treatment raised hopes of millions around the world.  

" Truth is Expensive ": Aspiring Journalists 

“Not all battles are fought for victory. Some battles are fought to tell the world that someone was there on the battlefield.”
                   - Ravish Kumar.

Freedom of the press is an integral part of freedom of speech. Space for dissent is what keeps the fire ignited in democracy & brings the unspoken in light.  However, how free are we today to speak the unspoken?  and by ' we', I mean all of us. Well, sacrifices! We have to pay for everything, for freedom of expression too.

I was 16 when investigative journalists exposed a well-known medical institution in Jharkhand that was practising female infanticide. Since then, the pursuit of truth, that truth is eternal, in journalism has always inspired me to join the culture of journalism. Journalism, where the voice has power & right words can shatter even the strongest lie.

Well, When I told my parents how passionate I was to become a journalist, the first feedback was," It's Risky Beta".
An aspiring journalist is always made aware that there is a price to pay when unwanted truths tumble out, you have to pay for the truth.

 There's always a line that would not be crossed but, as I inch closer to my dream of becoming a journalist, the line gets blurred. There's no idea for the price of truth. You might have to trade your life.

2017: I was 17 when Gauri Lankesh was assassinated. You have to fight against autocracy and fight against the exploitation of power. I'm a media student right now & our institution stopped us to talk & put the poster of ' Gauri Lankesh'.

 The last few months, in particular, have been a whirlwind for India – from the protests against the citizenship law to police brutality, the Kashmir lockdown and the coronavirus lockdown, a series of arrests of journalists and the deadly Delhi riots – the news industry has barely had a minute to breathe.

But with every reinforced silence, the fight of journalists is weakening. Where criticism of governments is a sign of good journalism, the arrest of such journalists who are trying to bring out the truth is the sign of a failing democracy & you are titled as ' Anti- Nationals'. The first rule of Journalism: BE NEUTRAL. That's the price journalists have to pay: Hide the truth &  so separate from work and fear of repercussions injected into them plays a dominating role.

So when Gauri Lankesh was assassinated or when Masrat Zahra was charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, I’m sure many young people dreaming of joining the ranks of the fourth pillar of democracy vanished.

Well, some of my classmates who are pursuing journalism, accept that they experience withering of their spirit when it comes to continuing journalism as their career. No Security for Journalists. So, you have better options :  filmmaking or advertising – which they say are growing sectors.

What about the harsh reality, the dialect that is uttered in journalism? 

Well, stories about, Health journalist Vidya Krishnan being harassed, threatened and humiliated online for calling out the lapses in the way India has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Oh ! that's the security provided to truth-seekers. 

 These cases have lit a fire in the belly may questioning the ethics of journalism.
 Why journalists, on the ground covering the pandemic were not given access to proper gear?  Recently, an on-ground journalist, Ronojoy Roy, died of what was suspected to be coronavirus and he is not the only one. Several more have tested positive.
In the World Press Freedom Index of 2020, India fell by two places and now stands at the 142nd position.

Independent media houses and fact-checking websites sell untruths and half-truths to their audiences: The flagbearers of journalism !! 
Many journalists don't sacrifice their belief system by joining a media house. 

Why many are disappointed about joining a profession where one is ambushed for speaking truth to power?
In a  democratic country, the unrestricted cycle of information is important. 

The battle in me has become dimensionless. But the revolutionary spirit needs to bike phoenix– can be reflamed.

Supreme Court allows Rath Yatra in Puri



The coronovirus seems to be getting on its peak day-by-day and people are still advised to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary outings. Amidst all this, the Jagganth worshippers were upset because the Apex Court of India had ordered the Odisha govt. to not to carry out the Rath Yatra processions.



But, as of now, after many appeals, the SC has allowed the Odisha government to carry on with the Rath Yatra processions like every year but with certain rules and regulations and no public attendance.

It has also directed the govt. to maintain a record of the people who attend the Rath Yatra with details of their medical conditions. SC also quoed that not more than 500 people will be allowed in the procession and all those engaged in pulling the holy chariot will have to maintain social distancing norms throughout the procession.



“If it is confined to Puri alone in a limited way without public attendance as proposed by Gajapati Maharaj of Puri, Chairman of the Puri Jagannath Temple administration, state govt will endeavour to make necessary arrangements to conduct it accordingly,” the bench of justice's quoted.

Image credits - @odishaclicks  on Instagram 

Underground Economy: The Secret Fungi Kingdom

Even simple, brainless organisms are capable of sophisticated trading strategies. The workings of the subterranean society are almost unknown to scientists. What fungi networks and relationships reveal about human economies, and what they can tell us about inequality !!

In soils across the world, fungi trade resources with the plants they colonise in a mutually beneficial relationship. Over 80 percent of all land plants species have roots associated with fungi.
In the underground subway system, each root is a station, where resources are loaded and unloaded. And it's also very dense, so roughly the length of many meters, even a kilometer, in a single gram of dirt.

What does a root covered in fungi have to do with our global economy?
Trade deals made are similar to those made by us, but perhaps even more strategic. Plant and fungal partners, they're not exchanging stocks and bonds, they're exchanging essential resources, and for the fungus, that's sugars and fats. It gets all of its carbon directly from the plant partner.  
For the root, what plants need is phosphorus and nitrogen, which they get from fungus. 
So to make the trade, the fungus penetrates into the root cell of the host and forms a tiny structure called an arbuscule, which is Latin for "little tree." Now, you can think of this as the physical stock exchange of the trade market. 

'BUY LOW, SELL HIGH'
This suggests the fungus shifts its resources to the side of the root bundle where resources are scare. “Here, demand is higher, and the plant is potentially willing to pay more. It’s a classic trading strategy – buy low, sell high.

No Room for Amateur Traders

Making the right trade strategy determines who lives and who dies. fungal conspirators are not just cooperating with each other but also engaging in a raucous and often cutthroat marketplace ruled by supply and demand, where everyone is out to get the best deal for themselves and their kind. 

Here's no room for amateur traders on this market. Fungi can hoard nutrients, they can reward plants that are generous with their carbon reserves and punish ones that are stingy, and they can deftly move and trade resources to get the best “deal” for themselves in exchange.

The roots of most land plants are colonised by arbuscular mychorrhizal fungi,which comprise elaborate networks of fine white filaments. The fungi provide plants with phosphorus and receive carbon in return.

A single fungal network can be connected to many plants, and vice versa, meaning the two parties can switch between trading partners and there is plenty of scope of wheeling and dealing.

Toby Kiers, an evolutionary biologist at the Free University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands has shown  that fungi tend to avoid trading with plants growing in the shade. She has even caught them hoarding phosphorus to inflate the amount of carbon they get in return.

But is it a fair market? 
Plants and fungi are incredibly opportunistic.Fungus, once it penetrates into the plant cell, it can actually hijack the plant's own nutrient uptake system by suppressing the plant's own ability to take up nutrients from the soil. 
 Fungus, the savvy traders, take advantage of their partners by shuttling goods to nutrient-starved areas where plants are willing to pay more than usual.

But it's not all in favor of the fungus. Plants can be extremely cunning as well. There are some orchids who don’t even photosynthesize, they just tap directly into the network and steal all carbon of fungus.

 
What would happen if we compare and compete the trading strategies of these two? Who would win? The tiny capitalist that's been around since before and the fall of the dinosaurs? 
This is undoubtedly the most important network for our ecosystems, but we just don’t know anything about it.

Writing about the members of a community which has been facing prejudices from time immemorial is not easy. The apartheid faced are intense which can easily destruct the very person’s mental stability, driving them to take a step as of taking their own lives. Even whilst the death of an actor has enraged millions which drove everyone to post the trending hashtag #mentalhealthmatters  makes them believe it will help those suffering. At some point of time we all have conjectured people, especially the hijras, from whom we’ve been taught maintain as much distance as we can. But why so? Are they genuinely forgetting about shiv and shakti or trying to ignore it?

Everything happens for a reason; our very existence, actions, everything.  Symbolism exists everywhere around as well in us. The union of Shiv and Shakti is one of the most thunderous and beautiful unification which represents numerous ideologies, one of them symbolising the third gender; transgender, similarly symbolising the importance of gender and harmony amongst them.

Recently, a boy from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh committed suicide, why? Because apparently, he had feminine features and continued to live in a toxic environment in which his relatives and batchmates continued to bully him. According to his father, he sometimes used to apply make up and dance which he claimed to be a normal behaviour for a person of his age. His classmates drove him to believe he was a transgender. His note read as,

 “I’m sorry papa as I could not be a good son. I have girl-like features and even my face is like them. People laugh at me. Even I have started feeling that I am kinnar (transgender). My life will darken your life and that is the reason why my death is necessary. Please bless me that I take birth as a girl. If a girl is born in our family, then you must believe that I have returned.”

This not only highlights the dark side of the society but also how a school fails to broaden a child’s perspective. During the initial stages it is the parents from whom the child is most influenced by, and eventually, the school is the place where they broaden the perspective. How can idiosyncrasies be changed when the root problem hasn’t been addressed.

Even though India claims to be republic, it still consists of the certain marginalized communities which have been disfranchised and are made even more vulnerable, rendering them helpless. There are numerous other cases which imply the toxicity against the LGBT community.

Whilst travelling in a metro, I overheard a woman, in her late 40s, saying how thankful she was that her kids were “normal” and that her daughter and son were heterosexual. The very aspect of normalcy is befouling. People are not judged for the very nature they possess but on the preference of their sexuality. The war of their rights will unfortunately continue. Even after the abolishment of article 377, they do not have the freedom to celebrate their love by marrying the person they love, even after independence, it was a long journey for them to finally free themselves from the “indictment” and openly express their love, and still have a long journey ahead of them.

Following presented are some interesting facts which a school curriculum does not cover-

• The first U.S gay rights organization, “The Society for Human Rights” (SHR) was founded in 1924 by Henry Gerber, a German immigrant, which was disbanded in 1925 by police raids.


•  The first newsletter which gave voice to the obstacles faced by the community was “Friendship and Freedom”.


• Similarly, the first lesbian rights organization were formed was called “Daughters of Bilitis” with San Francisco being claimed as its birthplace on September 21, 1955.  

But what about India? In India, post-independence. Light was thrown on the community of the people of LGBT when the famous Mathematician Shakuntala Devi published the first study on homosexuality called “The world of Homosexuals”.

In 1977, All Inida-Hijra Conference was held in Agra where 50,000 members travelled to attend the conference!

Another day and yet another year in which the colours of the rainbow flail with pride, bringing a new perspective everyday of every month of every year. Then why is the entire month of June known as the Pride month?

The story behind the name travels back to 1960s, the time when same-sex relations were illegal in The United States of America. The history of this is particularly linked with the New York City. Since the relations were banned all around, the members of this community flocked to bars, clubs which were specifically designed for them, where they could express their true selves without any fear and restriction. Although the New York State Liquor Authority penalized and closed these bars, the activists legalised the rights for these bars to serve liquor, unfortunately, they were not allowed to display their affection publicly. Even though all bars couldn’t receive the liquor license, they still functioned with zeal as a major reason behind this was, they were backed up by the Mafia.

During this period, the Genovese crime family hegemonized the almost all the bars located in the Greenwich Village. One of them was the Stonewall Inn which was renovated into a gay bar in 1967. History states that the Genovese crime family bribed the sixth precinct of the NYPD to ignore the activities being effectuated. Because of the bribery, the family cut off costs which were required for the maintenance of the club. Which also lacked fire exits.

The very club stood out as it welcomed drag queen which faced prejudice in most of the clubs. The bar was only one of a few which allowed dancing.

The morning of June 28 changed the entire course of future thereafter, it was the day the NYPD raided the bar which came to the people as surprise. The raided ended up arresting 13 people which in turn included employees and people who manifested the courage to stand up against the gender appropriate clothing statute. The arrested were aggressively manhandled. This sparked an infuriating protest against the very riot, which also ended up in igniting the place. Numerous gay rights organizations which included GLAAD (formerly Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), PFLAG (formerly Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), etc. Therefore, thousands marched to the streets of Manhattan which was named “Christopher Street Liberation Day” with its official chant being: “SAY IT OUT LOUD, GAY IS PROUD!” The intensive street riots brought on by the enraged members of the community hoped to bring about a change and put an end to the discrimination faced by them for years, as a result of which June 28, 1970 marks one-year anniversary.

America’s 44th President; Barack H. Obama claimed the site of Stonewall Inn, Christopher Park, and the surrounding streets and sidewalks as a national monument in 2016, in respect to the contribution made for the gay rights.

Gradually, to commemorate the very sacrifices, the month experienced a series of events, each year to even more successful than the last, with youth finally accepting their true selves. Unfortunately, they still have a long way to go worldwide.

“The right to say no was a right he ought to exercise if he wanted his yes to mean something.” 

― Alex Beecroft, Blue Steel Chain.

Sex, a word which is feared to be used out in the public amidst the grossly overpopulated country like India, ironical isn’t it? The word consent means the “permission for something to happen or agreement to do something.” A meaning of which anyone can google, yet no one knows how to apply the meaning practically in their everyday lives. The evidence is the rise in the number of cases of sexual assault, harassment, and rapes. 

The society needs a variance in the idiosyncrasy that there is huge difference between rape and consensual sex. If a person has indulged in consensual sex it does not mean (mostly in the case of women) that the person has brought upon shame to the family name. Think of it this way, we have bodies and it has physiological needs, a human has been created or evolved in such a way and it’s our job to cater those needs. This certainly does not imply to rape a person. 

On the other hand, most of the rape cases reported turn out to be false accusations made by women. According to Delhi Commission for Women published a report in 2014 which stated that 53% of the rape cases reported in the city in 2013 were false. “Today the definition of rape has changed so much and anything and everything is reported as rape”, a statement stated by Partha Sadhukhan who is a Men's rights activist. The allegations are made by the family of the females to avoid that badge of dishonour, ergo, normalizing the attitude towards rape. A family could accept the girl getting raped than choosing to accept her as a normal human being with needs.

A case of Pavan Gupta, who was involved in a relationship soon turned 24 in 2019 and refused to marry his girlfriend. The following statements were made by Pawan. ““I liked her but I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life with her. I always told her I was an only child and would have to go along with my parents’ choice.” While Pavan was preparing for his wedding in March, his ex-girlfriend accused him of raping her and stated she had slept with only on the promise of marriage. Eventually, the Supreme Court ruled that the consensual sex cases cannot be invoked as rape cases and a distinction a clear distinction shall be drawn between the two. But the damage had already been caused as the accusation led to Mr. Gupta’s mother’s death, his fiancé had called off the wedding and it also cost him his job and the discrimination he faced throughout is tacit. 

When heard of the word rape, it is automatically linked to a girl which is tacitly speaks of the injustices against men and transgender being completely ruled out of one’s mind.

A case involved of domestic abuse a husband and father of a child, faced from his wife in the U.K. His wife faced a mental issue and the instances involved of his wife punching him hard on his nose and running away while giggling, another involved to an extent where he dreaded her wife turned in after work. She cuffed him to the and hit him with him with a loudspeaker of the stereo system and demanded sex and his partner force-fed him Viagra and gagged him.

There are numerous such cases which when reported, are often met with disbelief. The victim stated "We're scared to talk about it and embarrassed, and when we do talk about it, we're not believed, because we're men. How can a man possibly be abused? Look at him, he's a man."

On the other hand, such cases put the cases of women in genuine of help at risk. The question which often arises is whom to believe? The citizens demand gender equality, but in order to introduce the concept, a ground of it has to be set, which will not happen anytime soon if these pseudo feminists and male chauvinists continue to proliferate the toxicity in others.

As it is rightly said, 

"Our will to live is often much greater than the difficulties of life."

and

"The absence of the will to live is, alas, not sufficient to make one want to die."

 

Everyone out there should be grateful for this human life and should have the zeal and desire to LIVE.



If you know anyone who needs emotional and mental support, or is going through tough times, you can help them by calling on any of these 24*7 free helpline numbers.



These suicide prevention organizations work for the great cause of minimizing suicide rates amongst all age groups and specially the youngsters who are more prone to it.

They provide professional, free and dedicated emotional support to anyone who needs it, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.



There's strict anonymity and the call is totally confidential, they lend all ears to the one on the other side of the call and the concerned only needs to REACH OUT.



Here's a list of those organizations:



▪︎AASRA -

+91 98204 66726



▪︎PARIVARTHAN -

+91 76766 02602



▪︎SNEHA -

044 24640050



▪︎TISS, iCALL -

+91 22 255211

+91 91529 87821



▪︎VANDREVALA FOUNDATION -

+91 730 459 9836

1800 2662 345



▪︎NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE -

1800 273 8255



▪︎DISHA

1056



▪︎HOPE HELPLINE FOR STUDENTS

+91 0744 2414141



▪︎ONE LIFE

+91 7893078930



▪︎STATE GOVT's. ( Karnataka, TamilNadu, Odisha)

104



Remember, you just have to reach out,

They'll Be There For You. 

Quote Credits - Anonymous

Template Credits - Canva

While China had stopped reporting a rise in the fresh cases of COVID-19 and was gradually returning 

back to the track, the virus has again begin to haunt it as new strains have been found in the Chinese 

capital- Beijing, causing the highest daily total of new COVID-19 cases in China in the last 2 months.

As of Sunday, a total number of 8 cases were reported, bringing the toll to 74, all linked to the Xinfadi 

wholesale food market in South Beijing's Fengtai district. The government officials have also reported an 

outbreak in another wholesale market of Haidain district of China. The Chinese experts claimed that the 

genome sequencing had shown that the strains were from Europe, however they are yet to know how it 

came in the Chinese markets.

Following the sudden outbreak conditions, The Xinfadi and Haidain markets in China were immediately 

shut down along with 15 neighbouring residential and official compounds. According to recent reports 

24 testing stations have been set up while 10000 tests have already been taken. Around 5800 swab 

samples also been collected on random basis of people who were in close contact with those who 

visited the Xinfadi markets.

In the meantime, a complete lockdown has been imposed in the affected areas and all the schools, 

markets and officers have been closed as a precautionary measure. While the second wave of 

coronavirus has hit China again, it has brought with it a political wave as well, wherein the officials are 

playing the blame game with each other, causing the removal and transfer of as many as 5 secretaries 

and managers of district level administration.

It is to be noted that even though the fresh cases are few in number, it could yet cause a recession in the 

Chinese economy, keeping in view the political instability and the potential of the COVID-19 to create an emergency.

 

Featured Image Credits : Yahoo

The shocker waved across the country, when one the most adroit and determined actors of Bollywood at age 34 is lost. Reminiscing the actors’ time, the directors as well as his colleagues are rendered speechless by the very step taken by the actor. No one has the answer as to why such a prospering actor would decide to take his own life whist at the apex of his life, with so much ahead for him to see.  What seemed unusual is that the movies for which the actor worked for were quite inspirational and has an impact on one’s life. The question which needs to be answered is one word; why?

One sentence which is often quite iterated as to why such a talented actor, who was “at the peak of his career” or who had a wonderful career” would be forced to take such a step? This not implies the façade one is forced to put on but also the mentality of the customary society that only an aspiring career can lead to one’s happiness.

A career prospect is only a part of life not the life itself. A successful alumnus of DTU with an aspiring career in acting. When will the society understand the difference between life and career and not amalgamate the two? Mental issues are not an excuse, a smile on the face is not always true.

With the progression of importance of mental health, India has yet a long run to count. Amidst the devastating situation of the pandemic, people were either left absolutely alone with an environment entailing their loneliness or with were stuck in a toxic environment surrounding the person while the others remained unaware of the situation. It’s okay not to be okay, speaking up before giving up is something we mall must request. Everyone has they’re on backstory, carrying an invisible load of problems we all might be unaware of. This is also emphasizes on the importance of companionship, something quite popularly known as "work family."

According to reports, prescriptions for depression pills were found at the Sushant Singh’s home.  It has to be understood the pills are only a temporary solution to a broader problem. While it is emphasized that yoga is a solution to almost every problem a homo sapiens may experience, the youth simply thinks it of hocus pocus or that it’s something which their generation wouldn’t indulge in. Rest assured, a simple meditative exercise and a person of trust to talk to can work wonders. Just Speak up before you Give up.

"Depression is so insidious, and it compounds daily, we don't know the end. The fog of Depression is like a cage without a key. But we can look for another door to enter the world of sunflowers. So, Talk about it."

That's what we say. 

We speak &  write about empathy & kindness but we never talk about the process after that?

Have you ever thought about the cost of a  'single good therapy session'?

Approx. Rs. 5000/session.(minimum)

Do we have the courage to acknowledge how inaccessible and unaffordable therapy is for most of us?

What after one decides to get help, after going through the painful process of articulating the problem to their close ones?

  So, the next step is shelling out an obscene amount of money for just one session.

 For those of us who are not financially independent yet, it is legitimately impossible to afford mental healthcare without the support of the family.

I remember one of my college mate asking for financial help for treating her Bipolar Disorder as her parents didn't support her? So, support is rare & even though there is support, the amount of burden to make the most out of the first session itself overthrows the very objective of therapy. 

If there is a disconnect with the first therapist one visits, the disappointment and guilt is an immense setback, and a large part of it is because of the associated financial limitation. The onus of 'success' is on the person who needs help when it should be the other way round. 

Mental health problems compound daily. It takes months and years of nurtured therapy to handle them, and unfortunately, that is out of reach for most of us today. It is our responsibility to be kind and empathetic, to check in on friends – but it's also important to understand their financial limitations.

They cannot be a substitute for therapy.  Even when they want to help, they don't have the resources or the expertise to go all the way. 

If we don't work towards making quality mental healthcare accessible and affordable for everyone, these well-meaning passages amount to nothing. 

We lost one of the creative souls & the need of the hour is to address the structural scars that push people to a juncture of no return. Rest in Peace, Sushant Singh Rajput. 

 HAPPY OR SAD: THE CHEMISTRY BEHIND DEPRESSION

“The human life is made up of choices. Yes or No. In or Out. Up or Down. Live or Die. Hero or Coward. I’ll say it again to make sure you hear me. The human life is made up of choices. Live or die. That’s an important choice. And it’s not always in our hands.”

-Derek Shepherd, Season 6, Episode 24.

Genetic makeup influences how sensitive you are to stressful life events. When genetics, biology, and stressful life situations come together, depression can result.

Stress has its own physiological story with a chain of chemical reactions and responses in the body. 

People with suicidal thoughts exhibit higher levels of Translocator Protein, associated with microglial activation and indicating inflammation of the brain in a region of the cortex which is involved in emotional processes.

The long story of stress causes the low secretion of Serotonin ‘the happy neurotransmitter’, which increases the higher risk of suicide

Dopamine, ‘the motivational chemical’ and Noradrenaline, ‘fight-to-fight chemical’ acts as ‘magical wand’ to reinforce pleasure.

Our thoughts regulate chemical processes. We can’t let negativity dominate us. 

The loss of creative soul, Sushi Bhai who won hearts through ‘ Chichore’ actually sparked mainstream media to talk about ‘ Mental Illness’. We need to make ‘therapy’ the ‘New Norm’. It’s okay not to be okay!

The world population as of now is over 7.6  Billion. Covid-19 has created a majot crisis in 2020. It’s caused by human activities. The pandemic, is a human overpopulation problem. It seems that we have not really understood the role that crowding and overpopulation play, as crutial reasons for the pandemic. There are two main factors at play. As the city expanded and sprawled, natural lands gave way to human settlement. But as more and more people live in crowded cities, it becomes harder to control a pathogen that takes days to manifest.

Overpopulation is accompanied by negative environmental and economic outcomes ranging from the impacts of over-farming, deforestation, and water pollution to eutrophication and global warming. While a lot of  steps are being taken to better ensure that humans stay sustained, the issue of overcrowding has made lasting solutions more challenging to find. The reasons are that Overpopulation is largely attributed to trends such as people living longer and enjoying higher live birth rates. Advanced technology has made it possible. lack of education in many parts of the country is another reason responsible for too many children in a single family. 

This undetected growth into new habitats is bringing humans into increasing contact with wild-animal pathogens against which we have no biological defences. Wipe out the illegal wildlife trade. Bulldoze the wet markets. Stop this growth – something social distancing should make easier than ever.

Rapid growth of population directly effects per capita income in an economy.

A fast growth in population means a large number of persons coming to the labour market for whom it may not be possible to provide employment. In fact, in underdeveloped countries, the number of job seekers is expanding so fast that despite all efforts towards planned development, it has not been possible to provide employment to all. You see, migrant workers are suffering in these times. Many have lost employment and are facing difficulties paying expenses.

When the coronavirus pandemic reduces, adopting a strategy to stabilize the population is an important idea that needs to be on the table.

With the cases rising every day, its mark tends to reach a new height of 2,76,583 confirmed cases in India, surpassing Italy and Spain, reaching to the new limits of 5th most affected country by the virus worldwide. Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister has alarmed Indians regarding the rise of covid cases which is likely to reach the 5.5 lakhs limit by the end of July. Now that’s not what Indians were expected to excel at.

According to the experiences of a few people, the hospitals are left with hardly any beds to treat new patients affected by the virus and simply not allowed to get admitted. Rumours has it that it is being done to alter the number of registered cases. Following this very fact, there’s a possibility that India is very close to surpass the United Kingdom.

A meeting was called by the Lt. Governor Anil Baijal with all the political parties. The aim of this meeting was to discuss the prevailing situation amidst Covid-19 and come up with an explication to combat the current scenario at 3pm on Tuesday. The all-party meet was called after reversing the order of the Government of Delhi by the Lt. Governor. It reversed the restrictions on testing for covid-19, and now the testing will take place within the parameters set by the apex of the health research body, i.e. ICMR. As per the Government’s order, asymptomatic patients will be excluded of who weren’t aged and have no co-morbid conditions. The decision has my full support as “it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

According to the claims made by Anil Baijal, he emphasized on the importance on the need to expand Delhi’s infrastructure as to meet with the rapid rise in the cases of the pandemic. One of the solutions which had arisen was to temporarily convert the stadiums like Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Tyagraj Stadium, JLN Stadium, Pragati Maidan, a centre of medical facilities. Following this notion banquet halls, marriage places, were also being discussed into being utilized.

With people ratcheting in their respective towns, finally embracing the environment outside their homes, the relaxations have made people forget about the grave dangers the virus possess and how easily can it affect someone. With citizens belayed into the thinking everything will gradually enter the stage of quo ante, one shouldn’t forget that the biological war isn’t over and with every ignorance, it will claim lives of thousands of people.

India is a home to millions of people; one should remember it is not easy to contain the rapid spread of the virus in an overpopulated country. It is a tacit of playing your part to help control the spread. Yes, it is tough to stay at homes, longing for the long walks we took for granted, but it ought to be understood the willingness to step outside other than a necessity is a decoy one should learn to avoid.

AstraZeneca is aiming to produce 2 billion doses of a coronavirus vaccine — and it could be ready by September

1.  AstraZeneca plans to distribute 1 billion doses of a coronavirus vaccine to low and middle-income countries, with 400 million available this year.
2. ·In addition, the U.S. and U.K. are set to be sent 400 million vaccine doses between them, starting in September.
3.  The vaccine, named AZD1222, was originally developed by Oxford University in the U.K.

COVID-19 cases have topped the seven million mark today (June 08) globally. India too is seeing a surge in the number of cases every day. While there still is a long way to go before we put the pandemic behind us, trials and research are going on at warp speed to attend to the crisis at large. Many potential treatments have shown promising results in the clinical trial stage, while some are carrying on production.

With the search for a Covid-19 vaccine becoming nothing less than the holy grail for scientists, enormous attention and funding have been focused on developing and mass-producing an injection. The rapid spread of SARS-nCov-2 has led experts to declare that it would continue to spread if a vaccine cannot be found.

In latest developments, British pharma giant AstraZeneca, which is developing a vaccine in partnership with Oxford University, said it was “on track” to roll out up to two billion doses in September. Meanwhile, US also said that it had already produced two million vaccine doses that are “ready to go” if they “check out for safety”.

British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, who has joined hands with the University of Oxford was one of the first ones to produce a vaccine prototype which reached the clinical trial stage. After early hiccups and observations, the researchers have now said that they are all set to "roll out" their vaccine candidate for the masses in the months of September or October, with production for two million doses underway.

Soriot said the distribution was dependent on clinical trials taking place by August. Clinical trials and manufacturing are set to occur concurrently, which is an unprecedented move for the pharmaceutical industry because of the risk of producing a drug that might not work.

“We are very focused and very committed. When you have something like this with this sort of pandemic and the tremendous impact it has on people, the economy, et cetera, you can’t second-guess what’s going to happen. You can’t spend your time figuring out is it going to work or not going to work, you just have to commit. … We come in and make a bet on some of these things,” Soriot said on the call.

One of the largest vaccine makers in the world, Serum Institute of India (SII) has partnered with University of Oxford to ramp up trials and vaccine development so that early prototypes of the safe vaccine would be made available to developing countries as early as October 2020.

Right now, when the world I still scrambling to fight against Covid-19, let us wait for September for the release of vaccine, that can save humans.

It’s June and probably not the best start to yet another month of the year 2020. The western coat had been hit with yet another severe cyclonic storm since May 20, 2020. Nisarga is said to be the strongest cyclone to ever hit the coast of Maharashtra since June of 1891.  

The name “Nisarga” was suggested by Bangladesh. The in Bangla means “Nature”

According to the reports of the Metrological Department, a low pressure was created on May 31, 2020. Due to this low pressure, it went on to create a depression to the east of the Arabian Sea on June 1, 2020. The depression gradually intensified giving rise to a cyclonic storm which was centred about 340 km south-west of Goa and 630km south-southwest of Mumbai and 850km south-southwest of Gujrat. Alerting the authorities and the citizens of the cyclone, on June 1, 2020, 33 National Defence Response Force (NDRF) were deployed in the region. It was predicted to the most destructive cyclone and its wind speeding up to 80-90 kmph. Speeding upto 120 kmph with a radius of 60km, it caused a landfall at Murud in Murud in Raigad district of Maharashtra on June 3, 2020.

Consequently, when the cyclonic storm hit the cost, it made a landfall in Alibag at 12:30pm. Videos of the destruction caused due to storm went viral, one of which depicted a banner falling into an empty plot with flowing traffic beside it. The storm claimed 2 lives and while 3 were injured as it made its way towards Pune. It was the cause of a landfall in the coastal Rigad district of Maharashtra at 1pm. The strong gusty winds made the heavy tin sheets blow away which was a roof over a few resident’s head. In Gujrat 18 teams of NDRF and six teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were sent for rescue operations.

The cyclone is said to have damaged 8,000 hectares of crops in the Rigad district of Maharashtra along with the seven districts of Konkan (including Raigad) and Nashik, Jalgaon and Dhule in north Maharashtra. According reports, the MP of Rigad and NCP leader has demanded a package of whopping 5,000 crore as a relief aid. However, the decision on the relief package is expected to be announced in the coming week. The farmers usually receive 6800 rupees to 18000 rupees per hectare for losses as a compensation while the compensation for repairs, construction of the destroyed buildings ranges within 6000 and 6 lakhs. The state has decided to pay a lumpsum of 4 lakhs as ex-gratia for those who’ve lost their lives battling for survival through the cyclonic storms.

QUARANTINE SCHOOLING: NEW NORMAL FOR HOMESCHOOLERS

With schools across the country closed in response to coronavirus, parents, teachers, and children are becoming subjects in an unofficial homeschooling experiment. But for experienced homeschoolers, coronavirus is a new normal, since you’re not supposed to leave your home unless necessary.

Schools have transitioned to distance learning, forcing parents to simultaneously manage their kids’ schooling and their own jobs. That part is nothing new to homeschooling parents, who have been sharing tips while they also navigate the changed realities outside. Parents have become accidental home school teachers now.  Home school parents advised others to keep in mind that academics are not the most important — especially while living in a pandemic. Of course, homeschooling during quarantine is quite different from homeschooling under ordinary circumstances. For example, many parents are unexpectedly adjusting work schedules to accommodate their new child care needs.

So, if you’re worried about your kids not completing a difficult assignment, know that one of the leading figures in Indian education has your back when you throw up your hands and let them read a book for an hour instead. The worst thing you can do is create a tense environment at home because “a stressful brain is not conducive to learning”. They don’t need you standing over them with your arms folded until they finish their fractions assignment during an already tumultuous time in their lives.

The most important thing parents need to homeschool their children is to like them, enjoy their company, their physical presence, their energy, foolishness, and passion. They have to enjoy all their talk and questions and enjoy equally trying to answer those questions. For the majority of parents who homeschool, the only prerequisite is the desire to do so, along with a dedication to the educational process.

Therefore, try to find creative ways to engage with your kids. Use gardening as an educational tool: building a garden bed could be an engineering or architecture assignment. Cooking meals together can provide plenty of lessons in science, math and reading. Turning meal times into lessons and reading aloud while cooking is a simple idea to have a long time influence.

Homeschooling was and is likely to remain, a niche approach to educating school-age children. The pandemic may convince some parents that it’s the right one for them. By taking a pluralistic approach to education and letting a thousand flowers bloom, policymakers can make homeschooling a viable alternative for parents who desire it.

HOME SCHOOLING: Rejection of the cookie-cutter approach to education

“The philosophy of Home Schooling is, you take real life and then you turn that into schooling.”

“Tota Kahani” by Rabindranath Tagore narrates the story of a free-spirited parrot who would hop, skip, fly and sing all day. A king ordered that the bird be 'civilized', and so it was put in a golden cage. In the flood of restrictions and instructions, it soon forgot to sing, and then, couldn't even squawk. When it tried to fly, its wings were clipped. Soon the parrot died, with not a sound except for the rustle of books in its stomach.

The same story is painted on the walls of Shikshantar in Udaipur, which calls itself a people's institute for rethinking education and development. In the mural, trapped in its gilded cage, this parrot, too, forgets how to sing. But unlike in Tagore's story, the narrative in Shikshantar has been tweaked to accommodate hope. Here, the parrot breaks free instead, snapping, as it were, the shackles of 'formal schooling'.

Homeschooling is home education. In many ways, homeschooling is a more organic form of education that focuses on getting out of traditional classrooms that focus on a one-to-many, generalist education. A homeschool-styled learning environment is more personalized to the student, with individual attention. If your son is struggling in reading or writing, parents can take the time necessary to make sure he masters the concepts. In fact, unlike a traditional classroom where curriculum and resources are predetermined, a homeschool program can change curriculum and tactics to ensure a successful outcome. Likewise, if your daughter is excelling in math or science, there is no need to proceed at a slow pace or continue using a curriculum that may not be challenging enough.

In short, homeschooling is about one-to-one learning.

Homeschooling has gained popularity in the new millennium with a small minority of households abandoning the rote learning and exam-obsessed mainstream school system to provide their children individualized primary-secondary education at home to develop their creative, critical thinking and problem solving cognitive capabilities.

Broadly speaking, home educators divide into three major groups: those who are motivated by religious and moral reasons; those who have philosophical or pedagogical reasons; and those who turn to home education because of problems their children experience in school, both academic and social.

Home Schooling in India lays down its root from the ancient gurukul schooling system which was based on parent/teacher-led education in home environments. Rabindranath Tagore's Visva-Bharati University, Sri Aurobindo's Sri Aurobindo International Center of Education and Mahatma Gandhi's ideal of "basic education had the element of home-schooling.

Homeschooling in India does not require any registration, recognition or regulation by any agency or authority. Most parents who choose to do so either follow the CBSE curriculum or opt for the state board syllabus. Home schooled children can appear for the IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams as private candidates, or write the Class 10/12 examinations of the National Institute of Open Learning (NIOS), which gives students the option to get a degree or certificate and is conducted at centres across the country. Sahal Kaushik, the youngest pupil to not only crack IIT but also topple in Delhi with AIR 33 at the age of 14 is the gift of Home-schooling.

In the United States — inevitably the pioneer of homeschooling — an estimated 2.3 million children are being educated at home with this number growing by 7-12 percent annually. According to Brian D. Ray, president of the Salem (Oregon)-based National Home Education Research Institute, homeschooling “may be the fastest growing form of education in the United States”.

Expansion of the notion of learning

The truth is, children are born learning; it’s a survival skill that comes naturally to them. Genuine learning can go beyond core educational topics. The proponents of Home Schooling argue that school is a monoculture which limits the learning process of children and formal schooling forces to study only specified subjects, play prescribed sports, and mingle with children in their own age groups in strictly controlled environments. Such regimentation is contrary to the natural growth cycle of children. Home Schooling children learn socialization skills by interacting with people of all age groups and elements of nature such as animals and plant life.

 Following interests

So, if your kid loves video games, play with them. Read a graphic novel on Minecraft. If they’re interested in knights and superheroes, read books on the subject. Draw them on construction paper, or in sidewalk chalk outside. Talk about what it means to be a hero.

Flexibility.

If your child is struggling with a subject or a specific concept, you do not need to skip it and move on. Instead, you can work with your child until she/ he has mastered the material. Homeschooling allows you to take all the time you need to ensure learning is taking place. Likewise, if your child is ready to move on, you do not need to waste time on redundant or repetitive lessons. Homeschooling children can move through educational materials at a faster pace than their peers.

Practical Learning

Kids who are homeschooled also may get out in their communities more than other kids. They might get to experience hands-on education at museums, libraries, businesses, marinas, and other community resources. They also might volunteer or participate in "service learning" where they take on local projects.

 The pathway to unlocking your child’s potential.

Teach for India fellow Harshad Tathed, who worked on a documentary film titled Project Nomad about alternative education including homeschooling in India, believes this alternative schooling system is becoming increasingly popular because of its mix of basic elementary education and propensity to develop the special intelligence of children. “Children learn best when they are encouraged to question, investigate and research. This transforms them into creative and innovative problem solvers. According to a study conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA, in 2017, at age three, 98 percent of children are creative, but by the time they reach the age of 15, only 2 percent remain creative. This shocking revelation prompted me to work on the documentary film to educate parents about the benefits of homeschooling and other alternative education options,” says Tathed, chief executive of Swayam Bodh Gurukul, a learning centre in Pune which tutors children who fail in school or “don’t like going to school at all”.

Special Care

Parents of children who have learning disabilities are another set who opt for homeschooling because they feel schools are unable to cater to the special needs of their kids.

 Lack of Socialization

The standard notions that home-based education leads to socially ill-adjusted children and limited career opportunities for them. Effects on social life can be another possible disadvantage for homeschooled kids. All kids need to have friends and be around other children. Some homeschoolers may feel cut off from kids their age or feel like they spend too much time with their families.

Lack of Infrastructures

 A kid who's homeschooled doesn't have the convenience of school facilities, such as a gymnasium, science lab, or art studio. The child may be taught at the kitchen table or at a "school" area in the home. He or she might do science experiments in the kitchen or go outside to work on an art project. Some parents who homeschool their kids form groups so their kids can go together to take art classes and take part in other group learning activities, like field trips.

With home education gaining momentum and respectability worldwide, suspicion about the academic proficiency of homeschooled children is waning.

Some of the disadvantages of homeschooling include, homeschooled children tend to be pampered mother’s darlings who can’t take the heat of competition in adult life. There’s also a good chance of their transforming into self-indulgent and undisciplined spoiled brats grown fat on extravagant meals.

Home Schooling has washed up on Indian shores, it’s a tiny minority movement because it requires extraordinary investment in terms of time, dedication, patience and relearning capabilities on the part of one or increasingly, both parents — a difficult proposition for two-income households.

At least one parent has to sacrifice her career ambitions or place them on hold. Therefore, despite widespread dissatisfaction with factory-style exam-oriented primary-secondary education, the overwhelming majority of the country’s 60 million middle-class households can’t afford to homeschool their children.

How is homeschool socialization different?

For one thing, homeschoolers do not have the same exposure to peer pressure and bullying, both of which are tied to poorer academic performance and lower self-esteem.

Homeschooling also means less daily interaction with large numbers of kids in a child’s age group. And homeschoolers can end up spending less time each day participating in organized sports and activities with their peers.

However, this does not mean that homeschoolers have no access to their peers, or have no ability to play sports or socially interact with others outside their family. In fact, on average, homeschoolers participate more in their community, are less sedentary, and socialize with a wider mix of adults (especially professionals) than their public school counterparts. As part of its flexible nature and focus on one-on-one / personalized learning, homeschooling involves more field trips, real-life experiences, and hands-on learning. When it comes to sports, homeschoolers often participate in recreational leagues or homeschool sports classes offered in their community. Some students are homeschooled because their athletic or artistic talents have them engaged in sports and activities at a higher level.

In a recent turn of events, the students who’ve been pursuing their education from the grand state with rich history of Maharashtra, have a profound sigh of relief by the decision of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra to promote students pursuing their final year to cancel all their examinations and promote them on the basis of aggregate marks scored by the student in their previous semester while the students who feel that they can perform better are welcomed to take the examinations in the months of October-November, 2020. The decision was taken in the light of recent events where Mr. Thackrey announced if, under any circumstances the lockdown is extended till June 30, 2020, the state will not have any option but to promote the final year students.

While there surely must’ve been a roar of joy amongst the student, The Governor expressed his on the decision taken by the Chief Minister of Mumbai. Governor B.S. Koshyari claimed that decision will some serious legal repercussions. According to source, a letter had been sent by the Governor to the CM on May 22, 2020, hoping to resolve the issue of conducting examinations for the final year students and providing the students some clarity. According to the Governor, he has also mentioned that by not conducting the examinations, it would breach the UGC guidelines. “Decision on holding final year exams will be taken as per Universities Act! It has been conveyed to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray that decision regarding holding of the examinations of final year students ‘shall be taken in consonance with the provisions of the Act’.” Is what his twitter read on June 2, 2020.

Following his tweet, it a roar of indignation arose, complaining that the governor had np respect or care for the lives of the students. According to sources, a Committee of Vice Chancellors was constituted by the Minister for Higher and Technical Education. The Committee had examined the current situation and based on it recorded the best solutions and options for a way to conduct the examination and sent a report to the secretary, higher and technical education department, but it wasn’t presented to him.

While it may come as a relief to students, but come to think about it practically, the application would not be easy since in fields of law, architecture, medicine etc students would be required to register themselves with their respective Profession bodies after the completion of their course to get a valid license to practice in their respective field. Gaining respective knowledge and testing it on a practical is an extremely important requirement which is achieved by testing the students. However, the current situation doesn’t allow the ideal solution for holding examinations for students across the world. Whilst holding examinations physically is not ideal, the internet connections in a developing country like India is rather weak which would complicate things at a huge scale for those who don’t have the luxury to access 3G-4G networks. I believe the decision taken by the CM wasn’t taken in haste and is highly in favour of the students.

It is every person’s dream to celebrate their love and tie a knot with the person they love. Unfortunately, most of them are judged and are treated as an inferior because of their sexual preference. But this is not the story of Alexandra Quiros and Dunia Araya, the two Ticos as they tied a knot on MAY 26, 2020.

A ray of hope glimmered on July 1, 2018, where the President made a public apology to the members of the LGBTQ community who had faced a dire situation of descrimination and eventually the issue of same sex marriage was finally raised in August 2018 the constitutional court underlined that ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional and discriminatory, and within a span of 18 months, the ban was overruled.

“Empathy and love should from now on be the guiding principles which will allow us to move forward,” said the tweet of Costa Rica’s President Carlos Alvarado Quesada shortly after the announcement. Costa Rica became the sixth country in Latin America to legalize the law with Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and parts of Mexico and the first country in Central America. It is the 28th UN Member state to legalize same-sex marriage.

According to a survey which was conducted in 2013-14, it was found that non-religious communities , non-practicing Catholics and non-Christian minorities ware in support of the LGBT rights than most of the people who practiced Catholics, Mainline Protestants and Neo-Pentecostals which they believed it to be morally Incorrect and a “curable” disease. Left-wing party Broad Front was one of the first main parties to support the same sex-marriage.

Even though the homo sapiens have progressed through these years with new inventions on every field, we fail to transform to the Homo Novus. Despite these laws, the LGBT community faces discrimination on a daily basis, which isn’t shocking, females have been refused to be accepted an equal. Even though the discrimination against women is a whole another issue in itself, but what’s common between the two issues is that both the genders have the right of acceptance and equality.

The world needs a change in the custom societal idiosyncrasy. Marriage shouldn’t be about shoving the custom down one’s throat, neither Love can ever be forced. Sexuality is the path to self-knowledge which isn’t accepted in the 21st century. Alan Rickman, one of the brilliant master minds, a British mathematician who joined a cryptography team to decipher the German enigma code was homosexual and was convicted to “gross indecency” in March 1952 and was sentenced to 12-month hormone therapy.  Giving in, he finally took his life. Moral of the story being, one does not have the right to own one’s life.  Love isn’t a “curable” disease. Eventually, one either has to let the person embrace their true self or wave them a goodbye.

“Sexuality leads to Self-Knowledge” 

I broke my silence today and whined as loud as I could, “Yes! I’m a Gay. I cherish flaunting with my worn long hair and I fancy dating a lovely man because I’m proud of my individuality.”

I started discovering my intense temptation towards same-sex when I was 14 but I was scared to endorse myself. The impressions of abnormality and medication used to vex me and I was eaten like a horse with, “Self-hatred.”

“Hey Mr. Long Hair, the thresholds of your happiness must be traversing all horizons. Section 377 has been decriminalized. So, confess your love.”, said the teacher, embarrassing me in front of my classmates. So, I broke my silence as my sexuality is my identity. It is part of my behaviour with biological and genetic factors and not an oddity that needs to be medicated. I own my sexual craving which is the most empowering thing to do as it’s the art of living your individuality.

The stigma against LGBTQ students like me ranges from the boy/girl dichotomy while dividing students into groups to usage of anti-LGBT language. Any individual who is homosexual faces discrimination, homophobic and transphobic bullying, social exclusion which leads to emotional health struggles like depression, and even suicide.

Isn’t it hypocritical that a gay/ lesbian has to undergo the journey of Self-hatred in order to step forward to the journey of Self-Love and Acceptance? The ‘Truth’ of being a 'Gay' was a criminal offence to me. What I wish is a safe and comfortable environment to accept and love myself, where my parents, teachers, friends would see me through the lens of equality and respect and support me, the school and home environment would be crafted to empower LGBTQ people and no one has to go through the journey of Self-Hatred to be “Real”. The schools should include a special curriculum on sex culture and sexual orientation so that students like me can learn to understand their identity.

I trusted my intuition as it never lies. Respect your individuality because ‘You Matter.’ So, use this ' Social- Distancing' to express your love as "Love has no boundaries, no gender, no colour. It's eternal."

( A piece of narration by my homosexual friend in my words)
 

On 31st December when the hands of the clock struck 12, the whole world rejoiced, making New Year’s resolutions, promising to make this year count. Little did they know 2020 was a year of destruction. Since January the year has been off to a rocky start. This has specially been problematic for China.

The corona virus was first identified in China on 31st December 2019 according to the WHO China Country Office. The Virus was isolated on January 7, 2020 and finally the WHO confirmed the outbreak of the virus on January 12, 2020. This put China on the Hit list by the world. The Country was severely censured by all the countries, especially with the US, commonly referred to as the “Political Virus” these days. The US President is failing not to leave any chance to criticize China as he refers Covid-19 as the “Wuhan Virus” or the “Chinese Virus.”

As per a scientist in WHO, he claims to believe that the virus had been originated in lab, during a research going on bats. However, the origination of coronavirus remains unknown and unclear. Following to the statement made by the scientist, the city which experienced the merciless effects of the virus was Wuhan. This put China under a tremendous amount of pressure.  The Chinese Virology Institute was at the centre of the US allegations, as claimed it could be the place of birth of the virus.

Following this, the supposedly virus strains on bats which were used during the research were collected to verify the source. Astonishingly, the pathogens failed to match those which are the cause of the pandemic. It could be assumed that the evidence could’ve been tampered with.

The worlds two superpower countries are seemingly in a cold war. The US President Mr. Donal Trump claims it was China behind the outbreak of the pandemic. The president didn’t hesitate to call WHO a “puppet” of China. The were some serious accusations made the president, but when the tests came out to be negative, the Chinese administrations was in convulse with the US, stating that the claims made the US president were “pure fabrication.”  

Wang Yi, the former foreign minister of China was filmed for an interview on May 13, 2020 but was made public after a few days, where he states “Now we have three strains of live viruses... But their highest similarity to SARS-CoV-2 only reaches 79.8 %.” He also claims that the most politicians have ignored the most basic facts and they’ve created numerous lies and conspiracies to discredit China.

However, the US President should grasp the severity of the situation and concentrate more on controlling and treating those affected by the virus. He has reacted sharply against China. The coronavirus has created a havoc internationally, especially in the European countries and the world and they should put China under pressure to find a solution for elimination of this deadly virus.

Greetings everyone, 

We find an immense pleasure to announce that *_JIMS VK's Model United Nations(MUN)_* is going to  be held by, *Rotaract Club Of JIMS Vasant Kunj and Prabandhan, the Management Club Of JIMS Vasant Kunj.*

*DATE- 6th-7th June'2020*

*PLATFORM- Zoom App*

The following *committees* are being simulated at E- MUN 2020

• *UNHRC -*

Violation of human rights in conflict areas with special emphasis on women and children.

• *WHO -*

Discussing the roadmap for containing and conquering the Global Pandemic , COVID-19.

• *AIPPM -*

Discussing the Possible economic reforms in India with special emphasis on self reliance.

*Perks/Inclusions Of E-MUN:*

*•Guide Books/Study Material*

*• Training Seminar* 

*• Awards and Cash Prizes worth INR 9000*

*• Participation Certificate for all the delegates*

*Registration Fee: ₹300/- per delegate*

*GooglePay/Paytm:*

*+91 7042334112*

*Mansi Arora*

Link to the *Individual Delegate Application:*

https://bit.ly/2XdF38h

*Instagram page:* https://bit.ly/2LKngAy

Link to the *Country/Portfolio Matrix:* https://bit.ly/36eVxRL

We hope to provide our delegates an unparalleled experience by organizing a highly personalized and engaging E-MUN

For further queries, contact: 

Vibhor Kataria

+91 7838062099

Secretary General

Sakshi Chhabra

+91 9013059465

Director General

Rishel Puri

+91 8800271274

Chief Executive Officer,

Organizing Committee

On Friday, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany held up a cheque written by President Trump for $100,000 — his contribution to COVID-19 relief efforts. While doing so, she accidentally revealed his bank account details.

In a press briefing on Friday, McEnany announced that Trump contributed this “to support the efforts being undertaken to confront, contain and combat the coronavirus”.

Experts have said it is unlikely that Trump’s account will be hacked into as it will have additional security measures in place due to his post as President of the United States. McEnany was appointed as Press Secretary of Donald Trump’s administration in April, this year.

Even though it's unlikely for his account to get hacked, keeping in mind such small details is necessary, to prevent any chance of such incidents from occurring. As we all know, 2020 has been so unpredictable.

Dear Trump, hope your account is extra secured now that the whole world has your details ;)

“AMPHAN”, EVACUATION AMID CORONA VIRUS PANDEMIC

Know about How India braced to fight the “Virus from Air”

AMPHAN pronounced as “UM-PUN” is the super-tropical cyclonic storm with a speed of 240 km/h, a minimum pressure of 925 hPa. A tropical cyclone is a weather phenomenon that is essentially a rapidly rotating storm system with characteristics such as a low-pressure centre, strong winds and thunderstorms that produce heavy rain, among others.

“AMPHAN” like giant engines uses warm, moist air as fuel from the area of low pressure over the southern Bay of Bengal.

 Aman initially grew powerful because the waters it passed over were exceedingly warm, as high as 88 degrees in parts of the Indian Ocean. Warmer water provides more of the energy that fuels such rotating storms. Cyclones have become stronger worldwide during the past four decades supporting what theory and computer models have long suggested: climate change is making these storms more intense and destructive. The authorities acted quickly to move people from the cyclone’s path, but worried they might be putting them into the path of the coronavirus. The Assam government on Tuesday issued a "high alert" over cyclone 'Amphan' and directed the state disaster management authority to set up a control room to deal with the situation. Quoting the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna said there is a strong likelihood of widespread effect of the cyclone in Assam, especially in west Assam districts.

Protecting people from becoming infected by the coronavirus while they are packed inside emergency shelters. Around three million people in India and Bangladesh have been evacuated to cyclone shelters. Some of these structures are huge, holding up to 5,000 people. In Nedhuali, a village on India’s coast, police officers moved from mud house to mud house with folded hands, urging residents to get to the emergency shelters. But many villagers refused, saying they were afraid of becoming ill.

Kolkata sat directly in cyclone Amphan’s path. The precautions taken to reduce the spread of the coronavirus may have helped the city ready itself for the storm. Many of the 15 million or so people who live in the Kolkata metropolitan area had already been staying at home, obeying India’s lockdown rules.

The Odisha government officials estimated that the cyclone has affected around 44.8 lakh people in the state. Farmers in Odisha found their fields unfit for the coming Kharif crop as about two feet of saline water was standing on the land. Odisha, which has been ravaged by a string of cyclones over the last few years, including the cyclone Fani last year, has made arrangements to shift 11 lakh, people, from vulnerable areas, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P.K. Jena said. Twelve coastal districts—Ganjam, Gajapti, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Jajpur, Cuttack, Khurda and Nayagarh—are on high alert. He said of the 809 cyclone shelters in the 12 coastal districts, 242 are currently being used as temporary medical camps for the returnees from different states amid the COVID- 19 lockdown.

"We have 567 cyclone and flood shelters available to house the people in case evacuation is required. In addition, we have arranged 7,092 buildings to keep people if required," Jena said. "Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), NDRF, and fire service personnel have already been sent to the districts. We are also in constant touch with the Indian Coast Guard, IMD, and NDRF for any requirement," he said, adding "saving lives is our priority".
Officials were not taking any chances. They cleared out storm drains, shored up slum shanties with bamboo poles, and removed objects like potted plants from roofs and balconies so they wouldn’t turn into missiles.

More than 73 people were killed by the powerful cyclone that slammed into India. Thousands of homes were wiped out. Many of the dead were crushed by falling trees, electrocuted by downed wires or buried inside collapsing buildings as Cyclone Amphan pummelled the region, leaving a wide swath of devastation and grief. Heavy rains and flooding could have deadly consequences for rare animals there, pushing them out of their habitats and into areas populated by humans.

MANGROVE FOREST: Buffer against the Cyclone
Sundarbans acted as a buffer against the cyclone by slowing wind speed & protecting the villagers. Heavy rains and flooding could have deadly consequences for rare animals there, pushing them out of their habitats and into areas populated by humans.

“The Sundarbans will bear the brunt and soften the blow,” said Prerna Singh Bindra, a conservationist and the author of “The Vanishing: India’s Wildlife Crisis.”
Anand Sharma, the director of the India Meteorological Department, told NDTV that the bulk of the typhoon had moved a little further away from Kolkata, but that winds would batter the city until it reached Bangladesh on Thursday morning.

Well, we still don’t know the extent of the damage caused by Mr Amphan. India has always been appreciated by the world for its evacuation and saving humanity. The present situation of the two viruses attaching from all the ends challenged the potential of India’s warriors. According to me, We have fought a long 6 hours of war on Wednesday by following instructions, rescuing people along with “ social- distancing” but what we lacked is health equipment ranging from masks and sanitizers and enough emergency rooms for the evacuated people. We have always set an example to the world and will keep on inspiring the world. For now let us just pray for the humanity and especially for the all warriors fighting out there, our doctors, nurses, migrants, patients, reporters, officers, police and the administration, the cyclone survivors, social workers and cheers to all the liberators of the unending list of “fighters”.