You wake up, groggily pick up your phone and swipe through countless emails, calls and app notifications. You get out of bed, get ready for work and with a few quick swipes on your screen, a cab arrives at your doorstep. While you are at work, a few more screen swipes and a vacuum cleaner cleans your home before you get back. Get home, and there’s no need to cook because your trusty phone can also have food delivered right to your doorstep.

As little as a decade ago, the above scenario would sound just as realistic as pigs flying, but today, this is our reality. Whether we realize it or not, technology has seeped in deep into our lives and pervaded through most of our daily tasks. Everything from how we eat to how we travel is laced with technology and this is quickly making the world an easier place to live in.

In India as well, the technological revolution is well underway. From simple apps to playing games on our phone, we’ve reached the stage where AI allows us to step inside the game and live it. While vacuum cleaning has been here for a while, we now have Wi-Fi and AI through which we can order vacuum cleaners to work with no human intervention. Here, then, is a detailed analysis of how every aspect of the Indian lifestyle has been impacted by technology.

Evaluating technological revolutions, it appears that technology has had the most impact on the way we communicate. The ubiquity of texting, video calling and social networking is such, that it has made the humble landline phone obsolete. With their high-speed data connections and unlimited mobile apps for communication, mobile phones have become an indispensable part of our lives. Further, social media has ensured that we stay in touch with people across the globe from the palm of our hands.

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.

 

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 ?

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 COVID-19 still goes on to continue with the same pace, On a great note, Russia has provided the world with a sigh of relief as it has reportedly completed its first phase of COVID-19 human clinical trials, successfully.

The COVID-19 vaccine is being developed by the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in collaboration with the Russian Defence Ministry.

The Chief researcher and the head of the Center for Clinical Research on Medications at Sechenov University, Dr Elena Smolyarchuk said that the  1st phase of human trials for the vaccine have been completed at the Sechenov University and they will be discharged to the market for commercial purposes soon.

However, there are controversies and contradictions on Russia's success in the 1st trial, since many countries and netizens all over the world since they believe that the world is still far from reaching the solution of the pandemic. 

No information on when this vaccine would enter commercial production stage has been published yet.

In another news, as of Sunday morning, the total number of global cases stood at 12,681,472, while the fatalities due to COVID rose to 564,420, increasing the graph day by day.

We can only hope that Russia's claims are true and the humanity savior vaccine enters the markets soon. 

Image credits- Inshorts Screengrab. 

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

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. 

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 .

Do you prefer realism inspired cinema that you can relate to or a larger than life perfect world that films create ?

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.

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.

 

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.

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.
 

 

In the obituary to Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, the British Medical Journal wrote, “… at his professional zenith, he may have had the largest consulting practice in the world, news of his visit to a city or even railway station bringing forth hordes of would-be patients.”

On July 1, 1882, is marked and celebrated in honour of one of the most legendary physicians and the second chief minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. Born in Patna, Bengal Presidency, British India, he did his graduation on Mathematician which was followed by study of Medicine in University of Calcutta. A stalwart, he chose to aspire for perfection and went to England to join the prestigious St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London but unfortunately was denied admission in the first attempt. The issue was of the origin from which came; the boy from Asian continent. Persistent, he was accepted in the university after 30 attempts.

Eventually, he went on and became a prestigious Member of the of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS), after his post-graduation in 1911. He believed that medicine would help Indians remain fit, physically which will in turn help them pursue their dream of freedom.  He played an integral role in the establishment of medical institutions like Jadavpur T.B. Hospital, Chittaranjan Seva Sadan, Kamala Nehru Memorial Hospital, Victoria Institution, Chittaranjan Cancer Hospital and the Chittaranjan Seva Sadan for women and children. He even opened centres for women, where they could train in social work and nursing.

Apart from being a successful physician, he was elected for the All India Congress Committee in 1928. Dr. Roy also conducted the Civil Disobedience in Bengal in 1929 and he prompted Pandit Motilal Nehru to nominate him as the member of the Working Committee (CWC) in 1930. It was on 26 August 1930, that he was arrested along with his members of the CWC and detained at Alipore Central Jail as the committee was declared to be unlawful.

In 1931, when Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi lead the Dandi March many members of the Calcutta Corporation were imprisoned. He was as the Alderman of the Corporation from 1930–31 and as the Mayor of Calcutta from 1931 to 1933 and under his leadership, the cooperation made humongous expansions of free education, free medical aid, better roads, improved lighting, and water supply, alongside he set the framework of dispensing grant-in-aid to hospitals and charitable dispensaries.

National Doctor’s day was established by the Government of India in 1991 to commemorate the contributions of awardee of Bharat Ratna on 4 February 1961, which is India's highest civilian honour. In addition to this, the day has been marked for a tribute to all the doctors across the country. The aim of this ay is to make the citizens aware of the roles, importance, and responsibilities of the doctors as well as promote medical professionals to come closer and follow the responsibilities of their profession very dedicatedly.

This year themes were declared Indian Medical Association, which is 'Lessen the mortality of COVID-19' The theme is decided keeping in mind the larger scale issue related to the medical field and the professionals and doctors. 

Summoning the contributions made by “National Doctor” along with the constant dedications of the doctors culminated to be celebrated in a single day, which may not seem enough, especially during the unfortunate ongoing situation; the Covid-19 Pandemic. Pulling in hours in work, treating several thousand patients indefatigably for several hours straight is a sedulous quality which these medicos successfully personify the very word. India cannot be more thankful and indebt to the doctors for all the efforts they put in to save lives of millions every day.

It was a proud moment for all the Indians, when United Nations, honored K. K. Shailaja, The Health Minister of the state of Kerala, India for her great efforts to fight against the pandemic COVID-19 in her state.

It was on the 24th of June that Ms. Shailaja was honored and was amongst several esteemed leaders across the globe to be speaking on the ocassion of United Nations Public Service Day.

K. K Shailaja had presented the Kerala model for the fight against COVID-19 in a webinar organized by the UN, on the 24th June.

The webinar was on Pandemic and Public Service Delivery, examining the critical role of public servants at national and local level.

With this great achievement, the Kerala Health Minister has received appreciation and accolades from various parts of the world and Kerala Model is being recognized in the fight towards COVID-19.

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’.

 A commemorative declaration marking the 75th anniversary of the signing of the U.N. Charter was delayed as member states could not reach an agreement on phraseology regarding the phrase, “community with a shared future for mankind” is linked with the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese President Xi Jinping as a method of the country’s vision for the world.

 The Five Eyes, is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States — along with India, objected to the use of a phrase “shared vision of a common future”, associated with China. 

The current situation is because China’s relationships with a number of countries, including India, Australia and the U.S., are spoilt. 

The objecting countries wanted the resolution to read, “We will work together with partners to strengthen coordination and global governance for the common good of present and future generations and to realize our shared vision for a better future as envisaged in the preamble of the UN Charter.”

“Empowerment is about spreading hope and happiness”

The battle of officially being recognised on paper although had a full stop but the access to physical and emotional security is still a struggle for the Transgender.

“More than one in four transgender people have lost a job due to bias, and more than three-fourths have experienced some form of workplace discrimination. Refusal to hire, privacy violations, harassment, and even physical and sexual violence on the job are common occurrences, and are experienced at even higher rates by transgender people of colour.”

Elevating transgender people out of crisis and into empowerment by building power in our communities to advocate for liberation and autonomy has always been a challenge.

Well, even a 0.001 % of ‘acceptance’ matters and so the declaration of renaming ‘the Sector 50 Metro Station of Aqua Line(Noida-Greater Noida Line) as “Rainbow Station” is remarkable as it marks the beginning of the “ End Game” of the prejudice in the job market. The rainbow colours, especially etched on flags, represent diversity and are also a prominent symbol of pride for the wider Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community, which has for long struggled for equal rights.

 

The NMRC reflected that the name of the metro station "shall signify the essence of the community".

In the populated world of words, ‘Empowering’ dominates over the adjectives used for marginalised communities by the populated world of humans. Empowerment broadens the diversity of opportunities and the dimensions of ‘Acceptance’. Empowerment in all colours of life is essence to keep one lively. “Economic Empowerment” of Transgender to liberate them from the ‘advocacy of unacceptance’ is must.

The NMRC declared employment opportunities for “Trans” to become self-reliant and to pave the way for their healthy inclusion and participation in society. Employment to members of the transgender community will help them to connect with the mainstream and to uplift the transgender community. Offer of Employment for some activities such as ticketing counter and housekeeping will help them to become ‘self-reliant’.

The overall goal of the initiative is to promote inclusivity and acceptance of trans-persons, particularly at ground level institutions such as companies which lead to the creation of an ecosystem where the transgender community can flourish in the way they choose, in order to take maximum advantage of the provisions of the NALSA Judgement.

Transgender empowerment continues to be unfinished business. Too many of us struggle in our lives every day. Too many of us are at risk. Too many of us are insulted, beaten and killed. As responsible beings, we must support and bolster the trans movement in India and across the world. We need to stand united and work collaboratively with each other and with all stakeholders to guarantee the security, rights and dignity of all transgenders. We need to ensure that the Government works with us to reach this objective. Only then can the promise of our democracy be achieved. Trans lives matter, and India must act with urgency!

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

•During the ongoing de-escalation process, a violent face-off took place between Indian and Chinese troops leading to the demise of three Army personnel, including an officer and two soldiers, in Galwan Valley, Ladakh.

•According to the Indian Army personnel, the face-off took place on Monday night, leading to “casualties on both sides.”

•First violent incident with casualties on the India-China Border, after 1975

Border- dispute between India and China has always been a hotly debated topic. Uncertainties flare on a fairly regular purpose between India and China over their 3,500-kilometre periphery and so the standoffs between the world’s most populous nations are crafting promptly. 

Indian and Chinese military commanders had been in dialogues in Galwan Valley area and Hot Springs, to work out the border-dispute but there has not been any substantial build-up activity by both sides. 

When the world is scrambling to find life-saving vaccines, there has been a loss of 3 brave beings due to violence. During the ongoing de-escalation process, a violent face-off took place last night between India and China, leading to the death of three Army personnel, including an officer and two soldiers, in Galwan Valley, Ladakh. There was no shootout or gunshot wounds but violent hand-to-hand brawls. 

Beijing, in an aggressive statement, accused India of crossing the border, “attacking Chinese personnel”, reported AFP. China’s Foreign Ministry was quoted by Reuters as saying India should not take unilateral actions or stir up trouble. 

Army sources had said there has been disengagement between Indian and Chinese battalions at more locations where they have been in standoff positions for the last many weeks now. 

Well, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, the three service chiefs and External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar over the recent developments in Eastern Ladakh on Tuesday. 

Till 2019, plopping the border dispute in a box was the great success of the Indian – Chinese relationship. But the violent face-off can deepen differences between the two Asian countries during the pandemic. Both nations need to act wisely to slim the likelihood of escalation.

Do you see education in a Post COVID world going into a online mode since it has proved to be a alternative to conventional education that has costs like time, commute etc .

"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. 

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.

 

 

The Trade war between US and China creates a need of self-dependency on Global Production.Many of the Chinese neighbouring Countries including India takes a audacious action by reconstructing their own supply chain.The virus will accelarate a change that was a already driven by market forces as rising wages and costs in china will cause lower-value manufacturing.While the US trade network with china was diaphanous but recent virus situation create of omnious relations between them but increasing disparity between them will help US to create good economic strategy that will help to strenghten the relations with countries like India,Australia,New Zealand,Japan and South Korea.Many Companies in china have been adopting "China Plus One" manufacturing strategy to bring chinese production on its peak.China Plus One is creating a baffling situation for global manufacturers as chinese low cost production facilities to global producers.The US has three alternatives ahead. First, is to expand the scope of technology restrictions on China.Second, is to outcompete China by dramatically boosting US high-tech capabilities by pouring fresh investments into education, basic research and support sectors of the industrial setup as used to be the case in the Cold War.Third, is to continue to push China, using the existing weapons of tariffs and diplomacy, to modify the parts of its behaviour that the US finds unacceptable.The developments relating to deglobalisation and decoupling offer opportunities for India and New Delhi would be wise to pursue them. Notwithstanding the slogan of “Aatmnirbharta” (self-reliance) that has come in the wake of COVID-19, foreign direct investment and foreign trade remain the two key requirements to pull India out of the poverty trap.In the end, the biggest force diluting china's position in the global supply chain will likely be the long, slow evolution of global trade.

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.

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.

WHAT IS G-7

The Group of Seven, as the G-7 expands to, is an intergovernmental organisation formed in 1975 to discuss and exchange ideas on a range of issues such as global economy, security and energy. G-7 presently has one the most advanced economies of the world i.e. US, UK, France, Germany, Japan, Canada & Italy. 

 

EXPANSION

•US President Donald Trump described G-7 as “very outdated group of countries”, and wants it to be rechristened into G-10 or G-11 by including countries such as India, Russia, South Korea & Australia to the G-7. 

•Trump discussed the plans of expanding G-7 with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

 

WHY IS IT CONTROVERSIAL 

*Russia was earlier a part of the group but was removed after it annexed Crimea in Ukraine in 2014 with which G-8 became G-7. Trump wants Russia to be readmitted to the group, because “a lot of the things we talk about have to do with Russia”

*On the decision to invite Australia, India, South Korea to the G7, China said any attempts to seek a 'small circle' against it is 'doomed to fail'.

 

INDIA’S PARTICIPATION IN G-7 

•India was invited as a "Biarritz partner country” for the 45th G7 summit by French President Emmanuel Macron & India attended the G7 summit after, almost 15 years. 

•India attended the summit was in 2005 as well,  when PM Manmohan Singh had represented India at the summit on the invitation of the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

 

NEXT G-7 SUMMIT

The 46th G-7 summit, which was earlier supposed to be held at Camp David in the United States from June 10-12, has been postponed by US President Trump to September 2020. 

 

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.

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.

The month of Ramadan ends with a grand celebration Eid ul Fitr, however due to the lockdown families have been separated making it less festive. Corona virus pandemic which dates back to December last year has affected world’s biggest economies; many industries have suffered unpredictable loss. The Coal and Petroleum Companies, Tourism and Hospitality sector are most affected; the later is projected to suffer a revenue loss of 1.25 trillion in 2020. The virus has disrupted our lives, daily routines and significance of social gatherings and cultural diversions in it.  Temples, Mosques, Churches which saw people coming everyday and offering prayers to the deities are closed until the situation gets better.

Eid al-Fitr, (festival of breaking of the fast) celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan. Eid has a particular Salat (Islamic prayer) consisting of two Rakats (units) generally offered in an open field or large hall, congregational prayers offered on the morning form the core of this festival. It is full of rituals and traditions that involve the entire family; everyone puts on new clothes and attends prayers, thank Allah for giving them the strength.  People greet each other with a hug, help the needy and pray for Barkat (Growth).  But the situation is different this year, with more than two months into global lockdown many are away from their loved ones. The current situation demands that we protect each other by staying away.

As India entered the 4th phase of the quarantine, some restrictions were lifted but all religious places were still closed. The supply of sewai has also suffered as the production stopped in the workshops since a lot of workers have left for their homes. All the prominent muslim organizations have stayed supportive of the government’s efforts.  Religious leaders explained people the procedure of how they can offer the the Eid namaz at their home.

"This year’s  Eid was definitely different from all the other time, since we are quarantined no family friends or relatives came to our place for lunch and it was just a private affair for us. Though thanks to technology we could talk to them through social media apps and this time we offered namaz inside the home instead of Eidgah because it is haraam (prohibitated) to harm (infect) others because everyone has a right over other. Hope this virus goes soon and the world becomes a better place to be in" says Zeeshan, Student from New Delhi.

Ramadan has indeed been a bit glum this year, with everyone stuck at their homes, unable to go to the community prayers. For the first many in so many years the streets are free of people. But the festival of Eid celebrates happiness and contempt, so we could all hope, pray and stay inside for better days ahead.

Do you think coronavirus lockdown is giving nature a break or has it put the world’s forests at a risk as poor people are relaying on nature for food and shelter ?

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 ;)

While governments across the world still dwell on the nature of life and the post lockdown measures with people continuing to cope with life in a pandemic the news of a plane crash from Pakistan shook many.Around 09:45 GMT on Friday Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-8303 from Lahore to Karachi went down.With 99 people aboard the flight was said to be rapidly losing altitude. 

An investigation has been launched to piece together how the plane developed a fatal technical fault that led to the crash with the black box, or the light data recorder and cockpit voice recorder recovered from the site. It brought light to the events that led to this crash.The pilot had contacted the air traffic controllers regarding the engine power failure on both the plane engines. The last audible message from the pilot were Mayday calls.The controllers gave the clearing for both landing strips while enquiring whether the plane would have a belly landing. After trying to land twice at the airport it crashed short off the runway into Model Colony neighbourhood, a crowded residential district. 

The fuming black clouds and the burning smell covered the region with parts of the plane scattered on the streets with building damaged and burned with more than 25 affected houses already cleared the damage is quite a lot .One of the survivors awoke to these surrounding before jumping out towards a beam of light as the only ray of hope amongst the dark fumes and screams that surrounded him in that moment. The other survivor remembers the turbulence and then he had lost much of his senses. Two male survivors had been identified after the crash with at least 97 dead amongst crew and passengers. Interestingly both the survivors were at the front of the plane. 

With what had seemed to be a journey towards Eid al-Fitr celebration it turned into a day of remorse for the country which had only opened air transport the previous 

week. The accurate cause of the crash is still under investigation with prayers for the ones lost and battling being said across the country.

“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”.

Following the 2-month shutdown nationwide, the economy had come to a halt with absolutely nothing and no one working. This led to believe everyone that they finally had time to themselves and that it had stopped where they could, for once do sit in the comfort of their homes and not worry about the deadline on which the reports had to be submitted. Unfortunately, the vacation has ended and it’s time to go back to school.

According to recent reports, the domestic commercial passenger flights will resume effective May 25, 2020.  According to the Civil Aviation Minister, Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri’s tweet, he claimed that the domestic flights across India would resume in a “calibrated manner”. The tweet also mentioned “All the airports and air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from May 25. SOPs for passenger movement are also being separately issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation”

The Ministry of Home Affairs amended its guidelines by expunging domestic air travel from the list. The aim is to finally get the country on a move. It’s true that the world can’t simply sit down and do nothing; this might be a good start to finally resume and get things back on track and adapting to the “normal.” Top airline executives were scheduled to have a meeting the minister officials to finalize the modalities of resumption with SOPs for flight operations .Although some states gave expressed their concerns over the transportation among the red zones, on the other hand, the airlines don’t find it viable to only become operational only in green zones and it may also reduce the demand.

According tp the proposals from Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the passengers are suppose to reach the airport 2 and/or 3 hours prior to their scheduled flight. Delhi, Mumbai, Hydrabad and Bangalore are one amongst the many airports which are setting up thermal screening counters at arrival and departure gates respectively, but since Delhi is one of the busiest airport across the country, the authorities have also decided to set up a system for UV disinfection of all baggage’s and trolleys as well. Mumbai and Banglore airports have created markings, making sure to keep a gap of 1.5 metres between every passenger, the cities have also reshuffled the seating arrangements in food courts to maintain the notion of social distancing.

According to New Zaeland’s reports, they are currently at level 2 alert with 380 Auckland buses running with foreign nationals being granted the permission to take domestic flights. New Zealand is in a state to allow the transportation as according to recent statistics, there hadn’t been any new cases of covid-19 reported in the last 48 hours.

Although extreme precautions are going to be taken and it may not seem viable to only operate in the green zones, but it is extremely important to safeguard the lives of their burgesses. This could be a good start to getting back on track gradually and safely. It is important to get the economy going soon but this could also be taking a huge risk since India has crossed a ballpark of 1 lakh cases overall. One could only hope that everything is administered as planned, And the flights keep making happy landings.  

 

A cyclone is a large scale of mass that rotates around a strong centre of low atmospheric pressure, characterised by strong winds, thunderstorms and heavy rainfall. Storms developed over the Indian ocean, are referred to as tropical cyclones or severe cyclonic storms. Amphan is the first severe cyclone of the area in over 20 years and is expected to cause severe flooding, mudslides and deadly storm surges with being equivalent to a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane. It's named Amphan since cyclone names are started with the first alphabet for the first cyclone of the year. Amphan is forecast to hit the densely populated, low lying area in coast in the Ganges River Delta, the world's largest river delta with unreliable infrastructure.The cyclone could bring storm surges of up to 5 meters (16.4 feet).Its centre is approaching Kasafal in the easters coast of the state of Odisha, India. The cyclone is set to make landfall between the town of Digha in India's West Bengal state and Bangladesh's Hatiya Island, near to the Sundarbans, the department said in a Twitter post.The Sundarbans are an ecologically fragile cluster of low-lying islands spread across India and Bangladesh, known for mangrove forests and rare wildlife, including the endangered Bengal tiger. The cyclone has started making landfall in India and will take four hours to move fully over land, India's Meteorological Department has said.The Indian government said the storm's impact was already being felt and that rescue crews were working to move uprooted trees in West Bengal. Bangladesh has evacuated around 2 million people and set up 12,078 cyclone centre's, the country's state minister for disaster management and relief Md. Enamur Rahman said. The Indian Coast Guard has deployed 20 disaster relief teams along the country's eastern coast to carry out search and rescue operations at short notice.More than 300,000 people have been evacuated in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, removing them from the path of Cyclone Amphan, according to India's National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF).Relief teams are still rushing to evacuate people in low- lying coastal areas, which are most at risk from a storm surge and heavy rains that could cause flooding. COVID-19 has led to another challenge in the active response to this cyclone. With the nature of this pandemic and the necessity to follow social distancing it puts the risk management of this dual catastrophe at a difficult spot. Landfall on the western side of Bangladesh, will likely bring heavy rains to Cox's Bazar the world's largest refugee camp in the east of the country thus causing huge challenges to the prevention of COVID-19 transmission in the densely populated region of the refugee camp. The NDRF chief said that keeping in mind the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, all NDRF teams have been equipped with PPE kits. It is another form of new normal, we have to handle disasters considering the COVID-19 pandemic too,”he added. The pandemic definitely poses barriers to efficient disaster management putting millions of lives at risk. The evacuation protocols and shelters along with the other stages of rescue protocol are in jeopardy due COVID-19. The photographic images seen of the impending cyclone as it affects everything it passes show the disastrous impact it could have. Waves crashing the sea walls, a Childs death and trees snapping are all photographic evidence of the cyclone.The cyclone is being tracked at every stage and given the multitude of difficulties ahead it can only be hoped that it doesn’t lead to increasing the gravity of the situation.

 

When the world is battling against Coronavirus, DU students are battling against online exams. The university whose site barely works, will take online examination of third year students. 

Delhi University, rolled out a press release stating that examination will be conducted for final year students in the month of July. The first reaction of final year students’ were “what about my last semester results?” And I have seen many memes regarding DU conducting online exams. Honestly online exams might turn into a big failure. Many students don’t have their study materials and I know you all will agree when I say online classes can’t cover up for offline classes. Many students feel that the study material shared by teachers hasn’t helped to understand the syllabus fully. I remember I had trouble during my admissions because Delhi University’s site wasn’t working, listening about online exams by DU is a big shock for me. Many students don’t even have access to laptop and a broadband connection at their home.

Instead of taking online exams Du should ask for assignments. The assignment should be innovative, innovative in such a way that students have to work hard on their assignments and it will be better for all the students. Many Students are also demanding a “common academic calendar for all universities.” Which in my opinion is better. Lockdown is affecting our career especially last year students’. Their placements and internships have been stopped. I think a new academic calendar should be made for all universities.

 “The world could learn from Taiwan’s success in responding to the coronavirus pandemic, yet it doesn’t have a seat at the World Health Organization.”

On Monday, May 18, representatives of 194 countries gathered virtually for one of the most important public health meetings in recent memory. A country thought to have had one of the best public health responses to the coronavirus pandemic—Taiwan was not invited. 
Taiwan attended the assembly as an observer from 2009 to 2016 but China blocked further participation after the election of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, whom China views as a separatist, an accusation she rejects. 
Taiwan is not a member of the WHO as China has opposed its entry into international bodies. Taiwan was the first to begin screening passengers from Wuhan, starting December 31. 
Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations (UN) or its sub-organizations, but it aspires to participate. China also claims Taiwan as part of its territory and denies that Taiwan is a sovereign state. China is adamant about preventing recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state and its membership in the UN system. Like other U.N. organizations, the WHO considers Taiwan a part of the People’s Republic of China and excludes its government from membership. This, critics say, is detrimental to global cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Taiwan has emerged as one of the most effective countries in combating the disease. Taiwan and its defenders have strongly criticized the WHO and its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, for being overly deferential to Beijing.
 China, officially called the People’s Republic of China (PRC), refuses to allow that to happen. The PRC claims that Taiwan is a province of China, not an independent state. It says that only the PRC has the right to represent all of China in the United Nations and other international organizations, including the WHO, that limit membership to states. Taiwan’s government, generally called the Republic of China on Taiwan, has all the elements of statehood required by international law and maintains diplomatic relations with fifteen countries. Yet due to the PRC’s great-power status, including its seat as a permanent UN Security Council member, Beijing has been able to impose its “One China” policy upon the world.
 
In the early days of the outbreak, health officials in Taipei say the WHO ignored their warnings—based on communication with mainland colleagues—that the disease could be transmitted between humans, slowing the global response to the growing threat. Instead, in mid-January, the organization issued a now-infamous endorsement of China’s finding that there was no human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan. The WHO continued to praise China’s handling of the virus throughout January, despite abundant evidence that authorities were covering up the severity of the situation in Wuhan. This praise was especially stark in contrast to the organization’s criticism of China during SARS. Taiwan has had remarkable success in combating the virus. More than two months after COVID-19 arrived on the island, it has seen only 380 cases and five deaths. Yet its health officials remain frozen out of emergency meetings and briefings at the main organization coordinating the global response to the pandemic. (In a painfully awkward interview with a Hong Kong journalist, one senior WHO official seemed to pretend not to hear the question and then insisted on moving on when asked about Taiwan.)

Why is Taiwan’s exclusion a problem, especially during the coronavirus pandemic?

Taiwan is an important stakeholder and a valuable partner in fighting this unprecedented crisis. Taiwan’s government is donating masks to countries in need and sharing its experience using technology to investigate outbreaks. It is also working with U.S. experts to develop more rapid diagnostic test kits and vaccines.
Despite Taiwan’s valuable input, the WHO continues to shun it. For example, when asked by a journalist about Taiwan’s exclusion and experience dealing with the pandemic during a recent interview, WHO senior advisor Bruce Aylward hung up the call after trying to avoid the questions. After this public relations disaster, the WHO claimed it was closely working with Taiwan experts, which Taiwan’s government refuted. Taiwan has continually shared coronavirus data with the WHO, but the WHO has never released this information to its members. Additionally, in a February coronavirus status report, the WHO misreported the number of cases in Taiwan based on information provided by China. It also continues to deceptively list Taiwan’s case numbers under China’s. Taiwan was snubbed by the WHO yet again when it was not invited to the organization’s emergency meetings in January. After repeated requests, in February, the WHO finally allowed two Taiwanese experts to attend an online forum. Such ludicrous limitations have rightly been scoffed at by many governments and critics.
The WHO’s exclusion of Taiwan from the global fight against the pandemic is a reckless dereliction of duty. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whose election was due in large part to China’s support, has been widely criticized for actions that appeared to help China downplay the outbreak, delaying the international response as a result. Taiwan’s exclusion is an example of how the world’s health body puts politics before public health. Governments and concerned citizens must demand that the WHO fulfill its obligation—to represent the world’s health interests, not China’s—and hold the WHO accountable when it fails.
Wu said that Taiwan had agreed the issue of its participation would be put off until later in the year so the shorted assembly can focus on the coronavirus.
"Understandably, countries want to use the limited time available to concentrate on ways of containing the pandemic," he said.
"For this reason, like-minded nations and diplomatic allies have suggested that the proposal be taken up later this year when meetings will be conducted normally, to make sure there will be a full and open discussion," Wu added.

U.S AND TAIWAN

The United States has attempted to maximize Taiwan’s involvement in international relations and has, without success, supported Taiwan’s “meaningful participation” in various institutions, including the World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHO’s highest decision-making body. In March 2020, the Donald J. Trump administration enacted the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act, aimed at supporting Taiwan’s international presence. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the State Department would “do [its] best to assist” Taiwan’s “appropriate role” in the WHO.
 Nearly 15 countries, including Belize, Guatemala, the Marshall Islands,, and Honduras, had written to the director-general of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, asking that the question of Taiwan's participation be added to the agenda.
But on Monday Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu said "countries want to use the limited time available to concentrate on ways of containing the pandemic".

"We have accepted the suggestion from our allies and like-minded nations to wait until the resumed session before further promoting our bid," Wu said. He added that allies had suggested instead the proposal be taken up later in the year when the WHO is expected to hold in-person meetings. The calls for Taiwan to join the meetings had angered Beijing.

Do you think the decision of Slovenian government to open its border despite new cases being reported is reasonable and apt?

Do you think India dropped to rank 142, two points below its 2019 rank, in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index because of the influence of the government and the Hindutva ideology ?

Hello world

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on 12th May, highlighting how large number of casualties have occurred not just in India, but worldwide as humongous number of people have lost their lives due to a single small virus.

   Mr Modi announced a Rs 20 lakh crore economic package to deal with the market slowdown due to the unexpected virus which would "empower different sectors of the society. "

 It is expected to help India become self-reliant and effectively deal and overcome Covid19. The details of the package will be given later Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman.

 Being self reliant could provide a good boost to our falling economy. It's highly essential to use indigenous products and be proud of it. During these last couple of months, India has learnt the importance of expanding and supporting local manufacturers, businesses and markets also to make our unprivileged working population, financially stable. If India would have focused on Self-reliance earlier, we would have managed the crisis better. Even though we lack resources, Mr Modi thinks that the talent India possess can lead to India making the best products.

   In his meeting with the chief ministers on Monday, PM Modi had indicated that the lockdown could be extended but would vary from the previous ones in relaxations and in reach.

  Expressing condolences for the victims, he said that India can move forward while dealing with the virus and help contribute in saving the world from this gripping situation.

In the end PM also mentioned that the announcement for Lockdown4.0 will be made before 18th May but this time it will be very different from last three times.

Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar represented India in the first virtual Petersberg Climate Dialogue on 28 April. The first virtual Climate Dialogue was the eleventh session of Petersberg Climate Dialogue. Is spending national resources on such meets globally by all the nations right now really necessary in this time of pandemic which has nose dived the global economies, whereas these resources could be saved to utilize them to protect the drowning economical environment globally?

which country launched its first military satellite "NOOR"?

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING SECTOR IN INDIA , SINCE CHINAS WORLD IMAGE HAS WORSENED AFTER THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK IN THEIR PROVINCE THAT WAS THE MAIN EPICENTER AND REASON FOR THE WORLD SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS ?

This is the problem of the organised left of our generation, Sadhguru is blatantly trying to snatch away the narrative from you and all your carders are doing is laughing and sharing memes about it, leave it to individual "scoundrel" like us who "wear the badge according to our comfort".
In todays world when narratives changes in minutes outside the utopia you live in even if you manage to come out with "Strong" statements it will too late to stop the sham that the so called guru is trying to sell in the name of Communism. Ask your carders to engage in a dialogue before its too late, like always.
As it is we do not know what is Sadhguru is trying to sell in the name of communism and considering that the person has a mass influence one needs to get in and save the ideological theft thats happening right under your nose as part of the bigger game thats being played to either kill any narrative with a disagreeing tone or appropriate it for their benefit.
In case you do not realise thats part of your job with the kind of machinery you have all individuals like me who wear the badge according to comfot can do is to talk and engage to our friends and relatives. Also if you think Sadhguru can not change anything you should talk to the english speaking upper middle class of this country who lives in Noida , Gurgaon and Mumbai or South Delhi because here is a person who has an edge over many in his own circuit and thats the language he speaks.
For you the Upper middle class might not be part of your plan but they are part of this narrative building and the class you want to appeal depends on them and i guess my friends here are smart enough to understand the chronology. Upper middle class might be the most annoying class of all but if you let them buy a fake narrative believe me you will let them sell a fake narrative .

In his first speech at the UN General assembly, Imran Khan Niyazi the "selected" PM of Pakistan went on to to speak for 45 minutes, in which most part of it was devoted to Human Rights , Equality and Justice in context to how he wants to make Pakistan a state where everyone Muslim or Non Muslim will get equal rights and have equal say like other Muslims . Imran khan keeps reminding us of "Riyasat-e-Medina" where everyone was equal and had equal rights he also repeats this one example of how a jew was brought to justice and expresses his urge to make Pakistan modern day Medina but what happened at #karachiBeinnale  where artist Adeela Suleman who installed art by the name of "Killing fields of Karachi" where she highlighted how the Infamous encounter master of Karachi , Rao Anwar went on to kill 444 people alot of them who were Balochistani . When the artists with Anti PTI human right activists Jibran Nasir was doing a press conference against the destruction of Installation , a person who claimed to be "DG Parks " ( some post in security agency ) came and tried to stop it , according to what he said to the media these people were showing the wrong picture of Pakistan to the world. The real question is to PM Khan who till now was accusing Modis India of curtailing freedom of speech but seems like he needs to look in his own den first .

India rises 4 places to 44th rank in world digital competitiveness rankings
India has advanced four places to 44th position in terms of digital competitiveness in the world as the country has made improvement in terms of knowledge and future readiness to adopt and explore digital technologies, according to a global report.
India rose from 48th place in 2018 to 44th rank this year as the country has improved overall in all factors -- knowledge, technology and future readiness -- as compared to the previous years ranking.
"India advanced four places to 44th position in 2019, with the biggest improvement in the technology sub-factor level, holding first position in telecommunications investment,"according to the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2019 (WDCR).
To evaluate an economy, WDCR examines three factors: Knowledge, the capacity to understand and learn the new technologies; technology, the competence to develop new digital innovations; and future readiness, the preparedness for the coming developments.

What are your thoughts on this ?

Indian Football Team Lost Their Qualifier Match For FIFA 2022 Against Oman By 1-2. Do you believe that someday we will win the FIFA World Cup?

Which fast food restaurant has the most locations in the world?